HCX 4.11 environments, Bulk Migrations are failing with error unable to download VMX file.

Products

• VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

• Issue started reporting after the upgrade to HCX 4.11.
• Migration fails at the following stage:
  
• Direct access to ESXi hosts using UI fails with 404 error
• Verified that in 4.10, Reverse Bulk Migration works despite the same 404 error.

Environment

VMware HCX 4.11

Cause

In HCX 4.11, a change was introduced where Bulk Migration strictly validates VMX sanitization by catching exceptions when HCX cannot log in to vCenter or ESXi. Failure to access the VMX file causes the migration to fail.

There is a known ESXi host issue (documented in KB 313056) where the rhttpproxy service returns a 404 error for direct web client access due to incorrect routing of root path requests. 

In HCX 4.11, a change in Bulk Migration's VMX sanitization workflow now actively catches this underlying connectivity failure, preventing the migration. HCX 4.10.x did not strictly enforce this check for Bulk Migrations.

Resolution

Workaround:

• Access the affected ESXi host via SSH or console.
• Edit /etc/vmware/rhttpproxy/endpoint.conf and add the line: / local 8309 redirect allow.
• Restart the rhttpproxy service: service rhttpproxy restart.
• Apply these steps to all affected hosts.

Note: Currently, this is the only available resolution.

Additional Information

ESXi host web client shows 404 error due to misconfiguration of endpoint.conf