When I setup a vCenter server I typically use a DNS alias (CNAME). This allows me to use a server name that follows an enterprise naming convention, such as S898PAP1B.domain.parent.local, but connect to vCenter with an easy to remember name like vcenter.parent.local.
There are various articles that cover the SSL installation and regeneration process.
However, these never really worked well with my alias. When installing Update Manager a dialog box pops up asking you to select either the name or IP address of how the Update Manager server is identified on the network. This name or IP is then used when Update Manager extensions are registered in the vCenter server.
I’ve tried everything I could think of to resolve this issue. I’ve manually edited the D:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Update Manager\extension.xml file and even updated the vmw-vc-URL attribute of the ADAM distinguishedName CN=com.vmware.vcIntegrity,CN=vCenter_GUID,OU=ComponentSpecs, OU=Health,DC=virtualcenter,DC=vmware,DC=int. None of these changes appeared to work.
Finally, after much searching, I found the following VMware KB article: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1013222 that does work!
D: cd "Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Update Manager" vciInstallUtils.exe --vc vcenter.parent.local --port 80 -U-P -S extension.xml -C . -L . -O extupdate
Now my vCenter Update Manager is now registered in vCenter using the alias.