The vMotion failed because the destination host did not receive data from the source host on the vMotion network.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

vMotion task fails with the following message:

The vMotion failed because the destination host did not receive data from the source host on the vMotion network. Please check the vMotion network setting and physical network configuration and ensure they are correct. "[########################]" Network unreachable. vMotion migration.
The ESX hosts failed to connect over the VMotion network. The vMotion migrations failed because the ESX hosts were not able to connect over the vMotion network. Check the vMotion network settings and physical network configuration.
[YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM] vMotion migration [########################]  failed to read stream keepalive: Connection closed by remote host, possibly due to timeout.

Cause

vMotion failures can arise due to various inconsistencies or connectivity issues in the virtual or physical network between the source and destination ESXi hosts.

Resolution

•  To troubleshoot the problem, it's essential to validate the network connectivity between the hosts:

  • Check the IP connectivity over vMotion kernel interface between source and destination ESXi hosts to make sure if they are reachable with expected MTU: 

   vmkping -I vmkX #.#.#.# -d -s XXXX

-I is to specify the VMkernel interface used for vMotion on the source ESXi host.
vmkX is the vmkernel adapter for vMotion on the source ESXi host.
#.#.#.# is the destination host's vMotion vmkernel adapter IP address.
-d ensures the packets are not fragmented during the vmkping operation.
-s is to specify the packet size of the ping packets; ensure the size used matches the MTU size configured on the source and destination hosts' vmkernel adapters (1472 for 1500 MTU, 8972 for 9000 MTU).

  • • For example, to test with 1500 MTU, run the command:
      • vmkping -I vmkx #.#.#.# -d -s 1472
  • • Alternatively, run the command below to test 9000 MTU:
      • vmkping -I vmkx #.#.#.# -d -s 8972
    • If the vMotion VMkernel adapter is configured on the vMotion TCP/IP stack, run the below command to clarify the correct netstack:
      • vmkping -I vmkX #.#.#.# -d -s 1472 -S vmotion 
  • Check for potential issues with connectivity of vmotion network over port TCP 8000.
    

    nc -zv <IP of destination host vMotion vmkernel adapter> 8000

  • If there is a VLAN in place and used for vMotion, ensure that this VLAN is inbound on the NIC(s)/vmnics that are used for vMotion. 

• • • This can be verified by using the below through ESXi host cli: 
    • #pktcap-uw --uplink vmnicX --dir 0 --vlan X -c 4 
    • If packets are not seen inbound on the uplink, the vmnic needs to be checked physically for correct VLAN tagging. 

           

Additional Information

For more information on vMotion and troubleshooting vMotion issues, see Understanding and troubleshooting vMotion (321009)