vSphere 5.1 – Unable To Deploy VM From Template

Problem Statement

After upgrading to vSphere 5.1 you experience the following error ‘the public key in specification does not match the vCenter public key.  You have to reenter the password in order to proceed’ when trying to deploy new virtual machines from templates.

Issue

The administrators password used to create the virtual machine was encrypted using a different Certificate Authority to the one installed on vCenter.  This means that the password is no longer trusted.

Resolution

In vCenter go to Home > Customization Specification Manager

Edit Specification > 5 Administrator Password > Re Enter Credentials > Save

If your Customization Specification is domain joined you will need to enter your credentials again under 9 Workgroup or Domain

You will now be able to deploy your VM from the template in question.