vMotion compatibility fails with "The vMotion interface is not configured (or is misconfigured) on the destination host" error.
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vMotion compatibility fails with "The vMotion interface is not configured (or is misconfigured) on the destination host" error.
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Article ID: 301430
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Updated On: 03-07-2025
Products
VMware vCenter Server
Issue/Introduction
When performing a vMotion migration, you see the compatibility error:
Unable to migrate from source_server to destination_server: The vMotion interface is not configured (or is misconfigured) on the destination host 'destination_server'.
Environment
VMware vCenter Server 6.x VMware vCenter Server 7.x
Cause
vMotion is not configured on source or destination ESXi server.
Resolution
This error occurs when a host has not been properly configured for vMotion.
To vMotion between ESXi hosts, a VMkernel port with a unique IP address is required on each of the ESXi host systems. If this port group has not been configured or has been configured with a duplicate or with different subnet IP address, this error occurs.
To workaround this issue, check the configuration of the VMkernel port that is being used for vMotion. To check the configuration of the VMkernel port:
Log in to the vCenter server using web-client / HTML client as an administrator or equivalent credentials:
1. Click the Properties link.
2. Select the ESXi from the inventory.
3. Click the Configuration tab.
4. Click the Networking link and select vmkernel adapters
5. Click the Properties link. For more details, refer: Place vMotion Traffic on the vMotion TCP/IP Stack of an ESXi Host
Select the portgroup noted above. Ensure that it has an appropriate IP address assigned and that vMotion is enabled on the portgroup.
Additionally you can enable vMotion option on management network to test. If you have the proper license applied to your environment, you can perform reliable migrations between hosts that are separated by high network round-trip latency times. The maximum supported network round-trip time for vMotion migrations is 150 milliseconds. This round-trip time lets you migrate virtual machines to another geographical location at a longer distance.