Resetting the serveradmin password

The serveradmin account is a system user account that is a preconfigured on IBM Spectrum® Protect Plus and vSnap server. It is used to manage both of the virtual appliances. If you forget the serveradmin password, you must use the root account to reset the password. Because the password for the root account is not provided for deployments of IBM Spectrum Protect Plus or vSnap server, you must reset the root password and then reset the serveradmin through the virtual console.

About this task

Changing the root password will require that the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance be rebooted.

For IBM Spectrum Protect Plus, the preferred method is to avoid using the root account and instead use the serveradmin account for administration purposes.

Important: Pick a strong password that is a minimum of 15 characters in length and must contain at least one character from each of the classes (numbers, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and other).

Procedure

Prepare to restart the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance by pausing all scheduled jobs. Then, wait for any running jobs to be completed.

Important: By ensuring that no jobs are running when you shut down the virtual appliance, you help to prevent possible issues.
Log in to the vSphere Client.
Restart the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance from the Actions menu by selecting Restart Guest OS.
Launch the web console. During the restart, the boot loader will appear. There will be at least two CentOS versions displayed.
Select the first CentOS version from the list and press the e key.
Locate the line that begins with linux16 /vmlinuz. In that line, locate ro.
Replace ro with the following string:
```
rw init=/sysroot/bin/sh
```
Press Ctrl + X to start in single user mode. A prompt appears.
Enter the chroot command:
```
:/# chroot /sysroot
```
Initiate the password change for the root account:
```
:/# passwd root
```
Enter the new password for the root account. You will be prompted to enter the password a second time.
Update the Security-Enhanced Linux parameters:
```
:/# touch /.autorelabel
```
Exit the current context with the exit command:
```
:/# exit
```
Restart the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance:
```
:/# reboot
```
Using secure shell (SSH) or the console, log in to the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance with the username root and the password that was created in a previous step.
Change the serveradmin password with the passwd command at the prompt:
```
:/# passwd serveradmin
```
Enter the new password for the serveradmin account. You will be prompted to enter the password a second time.
Close the SSH session to the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance.
Log in to IBM Spectrum Protect Plus using the serveradmin account with the newly created password to verify that the new password is set.

Results

The root and serveradmin account passwords for the IBM Spectrum Protect Plus virtual appliance will be reset to the specified password.