Manual vMotion fails with "the destination network has a different ENS mode than the source network" during network selection

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• When trying to initiate a manual vMotion, a compatibility issue is reported in the network selection tab
• In the wizard you see the following message:

  The destination network has a different ENS mode than the source network. Set config.vpxd.network.allowVmotionBetweenENSModes in the advanced settings of vCenter Server to true to unblock such vMotion.

• when reviewing /var/log/vmware/vpxd/vpxd-<number>.log, you find entries similar to:

  <timestamp> info vpxd[07880] [Originator@6876 sub=VmCheck opID=########-########-auto-#####-h5:########-9a] CompatCheck results: (vim.vm.check.Result) [
  -->      (vim.vm.check.Result) {
  -->          vm = 'vim.VirtualMachine:########-####-####-####-############:vm-###',
  -->          host = 'vim.HostSystem:########-####-####-####-############:host-###',
  -->          warning = (vmodl.MethodFault) [
  -->               (vim.fault.GenericVmConfigFault) {
  -->                   faultMessage = (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) [
  -->                        (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) {
  -->                            key = "com.vmware.net.feature.cap.supportVmotionFromOpaqueNetwork",
  -->                        }
  -->                   ],
  -->                   reason = "",
  -->                   msg = ""
  -->               }
  -->          ],
  -->          error = (vmodl.MethodFault) [
  -->               (vim.fault.CannotUseNetwork) {
  -->                   device = "Network adapter 2",
  -->                   backing = "vSphere vMotion-########-####-####-####-############ (<DVS_port_group>)",
  -->                   connected = false,
  -->                   reason = "MismatchedEnsMode",
  -->                   network = 'vim.dvs.DistributedVirtualPortgroup:########-####-####-####-############:dvportgroup-1207',
  -->                   msg = "",
  -->               }
  -->          ]
  -->      },
  -->      (vim.vm.check.Result) {
  -->          vm = 'vim.VirtualMachine:########-####-####-####-############:vm-###',
  -->          host = 'vim.HostSystem:########-####-####-####-############:host-###',
  -->          warning = (vmodl.MethodFault) [

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0.x

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.x

 

Cause

This issue occurs when the ENS mode between the source host and target host are different.

Resolution

To solve this problem, ensure that both source- and destination hosts have the same ENS mode enabled.

As a workaround:

• Log in to the vCenter Server using the vSphere Web Client.
• Navigate to vCenter Server > Configure > Advanced Settings > Edit Settings.
• Set the advanced option config.vpxd.network.allowVmotionBetweenENSModes to the value "true"

Additional Information

You can see ENS mode setting by the following procedure. 

1. NSX Manager Login.
2. System
    -> Fabric
        -> Hosts
            -> "Transport Node Profile" Tab
3. Select the profile and click the number of "Host Switch" column.
4. Expand the target host switch then expand "Advanced Configuration".