VMCA is the Default self-signed certificates that is set up at the time of vCenter deployment.

All solution users and machine SSL certificates are signed with this certificate.

VMCA certificates can be regenerated by using option 8 on the certificatae manager. 

root@is-dhcp36-107 [ / ]# /usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certificate-manager
                 _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
                |                                                                     |
                |      *** Welcome to the vSphere 6.5 Certificate Manager  ***        |
                |                                                                     |
                |                   -- Select Operation --                            |
                |                                                                     |
                |      1. Replace Machine SSL certificate with Custom Certificate     |
                |                                                                     |
                |      2. Replace VMCA Root certificate with Custom Signing           |
                |         Certificate and replace all Certificates                    |
                |                                                                     |
                |      3. Replace Machine SSL certificate with VMCA Certificate       |
                |                                                                     |
                |      4. Regenerate a new VMCA Root Certificate and                  |
                |         replace all certificates                                    |
                |                                                                     |
                |      5. Replace Solution user certificates with                     |
                |         Custom Certificate                                          |
                |                                                                     |
                |      6. Replace Solution user certificates with VMCA certificates   |
                |                                                                     |
                |      7. Revert last performed operation by re-publishing old        |
                |         certificates                                                |
                |                                                                     |
                |      8. Reset all Certificates                                      |
                |_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _|
Note : Use Ctrl-D to exit.
Option[1 to 8]:

choosing option 8, you are presented with the below options:

Option[1 to 8]: 8
Do you wish to generate all certificates using configuration file : Option[Y/N] ? : y

Please provide valid SSO and VC priviledged user credential to perform certificate operations.
Enter username [[email protected]]:[email protected]
Enter password:

Please configure certool.cfg with proper values before proceeding to next step.

Press Enter key to skip optional parameters or use Default value.

Enter proper value for 'Country' [Default value : US] :

Enter proper value for 'Name' [Default value : CA] :

Enter proper value for 'Organization' [Default value : VMware] :

Enter proper value for 'OrgUnit' [Default value : VMware Engineering] :

Enter proper value for 'State' [Default value : California] :

Enter proper value for 'Locality' [Default value : Palo Alto] :

Enter proper value for 'IPAddress' (Provide comma separated values for multiple IP addresses) [optional] :

Enter proper value for 'Email' [Default value : [email protected]] :

Enter proper value for 'Hostname' (Provide comma separated values for multiple Hostname entries) [Enter valid Fully Qualified Domain Name(FQDN), For Example : example.domain.com] : is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com

Enter proper value for VMCA 'Name' :VMCA
Continue operation : Option[Y/N] ? : y

You are going to reset by regenerating Root Certificate and replace all certificates using VMCA
Continue operation : Option[Y/N] ? : y

Below are the .cfg’s created for the certificate 

root@is-dhcp36-107 [ /var/tmp/vmware ]# ls -ltrh
total 32K
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4.0K Mar 14 00:07 cis-license
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  191 Apr  2 19:24 certool.cfg
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  243 Apr  2 19:24 vsphere-webclient.cfg
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  240 Apr  2 19:24 vpxd-extension.cfg
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  230 Apr  2 19:24 vpxd.cfg
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   87 Apr  2 19:24 root.cfg
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  217 Apr  2 19:24 MACHINE_SSL_CERT.cfg
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  233 Apr  2 19:24 machine.cfg

Workflow (below are the commands that are run in the background) 

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service list --login [email protected] --password *****
1. machine-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6
2. vsphere-webclient-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6
3. vpxd-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6
4. vpxd-extension-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6

