As a datacenter consultant, I recently encountered certificate issues with NetApp E-Series systems. Today, I’ll share a practical solution that saved me during a recent troubleshooting session.
The Certificate Challenge
When managing E-Series storage systems through SANtricity, you might encounter these frustrating error messages:
- “Unable to find valid certification path for certificate (Web Server 422)”
- “The controller could not be contacted”
- Certificate status showing as “unknown” for the partner controller
The Quick Fix
The fastest way to resolve these issues is to reset the certificates using the REST API. Here’s how:
# Reset certificates on both controllers
curl -k -u admin -H "Accept: application/json" -X POST "https://node1.domain.com:8443/devmgr/v2/certificates/reset"
curl -k -u admin -H "Accept: application/json" -X POST "https://node2.domain.com:8443/devmgr/v2/certificates/reset"
This command generates new self-signed certificates for both controllers[1]. The -k flag tells curl to proceed despite certificate warnings.
What’s Happening Behind the Scenes?
When you reset the certificates, SANtricity automatically:
- Generates new self-signed certificates for both controllers
- Restarts the web services
- Establishes fresh trust between controllers
Best Practices
While this quick fix works great for testing and development, for production environments you should:
- Generate proper Certificate Signing Requests (CSRs)
- Get them signed by your Certificate Authority
- Import the signed certificates back into SANtricity
Pro Tips
- Always verify your system time is correct before troubleshooting certificate issues
- Keep track of certificate expiration dates
- Consider implementing automated certificate management for your E-Series systems
- Document the procedure for your team
Remember, while self-signed certificates are convenient for testing, they’re not recommended for production environments. Always follow your organization’s security policies regarding certificate management.
Happy storage managing! 🚀
Dive Virtual 
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