How to change the hostname of the vCenter appliance, including updating the self-signed SSL certificates…
- Log into the administrative web page for your appliance using your browser of choice.
https://your.vcenter.appliance.ip:5480
.
- Browse to the Network -> Address tab. Update the hostname and click “Save Settings”.
- Browse to the Admin tab. Toggle the “Certificate regeneration enabled” option to “Yes”.
- Browse to the System tab, click the Reboot button.
- Wait. Wait some more. Keep waiting. Ok, connect to the ESXi host directly and open the console. See…it’s still rebooting. (Why do ESXi and the VCA take so long to boot/reboot?)
- Once it’s back, log into the admin interface, browse to the Admin tab and ensure that the “Certificate regeneration enabled” option is set to “No”.
That’s it…simple, but a little time consuming. Any plugins (NetApp Virtual Storage Console, VMware Update Manager, etc.) may need to be re-registered with vCenter to ensure they are working correctly.