Replication configuration fails with error 'same instance UUID already exists on protection site' in VMware Live Recovery"

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

When trying to configure the VM for replication in protected site, getting an error as:

"Operation Failed: Unable to configure replication for virtual machine 'virtual machine' because group 'virtual machine' cannot be created. Another virtual machine 'virtual machine'    that has the same instance UUID '######-####-####-####-############' already exists on protection site '(Protected Site)'.
Operation ID: #######-####-####-####-############"

• The VM trying to configure will be in error state on any one of the site as shown below.The source virtual machine has been deleted or it can not be found .

         Last error : Replication Test-VM on the source site has been force stopped .

Environment

VMware vSphere Replication 8.x
VMware vSphere Replication 9.x

Cause

When a VM is forcibly removed from replication on any site, attempting to configure the same VM for replication again will fail. It is due to the presence of an orphaned replication virtual machine with the same instance UUID, which prevents the creation of a new replication group.

Resolution

Resolution:

1. Verify both the Production (Prod) and Disaster Recovery (DR) replication sites.

               Access the Site Recovery UI and go to the Replications tab.

               Check the 'Incoming' and 'Outgoing' sections to locate the VM. Note: Ensure to check on both sites, not just Incoming' and 'Outgoing' sections on one site.

               If the VM appears in either(Incoming and Outgoing) section, it will be in error state as: "Source virtual machine has been deleted or it cannot be found"

2. Remove the VM from replication:

               Select the VM, click on the 'Remove' option, and enable the 'Force Stop' option to remove it from replication.

3. Then add the VM for replication and it should configure successfully.

Workaround Steps:

If removing the virtual machine replication fails through the vSphere User Interface (UI), or if the vSphere UI is down / completely inaccessible, apply the workaround at the ESXi host level using the Command Line Interface (CLI).

1. Log in to the ESXi host security shell (SSH) as root.

2. Identify the VMID of the affected virtual machine by running:

        vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms

3 . Disable the VM replication by executing the following command

        vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.disable <vmid>

 

Additional Information

How to Locate the UUID of a Virtual Machine