VM /ETC

Yes, this post uses another movie reference.

In the film 28 Days Later the Rage virus infects the Island of Great Britain turning all but a few survivors into zombie-like monsters called “The Infected”. The virus was unleashed when animal activists released medical research chimpanzees which ended up attacking the activists and scientists. This post is about what could cause a similar rage 730 days after installing VirtualCenter, potentially causing VI administrators to become lifeless, rabid, and insane.

After installing VirtualCenter (VC), you should check the installed SSL certificate used by the VI Client because you will most likely need to manually replace it. After a fresh installation the default certifcate expires in 730 days (or 2 years). If the certificate expires you will be unable to log in to the VirtualCenter Management Server using either the VI Client or the web administration interface.

Unfortunately, it is unclear to me at this writing if upgrading the VC Server within the 730 day period updates the certificate store.

According to my local VMware contacts the latest version of VC fixes this, but when I double checked our lab VC server, which was installed fresh as version 2.5, the default SSL certificate had a 2 year period. Maybe VC 2.5 update 1 has the fix? The current product’s release notes do not mention the issue.

VMware has published a technical note titled Replacing the VirtualCenter Server Certificates which explains how to replace the certificates.

Rick Vanover’s SearchVmware.com post Upgrading VirtualCenter does not update certificate store brought this issue to my attention and summarizes this potential problem best:

“The good news is that you now know about this issue. The bad news is that you better correct it before the two year anniversary of your installation of VirtualCenter as it is required to process logins. VMware has a comprehensive PDF that outlines the certificate procedures for VirtualCenter and the ESX hosts. The ESX hosts, however, have a much longer lifespan for the local certificate, around 20 years, and do not exhibit this behavior. The VMware server certificate documentation is available for download from the VMware website.”

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