Error: 'HTTP Status 400 - bad request' message on the Standalone Aria Orchestrator UI after upgrading to 8.18.1.

Products

VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading vRO to 8.18.1 and have vsphere as the authentication provider and we try to start the Automation Orchestrator Client it gives a HTTP Status 400 - bad request
This issue only occurs when vsphere is configured as the auth provider.
We see the following in the vco-server-app.log

ERROR vco [host='vco-app-<ID>' thread='CustomThreadPool's Thread-1' user='' org='' trace=''] {} com.vmware.o11n.security.session.
ManagedTokenRegistryImpl - Unable to convert token with id TokenID
java.lang.IllegalStateException: Failed to create IdP configuration for tenant https://vROFQDN/websso/SAML2/Metadata/vsphere.local

We also see the following in the vco-server-app_cfg-cli.log

[ERROR] [vro-cli-<ID>] Could not retrieve Identity Broker configuration from vCenter
java.lang.NullPointerException: Cannot invoke "java.lang.CharSequence.length()" because "this.text" is null
at java.util.regex.Matcher.getTextLength(Matcher.java:1769) ~[?:?]
at java.util.regex.Matcher.reset(Matcher.java:415) ~[?:?]
at java.util.regex.Matcher.<init>(Matcher.java:252) ~[?:?]
at java.util.regex.Pattern.matcher(Pattern.java:1134) ~[?:?]

Environment

Aria Automation Orchestrator 8.18.1

Cause

This issue occurs when the local domain configured in vCenter is a custom domain and not the default vsphere.local.

Resolution

The issue has been resolved in VMware Aria Automation 8.18.1 – Patch 1 (Cumulative Update), and VMware Aria Automation 8.18.1 – Patch 2 (Cumulative Update) and later.
Note: Patch 2 is recommended unless you are using the SRM plugin, as there is a known issue. If you are using the SRM plugin, use Patch 1 Please see the release notes: VMware Aria Automation 8.18.1 Cumulative Update #2

Updated Note: Patch #5/#6 is now recommended, as it is the latest available patch and includes all previous fixes. VMware Aria Automation 8.18.1 Cumulative Update #5 (Cumulative Update #6 for Standalone Orchestrator)

Follow the steps below sequentially to apply the resolution.

Prerequisite:

Take a snapshot before the upgrade.
Download Patch 1: O11N_VA-8.18.1.36856-24399195-updaterepo.iso OR Download Patch 2: O11N_VA-8.18.1.1.36920-24702838-updaterepo.iso OR Download Patch 6: O11N_VA-8.18.1.37367-25423020-updaterepo.iso

Step 1: Log in to the Orchestrator Appliance

vracli upgrade exec -y --profile lcm-b2b --repo cdrom://

SSH into the Orchestrator Appliance.
Log in as the root user.

Step 2: Backup the Upgrade LCM Profile

Run the following command to create a backup of the existing LCM upgrade profile:
```
cp /etc/vmware-prelude/upgrade-lcm.conf /etc/vmware-prelude/upgrade-lcm-b2b.conf
```

Step 3: Modify the Configuration

Edit the backup configuration file:

vi /etc/vmware-prelude/upgrade-lcm-b2b.conf

Add the following line to the file:

workflow.step.vami-postupdate.reboot.skip=false

Save and close the file.
```
:wq!
```

Step 4: Mount the ISO

Mount the CD-ROM using mount /dev/xxx /mnt/cdrom
```
mount /dev/sr0 /mnt/cdrom
```

Step 5: Run the upgrade

Run the upgrade in the command line with the new lcm profile:
```
vracli upgrade exec -y --profile lcm-b2b --repo cdrom://
```

Reference Links to Download and Install:

Patch 1: SolutionDetails - Support Portal - Broadcom support portal - Patch-1
Patch 2: SolutionDetails - Support Portal - Broadcom support portal - Patch-2

Patch 6: SolutionDetails - Support Portal - Broadcom support portal - Patch-6 & Release Notes

Additional Information

Optional: Reconfigure Authentication Provider

Note: Perform this step only if the vCenter password was changed prior to the upgrade.

Step 1: Collect Authentication Provider Details

Run the following command to collect existing authentication provider information:
```
vracli vro authentication
```

Step 2: Unregister the Existing Authentication Provider

Unregister the authentication provider using the following command:
```
vracli vro authentication unregister -u <Admin-username>
```
Enter the administrator password when prompted.

Step 3: Reconfigure Authentication Provider

Re-run the authentication wizard to reconfigure the provider:
```
vracli vro authentication wizard
```

Step 3: Restart pods

Restart the pods to apply the configuration
```
/opt/scripts/deploy.sh
```
Reference Link:

Configure a standalone Automation Orchestrator server with vSphere authentication.

Configuring the Automation Orchestrator Appliance authentication provider with the command line interface.

Patch 1 Release Notes: VMware Aria Automation 8.18.1 Cumulative Update - Patch 1
Patch 2 Release Notes: VMware Aria Automation 8.18.1 Cumulative Update - Patch 2