Create certificate cfg files for the respective services

  • root.cfg
root@is-dhcp36-107 [ /var/tmp/vmware ]# cat root.cfg
Country = US
Name = VMCA
OrgUnit = VMware Engineering
State = California
#IPAddress =
  • Solution users


root@is-dhcp36-107 [ /var/tmp/vmware ]# cat machine.cfg
Country = US
Name = machine-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6
Organization = VMware
OrgUnit = VMware Engineering
State = California
Locality = Palo Alto
#IPAddress =
Email = [email protected]
Hostname = is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com


root@is-dhcp36-107 [ /var/tmp/vmware ]# cat vsphere-webclient.cfg
Country = US
Name = vsphere-webclient-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6
Organization = VMware
OrgUnit = VMware Engineering
State = California
Locality = Palo Alto
#IPAddress =
Email = [email protected]
Hostname = is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com


root@is-dhcp36-107 [ /var/tmp/vmware ]# cat vpxd.cfg
Country = US
Name = vpxd-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6
Organization = VMware
OrgUnit = VMware Engineering
State = California
Locality = Palo Alto
#IPAddress =
Email = [email protected]
Hostname = is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com



root@is-dhcp36-107 [ /var/tmp/vmware ]# cat vpxd-extension.cfg
Country = US
Name = vpxd-extension-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6
Organization = VMware
OrgUnit = VMware Engineering
State = California
Locality = Palo Alto
#IPAddress =
Email = [email protected]
Hostname = is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com
  • Machine SSL.cfg
root@is-dhcp36-107 [ /var/tmp/vmware ]# cat MACHINE_SSL_CERT.cfg
Country = US
Name = is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com
Organization = VMware
OrgUnit = VMware Engineering
State = California
Locality = Palo Alto
#IPAddress =
Email = [email protected]
Hostname = is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com

Check if a backup store exist.. if not, create one.

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli store list
MACHINE_SSL_CERT
TRUSTED_ROOTS
TRUSTED_ROOT_CRLS
machine
vsphere-webclient
vpxd
vpxd-extension
SMS

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli store create --name BACKUP_STORE
service-control --start vmafdd
service-control --start vmcad
service-control --start vmdird

Export exiting certificate and import them to the backup store

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --output /var/tmp/vmware/old_machine_ssl.crt
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-pnid --server-name localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-machine-id --server-name localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/MACHINE_SSL_CERT_bkp.crt
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getkey --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/MACHINE_SSL_CERT_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp___MACHINE_CERT
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp___MACHINE_CERT --cert /storage/certmanager/rollback/MACHINE_SSL_CERT_bkp.crt --key /storage/certmanager/rollback/MACHINE_SSL_CERT_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getkey --store machine --alias machine --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/machine_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store machine --alias machine --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/machine_bkp.crt
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp_machine
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp_machine --cert /storage/certmanager/rollback/machine_bkp.crt --key /storage/certmanager/rollback/machine_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getkey --store vsphere-webclient --alias vsphere-webclient --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/vsphere-webclient_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store vsphere-webclient --alias vsphere-webclient --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/vsphere-webclient_bkp.crt
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp_vsphere-webclient
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp_vsphere-webclient --cert /storage/certmanager/rollback/vsphere-webclient_bkp.crt --key /storage/certmanager/rollback/vsphere-webclient_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getkey --store vpxd --alias vpxd --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/vpxd_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store vpxd --alias vpxd --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/vpxd_bkp.crt
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp_vpxd
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp_vpxd --cert /storage/certmanager/rollback/vpxd_bkp.crt --key /storage/certmanager/rollback/vpxd_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getkey --store vpxd-extension --alias vpxd-extension --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/vpxd-extension_bkp.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store vpxd-extension --alias vpxd-extension --output /storage/certmanager/rollback/vpxd-extension_bkp.crt
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp_vpxd-extension
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store BACKUP_STORE --alias bkp_vpxd-extension --cert /storage/certmanager/rollback/vpxd-extension_bkp.crt --key /storage/certmanager/rollback/vpxd-extension_bkp.priv

Generate Machine_SSL certificate

/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --getrootca --server localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --selfca --config /var/tmp/vmware/root.cfg --server localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --getrootca --server localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --genkey --privkey=/storage/certmanager/MACHINE_SSL_CERT.priv --pubkey=/storage/certmanager/MACHINE_SSL_CERT.pub --server=localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --server=localhost --gencert --privkey=/storage/certmanager/MACHINE_SSL_CERT.priv --cert=/storage/certmanager/MACHINE_SSL_CERT.crt --config=/var/tmp/vmware/MACHINE_SSL_CERT.cfg
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT --cert /storage/certmanager/MACHINE_SSL_CERT.crt --key /storage/certmanager/MACHINE_SSL_CERT.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store MACHINE_SSL_CERT --alias __MACHINE_CERT

