When it comes to passwords, I am the worst. I can not remember a single password I have. Worse, I struggle to type it correctly. In some way, this is an advantage as I have to reset all my passwords frequently. While you, reader, may think that this does not apply to you, I am confident I am not alone in my struggle. Incidentally, I have seen a few cases dedicated to being unable to log in to Prism with admin credentials or to a CVM as nutanix. Below is a very generic approach on how to handle the issue.

First of all, I feel compelled to remind you that there is a lock out timeout for consecutive failed authentications. By default, the timeout is 15 minutes, but you can unlock the account from a CVM when logged as nutanix.

In some cases, a password is simply unknown for whatever reason. Again, if you know nutanix user credentials, you can log in to CVM and change the password.

What if you are certain that the password is correct and, maybe, even unlocked it already but the Prism still does not accept it and reports on the account being locked? Are there any other systems that use the same account for authentication? We all know we should use service domain account to authenticate our monitoring systems and third-party products to integrate. Realistically, there is always this situation where break the rules. It is good if you can remember which system uses what account. There is a way to confirm. Log in to CVM as nutanix and inspect home/nutanix/data/logs/prism_gateway.log file. It will have repetitive login attempts if there are any accompanied by the source IP of the event. Find out what or who that is. Most often it would either be another system admin or a system unaware of a password reset.

Finally, if you are positive that the credentials you are using are correct and all of the above does not apply to you it may not be your fault after all. Turn to Nutanix Support for help.

Share your troubleshooting tips with the community below. Help each other and stay secure;)

How to reset password from the CVM.  KB-2233 Recover CVM's nutanix user Password Through the Prism Web Console explains the process of recovering nutanix password using admin account. You can perform the reverse and reset admin password using nutanix account. The article describes and additonal, more complex but useful in some instances method of access recovery.

How to unlock the account: KB-8130 Prism Admin Account Locked With "Account locked due to too many failed attempts."