How to recover the only administrator account for Cisco UCS Manager

Posted on Oct 29, 2015 Updated on Oct 29, 2015

Recovering the only administrator account for Cisco UCS Manager:

If we lost/forgot the password of the only administrator account, you cannot retrieve the original password. However you have the option to recover it by changing the password for which you need to to power cycle all fabric interconnects (FI) in a Cisco UCS domain.

You can reset the password for all other local accounts through Cisco UCS Manager. However, you must log in to Cisco UCS Manager with an account that includes aaa or admin privileges. If you do not have access to a admin account then read below:

I am going to tell you in steps how to do that:

Prerequisite 1: Determining the Leadership Role of a Fabric Interconnect

1. In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
2. In the Equipment tab, expand Equipment > Fabric Interconnects.
3. Click the fabric interconnect for which you want to identify the role.
4. In the Work pane, click the General tab.
5. In the General tab, click the down arrows on the High Availability Details bar to expand that area.
6. View the Leadership field to determine whether the fabric interconnect is the primary or subordinate.

Prerequisite 2: Verifying the Firmware Versions on a Fabric Interconnect

You can use the following procedure to verify the firmware versions on all fabric interconnects in a Cisco UCS domain. You can verify the firmware for a single fabric interconnect through the Installed Firmware tab for that fabric interconnect.

1. In the Navigation pane, click the Equipment tab.
2. In the Equipment tab, click the Equipment node.
3. In the Work pane, click the Firmware Management tab.
4. In the Installed Firmware tab, verify that the following firmware versions for each fabric interconnect match the version to which you updated the firmware:

Kernel version

System version

Scenario 1: Recovering the Admin Account Password in a Standalone Configuration

This procedure will help you to recover the password that you set for the admin account when you performed an initial system setup on the fabric interconnect. The admin account is the system administrator or superuser account.

Before You Begin:

1. Physically connect the console port on the fabric interconnect to a computer terminal or console server
2. Determine the running versions of the following firmware:

The firmware kernel version on the fabric interconnect

The firmware system version

1. Connect to the console port.
2. Power cycle the fabric interconnect:

Turn off the power to the fabric interconnect.

Turn on the power to the fabric interconnect.

3. In the console, press one of the following key combinations as it boots to get the loader prompt:

Ctrl+l

Ctrl+Shift+r

You may need to press the selected key combination multiple times before your screen displays the loader prompt.

4. Boot the kernel firmware version on the fabric interconnect.

loader >

boot /installables/switch/

kernel_firmware_version

 

Example:

loader >

boot /installables/switch/ucs-6100-k9-kickstart.4.1.3.N2.1.0.11.gbin

5. Enter config terminal mode.

Fabric(boot)#

config terminal

6. Reset the admin password.

Fabric(boot)(config)#

admin-password

password

Choose a strong password that includes at least one capital letter and one number. The password cannot be blank. The new password displays in clear text mode.

7. Exit config terminal mode and return to the boot prompt.
8. Boot the system firmware version on the fabric interconnect.

Fabric(boot)#

load /installables/switch/

system_firmware_version

Example:

Fabric(boot)#

load /installables/switch/ucs-6100-k9-system.4.1.3.N2.1.0.211.bin

9. After the system image loads, log in to Cisco UCS Manager.

Scenario 2: Recovering the Admin Account Password in a Cluster Configuration

This procedure will help you to recover the password that you set for the admin account when you performed an initial system setup on the fabric interconnects. The admin account is the system administrator or superuser account.

Before You Begin

1. Physically connect a console port on one of the fabric interconnects to a computer terminal or console server.
2. Obtain the following information:

The firmware kernel version on the fabric interconnect

The firmware system version

Which fabric interconnect has the primary leadership role and which is the subordinate

1. Connect to the console port.
2. For the subordinate fabric interconnect.
3. Turn off the power to the fabric interconnect.
4. Turn on the power to the fabric interconnect.
5. In the console, press one of the following key combinations as it boots to get the loader prompt:

Ctrl+l

Ctrl+Shift+r

You may need to press the selected key combination multiple times before your screen displays the loader prompt.

3. Power cycle the primary fabric interconnect:
4. Turn off the power to the fabric interconnect.
5. Turn on the power to the fabric interconnect.
6. In the console, press one of the following key combinations as it boots to get the loader prompt:

Ctrl+l

Ctrl+Shift+r

You may need to press the selected key combination multiple times before your screen displays the loader prompt.

5. Boot the kernel firmware version on the primary fabric interconnect.

loader > boot /installables/switch/

kernel_firmware_version

Example:

loader > boot /installables/switch/ucs-6100-k9-kickstart.4.1.3.N2.1.0.11.gbin

6. Enter config terminal mode.

Fabric(boot)# config terminal

7. Reset the admin password.

Fabric(boot)(config)# admin-password password

Choose a strong password that includes at least one capital letter and one number. The password cannot be blank. The new password displays in clear text mode.

8. Exit config terminal mode and return to the boot prompt.
9. Boot the system firmware version on the primary fabric interconnect.

Fabric(boot)# load /installables/switch/

system_firmware_version

Example:

Fabric(boot)# load /installables/switch/ucs-6100-k9-system.4.1.3.N2.1.0.211.bin

10. After the system image loads, log in to Cisco UCS Manager.
11. In the console for the subordinate fabric interconnect, do the following to bring it up:
12. Boot the kernel firmware version on the subordinate fabric interconnect.

loader > boot /installables/switch/

kernel_firmware_version

1. Boot the system firmware version on the subordinate fabric interconnect.

Fabric(boot)# load /installables/switch/

system_firmware_version