This topic describes how to modify your VMware Tanzu Operations Manager (Ops Manager) installation by decrypting and editing the YAML files that Ops Manager uses to store configuration data.

Operators can use these procedures to view and change values that they cannot access through the Ops Manager web interface. They can also modify the product templates that Ops Manager uses to create forms and obtain user input.

Operators might want to modify the Ops Manager installation and product template files for a number of reasons, including the following:

  • To change the User Account and Authentication (UAA) admin password of their deployment

  • To retrieve key values

  • To migrate content across different Ops Manager releases

Caution: Be careful when making changes to your Ops Manager installation and product template files. Use spaces instead of tabs, and remember that YAML files use whitespace as a delimiter. Finally, VMware does not officially support these procedures, so use them at your own risk.

Understand Installation and Product Template Files

During the installation process, Ops Manager combines information from the installation and product template files to generate the manifests that define your deployment.

  • Installation files: Ops Manager stores user-entered data and automatically generated values for Ops Manager in installation YAML files on the Ops Manager VM. Ops Manager encrypts and stores these files in the directory /var/tempest/workspaces/default. You must decrypt the files to view their contents, edit them as necessary, then re-encrypt them.

  • Product templates: Ops Manager uses product templates to create forms and obtain user input. The job_types and property_blueprint key-value pairs in a product template determine how the jobs and properties sections display in the installation file. Ops Manager stores product templates as YAML files in the directory /var/tempest/workspaces/default/metadata on the Ops Manager VM. These files are not encrypted, so you can edit them without decrypting. User input does not alter these files.

Note: Upgrading Ops Manager might eliminate your changes to the installation and product template files.

Modify the Installation Files

Perform the following steps to locate, decrypt, and edit the Ops Manager installation files installation.yml and actual-installation.yml.

  1. SSH into the Ops Manager VM by following the steps in Log Into the Ops Manager VM with SSH.
  2. On the command line, navigate to the scripts directory:
    $ cd /home/tempest-web/tempest/web/scripts/
    
  3. Run the following command to decrypt the installation YAML file and make a temporary copy of the decrypted file. When prompted for a passphrase, enter the decryption passphrase you created when you launched Ops Manager for the first time:
    $ sudo -u tempest-web SECRET_KEY_BASE="s" ./decrypt /var/tempest/workspaces/default/installation.yml /tmp/installation.yml
    
  4. Open /tmp/installation.yml to view or edit values.
  5. If you plan to make changes, make a backup of the original installation YAML file:
    $ cp /var/tempest/workspaces/default/installation.yml ~/installation-orig.yml
    
  6. If you have made changes to your copy of the installation YAML file, you must encrypt it and overwrite the original with it:
    $ sudo -u tempest-web SECRET_KEY_BASE="s" RAILS_ENV=production /home/tempest-web/tempest/web/scripts/encrypt /tmp/installation.yml /var/tempest/workspaces/default/installation.yml
    
    When prompted, enter a passphrase.
  7. Delete the temporary copy of the decrypted file:
    $ rm /tmp/installation.yml
    
  8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 for /tmp/actual-installation.yml. Each step you see installation.yml, replace with actual-installation.yml. For example, for step 3 you run:
    $ sudo -u tempest-web SECRET_KEY_BASE="s" ./decrypt /var/tempest/workspaces/default/actual-installation.yml /tmp/actual-installation.yml
    
  9. Restart the Ops Manager web interface:
    $ sudo service tempest-web stop && sudo service tempest-web start
    
  10. Navigate to Ops Manager in a browser and enter your decryption passphrase.
  11. Log in to Ops Manager.
  12. Click Review Pending Changes, then Apply Changes.
  13. If Ops Manager cannot load your changes, see the Revert To Your Backup section of this topic to restore your previous settings.

Modify Product Template Files

Perform the following steps to locate and edit your Ops Manager product template files:

  1. SSH into the Ops Manager VM by following the steps in the Log Into the Ops Manager VM with SSH.
  2. On the Ops Manager VM, navigate to the /var/tempest/workspaces/default/metadata directory.
    $ cd /var/tempest/workspaces/default/metadata
    
  3. The /var/tempest/workspaces/default/metadata directory contains the product templates as YAML files. If you plan to make changes, make a backup of the original product template YAML file:
    $ cp /var/tempest/workspace/default/metadata/YOUR-PRODUCT-TEMPLATE.yml ~/YOUR-PRODUCT-TEMPLATE-orig.yml
    
  4. Open and edit the product template YAML file as necessary. For more information about product templates, see Product Template Reference.
  5. Navigate to Ops Manager to see your changes.
  6. If Ops Manager cannot load your changes, see the Revert To Your Backup section of this to restore your previous settings.

Revert to Your Backup

Perform the following steps to revert to your backup of an installation or product template file:

  1. SSH into the Ops Manager VM by following the steps in Log Into the Ops Manager VM with SSH.
  2. Overwrite the modified file with the backup:
    • For the installation file, run the following command:
      $ cp ~/installation-orig.yml /var/tempest/workspaces/default/installation.yml
    • For a product template file, run the following command:
      $ cp ~/YOUR-PRODUCT-TEMPLATE-orig.yml /var/tempest/workspaces/default/metadata/YOUR-PRODUCT-TEMPLATE.yml
  3. Restart the Ops Manager web interface:
    $ sudo service tempest-web stop && sudo service tempest-web start
    
  4. Navigate to Ops Manager in a browser and enter your decryption passphrase.
  5. Log in to Ops Manager.
  6. Click Review Pending Changes, then Apply Changes.
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