Errors "No Connection to VR Server: Not Responding" and "System has paused replication: Disk added to VM" in vSphere 5.x and later

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to resolve the issue when virtual machines reports the errors even when they are not configured for replication using vSphere replication.

Symptoms:
Virtual Machines shows the messages even when they are not configured for replication using vSphere replication:

• No Connection to VR Server: Not Responding
• System has paused replication: Disk added to VM

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Cause

This issue occurs because an entry in the virtual machine might still persist and hence assumes that it is still configured for replication.

Resolution

To resolve the issue:

1. Enable SSH on the host where the virtual machine is running.
   
   
   1. Using the VMware vSphere client, open the Configuration tab on the host.
   2. Click Properties in the Services section.
   3. Click SSH > Options.
   4. Click Start.
      
      
2. SSH to the host using an SSH client like Putty.
3. To get all the VMids, run the command:
   
   vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms
   
   
4. Find the VMid of the VM with the configuration issue. Make a note of the VMid. For example, consider the VMid is 55.
5. To get the replication state of the Virtual Machine, run the command:
   
   vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.getState 55
   
   
6. To disable VMware replication on the virtual machine, run the command:
   
   vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.disable 55
   
   
   The output looks similar to:
   
   [root@VMhost:~] vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.disable 55
   Disable VM Replication:
   
   
   
7. To verify, run the getState command again:
   
   The output looks similar to:
   
   [root@VMhost:~] vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.getState 55
   Retrieve VM running replication state:
   (vim.fault.ReplicationVmFault) {
   faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null,
   reason = “notConfigured”,
   state = <unset>,
   instanceId = <unset>,
   vm = ‘vim.VirtualMachine:55’,
   msg = “Received SOAP response fault from [<cs p:1fwaf548, TCP:localhost:80>]: getGroupState
   vSphere Replication operation error: Virtual machine is not configured for replication.”
   }
   [root@VMhost:~]

Additional Information

This issue can also be resolved after removing the Virtual Machine from inventory and adding it back.