Remove certificates with weak signature algorithms in vCenter Server

During the vCenter Server 8.0 upgrade, I was faced with the following Pre-upgrade check error and wasn’t able to continue the upgrade. As of vCenter Server 8.0, certificates with SHA-1 signature algorithms are no longer supported and must be removed or replaced with a certificate that uses SHA-2 signature algorithm. In this post, I’ll show…

Continue Reading

Replace Default vCenter Certificate with a Free Let’s Encrypt SSL

On September 30, 2021, the DST Root CA X3 used to sign Let’s Encrypt’s R3 Intermediate CA Expired; therefore, some of the previous guides I’ve written and many that you will find online are no longer valid. This guide steps you through the process to install a Free Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificate for vCenter that…

Continue Reading

Launch vCenter VCSA UI/CLI Installer on MacOS

MacOS from Catalina onwards, a security change prevents non notarized apps from running. To get around this, you need to exclude the VCSA Installer from the MacOS Security Gatekeeper by removing the metadata quarantine attribute “com.apple.quarantine” for the VCSA ISO. Before mounting the ISO, open Terminal and run the following command Now you may mount…

Continue Reading

Invalid vCenter Cert using macOS Catalina and Chrome

I had redeployed my home lab vCenter appliance, and upon attempting to access the vCenter UI, I was denied access and encountered the following error “NET::ERR_CERT_INVALID“ Details in the Error vc.virtuallywired.io normally uses encryption to protect your information. When Google Chrome tried to connect to vc.virtuallywired.io this time, the website sent back unusual and incorrect…

Continue Reading

Install Free SSL Certificate for vSphere 7 Home Lab

Last year I wrote the follow guide Install Free Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificate for your vCenter 6.7 Lab. The certificate was issued by Let’s Encrypt via a project called ZeroSSL. Recently ZeroSSL stopped using Let’s Encrypt, and started issuing the certificates themselves, therefore the process to generate the certificate outlined in that guide is no…

Continue Reading

Install Free Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificate for your vCenter 6.7 Lab

In this post, I’ll show you how to install a valid SSL certificate for your vCenter server for FREE!. For this I’ll use a free, open-source web-based tool by ZeroSSL to generate a Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate quickly and easily. Let’s Encrypt is a free open certificate authority brought to you by the non-profit Internet…

Continue Reading