Unable to break vSphere Replication site pair due to orphaned outgoing replication linked to decommissioned site

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Need to break the vSphere Replication site pair as the vcenter server on the remote site has been already decommissioned

• Unable to break site pair as there are orphaned outgoing replications
  

• When we try to remove the replication, it fails with the error 'Unable to get server with GUID'. This GUID refers to the remote VR appliance which is already decommissioned

  

Environment

vSphere Replication 8.x

vSphere Replication 9.x

 

Cause

The replication is currently in an orphaned state as the remote vSphere Replication appliance is no longer available and the vSphere Replication appliance on source site still contains information about the decommissioned VR appliance from the target site and its database preventing the removal of the replication

Resolution

To remove the orphaned replications, follow the below steps

1. Navigate to https://vrms_address:8043/mob/?vmodl=1

Note: vrms_address is the IP address of the vSphere Replication Management server.

2. Click the content value.

3. Select the replicaManager or replicationManager value, depending on the type of replication you want to delete.

                                              i.    For an outgoing replication, click replication-manager > getOutgoingReplications.

                                             ii.    For an incoming replication, click replica-manager > getIncomingReplications.

Set the relevant start, count, sorters, and filter values.

NOTE: You must set the start value to 0 and delete the sorters and filter values, to invoke the first page of maximum 50 listed replications. For more than 50 replications, you can use paging and make additional calls for the next pages of replications or use the sorters and filter values.

4.   Click Invoke Method.

5.   Locate the replication and click the GID link under replication value.

6.   Invoke the destroy method to remove the replication.

Once all the replications are removed, go back to site recovery summary page. Click on Actions > Break site pair > select vSphere Replication and click on Force Disconnect