If you are managing VMware environment, you have likely run into issues with SSL/TLS certificates in vCenter or ESXi, maybe a warning in the browser or a service that stops working unexpectedly.
vCenter Certificate Management is essential for security and compliance, but the manual process can be frustrating.
This is where the vCert tool developed by Broadcom will help you. It automates and streamline certificate management for VMware vSphere environments.
In this blog, we will understand how to use the vCert CLI tool to request, install, and renew SSL certificates in vCenter easily.
Understanding vCenter Certificate Management
vCenter Certificate Management is the process of managing the TLS/SSL certificates used by VMware vCenter, typically vSphere 7 or 8 and deployments under VMware Cloud Foundation.
These certificates secure the web interface, APIs, and internal services. They ensure encrypted communication and authentication within your vSphere environment.
The certificates include Machine SSL certificates, solution user certificates, ESXi host certificates, and the root CA certificate.
Why It’s Important in terms of Security & Reliability
Security: Certificates help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks and protect credentials. A missing or expired certificate can block access to vCenter and related services.
Reliability: Expired certificates can disrupt integrations, such as vRealize, backups, and SRM. Keeping them up to date ensures smooth operations.
Latest Enhancements
- Automatic Renewal in VCF 9
VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 now includes automatic certificate renewal, eliminating the manual effort of rotating certificates for vCenter, NSX Manager, ESXi hosts, etc. - Non‑Disruptive Replacement
Starting with vSphere 8.0 Update 2, certificate renewals no longer require vCenter service restarts when done via the GUI. - GUI & Diagnostic Console Tools
The vCenter Diagnostics Console now consolidates all certificate expiry data (for machine SSL, root CA, solution certs) in one UI, simplifying visibility and action.
Work flow of vCenter Certificate Management
Why vCenter Certificate Management is require?
Certificates in VMware environments serves Encryption to protects sensitive traffic between vCenter, ESXi, and clients, Authentication to ensures secure connections only to trusted servers and Trust to prevents browser or client-side certificate errors. If certificates get expire or somehow using untrusted ones can lead to service disruptions and security vulnerabilities.
What is vCert Tool?
vCert developed by Broadcom, it is a Command Line (CLI) tool for vCenter Server SSL certificate administration and it supports replacement of expired certificates, trust anchor verification, and remediation of manual configuration errors. Optimizes time by reducing troubleshooting and scripting requirements.
Following are the key Benefits of vCert:
- Automated certificate lifecycle
- Easy integration with VMware and DevOps workflows
- Reduces manual errors
- Supports both Windows and Linux systems
Key Features of vCert tool
- It Keeps Your Certificates Healthy
- Checks the health of your environment’s certificates
- Quickly spot any expired or soon-to-expire certificates
- Detect missing SAN entries or weak/unsupported algorithms
- Identify mismatched thumbprints in your vCenter extensions
Dive Into Certificate Details
- Machine SSL and Solution User certificates
- STS (Security Token Service) signing certificates
- Trusted Certificate Authorities (CA) in VECS and VMware Directory
Replace and Manage Certificates easily
- With vCert, you can generate Certificate Signing Requests (CSRs)
- Import signed certificates and private keys
- Replace Machine SSL or Solution User certificates in a few clicks
- Use VMCA as your internal CA to reset certificates
Fixes Trust Anchor Issues
- It can detect and fix trust anchor problems in Lookup Service registrations
- Push updated root or intermediate certificates to the trust stores
Validates Configuration
- Confirm the integrity of your VECS (VMware Endpoint Certificate Store)
- Verify STS token signing configurations
- Spot any SSL interception issues caused by proxies or other network layers
ESXi Host Certificate Management
- Extend your certificate checks to the ESXi layer:
- Validate trust between ESXi hosts and vCenter
- Push new certs or replace existing ones on your ESXi hosts
Restart Services Seamlessly
- Making changes to certificates often requires service restarts.
- With vCert, can restart all or selected vCenter services directly from the tool
- Ensures that your changes take effect with minimal efforts
Generates detailed Reports
- It can create a full inventory report of your certificates to help archive your environment’s certificate state for documentation or compliance purposes
How vCert managing vCenter Certificates?
How to install and use vCert
1. This tool and detailed instructions can be found in Broadcom official article.
unzip vCert.zip
cd vCert
./vCert.py
4. Perform required tasks like ; Check Current Certificate Status by selecting option 1 and provide “vsphere.local” credentials to see overall status.
Important Points Before Replacing Certificates:
- Take a snapshot of your vCenter before making any certificate changes.
- If you’re using Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM), take snapshots of all vCenters and PSCs at the same time.
- If you have vCenter High Availability (VCHA) enabled, break the cluster before updating the certificates.
- After replacing certs, manually restart vCenter services if vCert doesn’t do it for you.
Simple and good explanations