Cross vCenter vMotion Fails with "Unexpected or Unknown Type" Error

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Cross vCenter vMotion operations fail with the error message "The request refers to an unexpected or unknown type." This prevents virtual machine migrations between different vCenter Server instances.

• Cross vCenter vMotion operations fail immediately.
• Error message states: "The request refers to an unexpected or unknown type".
• Issue occurs consistently when Storage DRS is enabled.
• No corresponding job entries appear in the destination ESXi host's vpxa.log

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.x

VMware vSphere ESXi

 

Cause

The issue occurs due to an incompatibility between Storage DRS and cross vCenter vMotion operations. When Storage DRS is enabled, the vMotion process encounters an object type mismatch, resulting in an InvalidType exception.

Resolution

To resolve this issue:

1. Open the vSphere Client and navigate to the virtual machine you want to migrate
2. Right-click the virtual machine and select Migrate
3. In the vMotion wizard:
   a. Select your migration type and destination
   b. When you reach the storage selection step, locate the "Advanced" options
   c. Check the box labeled "Disable Storage DRS for this virtual machine"
4. Complete the remaining steps in the migration wizard
5. Verify the migration completes successfully

Additional Information

- This is a temporary workaround until a permanent fix is available
- The workaround needs to be applied individually for each migration
- Monitor successful completion of migrations even with the workaround applied