To prevent unauthorized access to the vCenter Server Direct Console User Interface, you can change the password of the root user.

The default root password for the vCenter Server instance is the password you enter during deployment.

Important: The password for the root account of vCenter Server expires after 90 days. You can change the expiry time for an account by logging as root to the vCenter Server Bash shell, and running chage -M number_of_days -W warning_until_expiration user_name. To increase the expiration time of the root password to infinity, run the chage -M -1 -E -1 root command.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the Direct Console User Interface.
  2. Select Configure Password and press Enter.
  3. Type the old password of the root user, and press Enter.
  4. Set up the new password and press Enter.
  5. Press Esc until you return to the main menu of the Direct Console User Interface.

Results

You changed the password of the root user of the appliance.