This section discusses ways to recover passwords for different user types.

Reset a Known Password

Locally authenticated users can change their own password by logging in, clicking their user name in the top-right corner of the GUI, and then clicking the My Account selection from the menu. When the user account editor appears, the user enters the old password followed by the new.

Note:

An administrator can change passwords of other users through the User account page, but can change their own password only through their account page.

Local User Password Recovery

If a locally-authenticated user forgets their password, the following two options are available.

  • User-initiated

If SMTP email has been configured for NSX Advanced Load Balancer, locally authenticated users can make a reset-password request through the GUI. In the NSX Advanced Load Balancer UI, the Forgot Your Password? link is available below the Password field. Clicking the link brings up a window which prompts for the email addressof the user. If the provided email address has been configured through the Administration > Account > User page, an email containing a link to reset the password is sent to the email id. If SMTP has not been configured, the Forgot your password? link does not appear.

Note:

The user account must have a valid email configured for the account, and NSX Advanced Load Balancer must have access to an SMTP server.

  • Admin-initiated

Any administrator or user who has write privileges to user objects can change the password for a local user. From the admin account, navigate to Administration > Account > User and edit the account to be reset. Input a new password or select the Generate button to create a random password for the user.

Note:

Though the password is reset on saving, the administrator must still copy and manually send this new password to the user.

Remote User Password Recovery

Password recovery for users who are remotely authenticated through LDAP or TACACS must be performed with the remote auth server.  With remote authentication, the NSX Advanced Load Balancer does not maintain user passwords and does not participate in the password recovery process.

Admin User Password Recovery

The procedure to reset the administrator password is the same as that of any locally-authenticated user.