08/21/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/21/2024 15:50
Certificate management is crucial for security against "man in the middle" cyber attacks. When a certificate expires, servers and applications can become unresponsive, which may take time to bring them back online. Managing various certificates (vSphere, Aria, VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF), and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)) can be challenging due to different types and expiration dates. Missing deadlines can lead to outages, and managing up to four certificates on applications like vCenter can be even more complicated. VVF and VCF 5.2 provide a solution to this challenge. The new Diagnostic Console features a section that consolidates all essential certificate information, saving time and effort. This allows customers to quickly access valuable information and take necessary actions.
Here is an example of how to identify a vCenter 8 certificate.
Figure 1. Click on "lock" icon next to vCenter server name
Figure 2. Select "Show Certificate"
Figure 3. Review Expires Date
To request a CA certificate (like the one shown above), customers have to do the following:
When dealing with Self Signed certificate, here are the steps for vCenter 8:
To view the status from the Home dashboard, customers can access the Certificate Management on middle right corner. When selecting "VIEW CERTIFICATES", customers can see more details.
Figure 4. Home dashboard
From the Diagnostics Console, customers can also see Certificate Management on the right top corner. When selecting "VIEW DETAILS", customers can see the same details.
Figure 5. Diagnostics dashboard (Certificates panel is to the right)
Key sections include:
Figure 6. Certificates dashboard
Here are some common use cases:
In order to fix a specific certificate, click on the three dots and then select "Update". This will redirect you to the web portal of the specific application.
Figure 7. Update option
This consolidated view of certificate management has never been available before. Integrating Certificate Management into the VVF and VCF Operations Diagnostic Console will offer improved visibility for managing certificates, ensuring stability, and reducing unnecessary downtime. For Self Signed certificates, customers can swiftly address certificate concerns. For "CA" certificates, administrators can prepare for new certificates before they expire. It is empowering to have this knowledge in advance.
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