In today’s security conscious IT landscape (with databreaches news everywhere), password rotation is a critical practice for maintaining the integrity and security of your infrastructure. Within VMware by Broadcome’s VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), the SDDC Manager plays an important role in orchestrating and automating this process across the VMware based software defined data center.

Password rotation helps mitigate the risk of credential compromise by ensuring that passwords are changed regularly and are not reused across systems. In environments like VCF, where multiple components such as vCenter, NSX, vSAN, and others are tightly integrated, managing credentials manually can be an error sencitive  and time-consuming task.

Centralized Credential Management with SDDC Manager

The SDDC Manager in VCF simplifies password management by offering a centralized interface to manage and rotate passwords for all integrated components. This includes:

• vCenter Server
• NSX Manager
• ESXi hosts
• SDDC Manager itself
• Aria Suite

With the release of tools like the VMware.CloudFoundation.PasswordManagement PowerShell module, administrators can automate and schedule password rotations, ensuring compliance with internal security policies and industry standards.

Key Features of Password Rotation in SDDC Manager

1. Automated Rotation: SDDC Manager allows you to rotate passwords for individual accounts or groups of accounts across the environment with minimal manual intervention.
2. Policy Enforcement: You can define password complexity, expiration, and reuse policies to align with organizational security requirements.
3. Audit and Reporting: Every password change is logged, providing traceability and compliance reporting.
4. Health Checks: Post-rotation validation ensures that services remain operational and that credentials are updated correctly across all dependent systems.

Rotation Process via UI or API

You can initiate password rotation through:

• SDDC Manager UI: Navigate to Security > Password Management, select the account, and click Rotate Password.
• REST API: Use the /v1/credentials/rotate endpoint to programmatically rotate credentials.
• PowerShell Module: The VMware.CloudFoundation.PasswordManagement module allows scripting and automation of password rotation

Best Practices

• Schedule Regular Rotations: Automate password changes on a quarterly or monthly basis depending on your compliance needs.
• Use Strong Password Policies: Enforce complexity and length requirements to reduce the risk of brute-force attacks.
• Monitor and Audit: Regularly review logs and reports to ensure all rotations are successful and compliant.
• Test After Rotation: Always validate service functionality post-rotation to avoid disruptions.