A short article, to update you on an issue I faced while installing vRealize Automation 6.2. During the installation of the IaaS server the following error was thrown:

The error is: “Failed to validate user credentials. User name or password cannot be validated. This implementation is not part of the Windows Platform FIPS validated cryptographic algorithms.”

Although there’s a VMware KB about this error, there’s no resolutation available: “This is a known issue affecting VMware vRealize Automation 5.x. [and also 6.x] Currently, there is no resolution or workaround”. However, I would recommend to check your Windows policies:

Open the local security policy MMC, and navigate to Security Settings->Local Policies-> Security Options. Search for the policy named “System cryptography: Use FIPS compliant for encryption, hashing and signing”, and verify the setting. This policy should be disabled, if it’s enabled you will face the error above.

Some background info on FIPS. FIPS stands for Federal Information Processing Standards are standards developed by the United States federal government for use in computer systems by non-military government agencies and government contractors [source: WikiPedia]. Apparently the issues occurs because vRA uses WCF (Windows Communication Foundation), and WCF is not FIPS compliant. The resolution? Disable the FIPS policy.

Hope this helps!