Generate machine certificate

/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --genkey --privkey=/storage/certmanager/machine.priv --pubkey=/storage/certmanager/machine.pub --server=localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --server=localhost --gencert --privkey=/storage/certmanager/machine.priv --cert=/storage/certmanager/machine.crt --config=/var/tmp/vmware/machine.cfg
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-machine-id --server-name localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service list --login [email protected] --password *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service update --cert /storage/certmanager/machine.crt --name machine-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6 --login [email protected] --password *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store machine --alias machine
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store machine --alias machine
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store machine
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store machine --alias machine --cert /storage/certmanager/machine.crt --key /storage/certmanager/machine.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store machine
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store machine --alias machine

Generate web client certificate

/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --genkey --privkey=/storage/certmanager/vsphere-webclient.priv --pubkey=/storage/certmanager/vsphere-webclient.pub --server=localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --server=localhost --gencert --privkey=/storage/certmanager/vsphere-webclient.priv --cert=/storage/certmanager/vsphere-webclient.crt --config=/var/tmp/vmware/vsphere-webclient.cfg
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-machine-id --server-name localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service list --login [email protected] --password *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service update --cert /storage/certmanager/vsphere-webclient.crt --name vsphere-webclient-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6 --login [email protected] --password *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store vsphere-webclient --alias vsphere-webclient
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store vsphere-webclient --alias vsphere-webclient
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store vsphere-webclient
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store vsphere-webclient --alias vsphere-webclient --cert /storage/certmanager/vsphere-webclient.crt --key /storage/certmanager/vsphere-webclient.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store vsphere-webclient
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store vsphere-webclient --alias vsphere-webclient

Generate vpxd certificate

/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --genkey --privkey=/storage/certmanager/vpxd.priv --pubkey=/storage/certmanager/vpxd.pub --server=localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --server=localhost --gencert --privkey=/storage/certmanager/vpxd.priv --cert=/storage/certmanager/vpxd.crt --config=/var/tmp/vmware/vpxd.cfg
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-machine-id --server-name localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service list --login [email protected] --password *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service update --cert /storage/certmanager/vpxd.crt --name vpxd-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6 --login [email protected] --password *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store vpxd --alias vpxd
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store vpxd --alias vpxd
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store vpxd
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store vpxd --alias vpxd --cert /storage/certmanager/vpxd.crt --key /storage/certmanager/vpxd.priv
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store vpxd
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store vpxd --alias vpxd

Generate vpxd-extension certificate

/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --genkey --privkey=/storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.priv --pubkey=/storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.pub --server=localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmca/bin/certool --server=localhost --gencert --privkey=/storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.priv --cert=/storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.crt --config=/var/tmp/vmware/vpxd-extension.cfg
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vmafd-cli get-machine-id --server-name localhost
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service list --login [email protected] --password *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/dir-cli service update --cert /storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.crt --name vpxd-extension-6368669f-591a-44fa-bfb3-a76b166bfed6 --login [email protected] --password *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store vpxd-extension --alias vpxd-extension
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry delete -y --store vpxd-extension --alias vpxd-extension
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store vpxd-extension
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry create --store vpxd-extension --alias vpxd-extension --cert /storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.crt --key /storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.priv

Update EAM and autodeploy with vpxd-extension certificate

/usr/bin/python /usr/lib/vmware-vpx/scripts/updateExtensionCertInVC.py -e com.vmware.vim.eam -s is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com -c /storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.crt -k /storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.priv - [email protected] -p *****
/usr/bin/python /usr/lib/vmware-vpx/scripts/updateExtensionCertInVC.py -e com.vmware.rbd -s is-dhcp36-107.isl.vmware.com -c /storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.crt -k /storage/certmanager/vpxd-extension.priv - [email protected] -p *****
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry list --store vpxd-extension
/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --text --store vpxd-extension --alias vpxd-extension
service-control --stop --ignore  --all
service-control --start  --all

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