vMotion fails with the error: The migration was cancelled because the amount of changing memory for the VM was greater than the available network bandwidth, meaning the migration was not making forward progress
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Article ID: 332734
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Updated On:
Products
VMware vSphere ESXi
Issue/Introduction
Symptoms:
Cannot vMotion a virtual machine
Performing a vMotion of a virtual machine fails
You see the error:
"The migration was cancelled because the amount of changing memory for the VM was greater than the available network bandwidth, meaning the migration was not making forward progress. Please attempt the migration again when the VM is not as busy or more network bandwidth is available."
Environment
VMware vSphere vCenter
vSphere ESXi
Cause
This issue occurs when the amount of changing memory for the virtual machine is greater than the available network bandwidth.
Note: Changing memory refers to the amount of memory that has changed since the initial copy. In busy workloads, memory contents may change faster than they can be transferred over the network.
Resolution
To resolve this issue:
Verify network connectivity between the source and destination hosts:
Check network status on both hosts
Verify there are no network errors in the logs
Check the VMkernel port configuration for vMotion on both hosts:
Log in to the vSphere Client
Select the host in the inventory
Go to the Configure tab
Under Networking, select VMkernel adapters
Verify the VMkernel adapter used for vMotion is properly configured and enabled
Examine the network switches and physical connections:
Ensure all physical network connections are secure
Check for errors or port issues on physical switches
Review firewall settings:
Verify required ports for vMotion are open between hosts
Consult vSphere Security documentation for required ports
Analyze network performance:
Use network monitoring tools to check for congestion or packet loss
Consider temporarily increasing network bandwidth allocated to vMotion
Check for driver and firmware compatibility:
Review the VMware Compatibility Guide for network adapters
Update network adapter drivers and firmware if necessary
Retry the vMotion operation when:
The virtual machine is less busy (lower memory change rate)
More network bandwidth is available
Consider network design factors:
When vMotion network shares a physical NIC with another busy portgroup, vMotion may be unable to utilize the full bandwidth
Review the values of Traffic Shaping on the vMotion port group for accuracy
For VMs with large memory configurations, consider using higher bandwidth NICs (10Gb or higher)
If the issue persists after trying the above steps:
Generate a support bundle from both source and destination hosts