Aria Operations network configuration lost after reboot following manual edits to ipv4.conf

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

• After rebooting a VMware Aria Operations appliance, previously configured network settings (such as the Default Gateway) are lost or revert to old values.
• The administrator manually modified the configuration file located at /etc/systemd/network/10-eth0.network.d/ipv4.conf to correct or change IP settings.
• Connectivity to the appliance is lost post-reboot because the OS no longer recognizes the manually entered gateway or IP.

Environment

Aria Operations 8.x

Cause

VMware Aria Operations appliances are built on Photon OS and utilize a management layer that synchronizes network settings from the vApp Options defined in the vCenter Server.

Directly editing configuration files like ipv4.conf or other files under /etc/systemd/network/ is not a persistent method of configuration. During the boot sequence, the appliance's initialization scripts read the properties assigned to the VM in vCenter (the OVF environment) and overwrite the local configuration files to ensure they match the defined vApp Options. Consequently, any changes made manually at the command line that do not match the vApp properties will be discarded upon reboot.

Resolution

To ensure network changes are persistent, they must be applied through the management interfaces rather than direct file edits.

1. Log into the Aria Operations admin UI.
   
   
2. Click the [TAKE CLUSTER OFFLINE].
   
   
3. Log into the vSphere Client.
   
   
4. Locate the Aria Operations VM and click [Power] -> [Shut Down Guest OS].
   
   
5. In the [Configure] tab, navigate the [Settings] -> [vApp Options]
   
   
6. Under [Properties], find the network settings "ipv4_gateway.VMware_Aria_Operations").
   
   
7. Update the value to the correct address and click "OK".
   
   
8. "Power on" the VM. The system will now inject the correct settings persistently.

## Verification

1. Log into the appliance via SSH after the reboot.
   
   
2. Run `networkctl status eth0` or `ip route` to confirm the gateway and IP addresses are correctly assigned and match the vApp Options.
   
   
3. Ensure the `/etc/systemd/network/10-eth0.network.d/ipv4.conf` file now reflects the values set in vCenter.