brain-dump/sysadmin/vmware/vcenter-ssh-too-many-logins.md

vCenter SSH - Too Many Login Attempts Troubleshooting

ssh root@vcenter

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5.0.31100

Type: vCenter Server with an embedded Platform Services Controller

Received disconnect from vcenter port 22:2: Too many authentication failures Authentication failed.

I had this occur despite ensuring NTP was synced and even restarted vCenter incase I hit some sort of limit - even after vCenter came back up (and SSH was enabled) this error still plagued me.

Enabling SSH in vCenter

Enable SSH in the vCenter Appliance Manager (this is not the normal vCenter dashboard); typically https://vcenter.example.com:5480 - login using root and not your Active Directory user.

• Access > SSH Login and Bash Shell both need to be Enabled

Actual Problem

Working from home, using a VPN to access the network.

• My VPN is 10.x.x.x
• vCenter is on 172.x.x.x

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Interestingly, this only occurs on vCenter; ESXI hosts can be accessed directly.

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Solution

Login using a remote server on the same subnet (not my home machine).

This is not something controlled at the firewall level, but within vCenter (else you wouldn't see that terminal banner before you get kicked.)

ssh root@vcenter

When you're done using the bash shell and SSH, be sure to turn them off.