Unable to connect to VM Console when using VCSA 5.5

Was playing around with my lab today when I noticed that I could’nt launch a VM console from the vSphere Web Client. I tried a few browsers but all of them gives an error about not being able to connect to vCenter Appliance through port 7331. I tested telnet to my vCenter Appliance and surely it gives me connection refused error.

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A quick google search and found out that this is a known issue with VCSA 5.5. I used this KB to resolve the issue: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2060604. Worked like a charm after applying it.

vCenter Server Appliance 5.5 root account Password Expiration alert!

Saw a couple of tweets circulating around this issue and would like to extend it to others.  For those who are using vCenter Server Appliance, there is a default password expiration which is set at 90 days. This is enforced to all local accounts including root. If you have deployed vCSA 5.5, you are likely to hit the expiry soon or have already hit the expiry. I quickly checked my vCSA and guess what, I can’t login anymore.

A KB article has been released to address this issue. Link is here

The KB article is straightforward and easy to follow and I was able to reset my root password without issues. The Admin tab of the vCSA GUI allows you to change the expiration or disable expiration at all.