Unable to reverse replication for the virtual machine. Disk is already used at path.
Article ID: 410274
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
Unable to complete the Reprotect after running a Recovery plan.
Unable to reverse replication for the virtual machine 'VM_name '. Group.Spec property 'Spec.vms.disks' is incorrect. Disk is already used at path: '######-####-####-####-########', filename: 'VM_name_1.vmdk'.
/opt/vmware/support/logs/srm/vmware-dr.log
2025-09-12T13:54:21.851Z error vmware-dr[02835] [SRM@6876 sub=Recovery ctxID=58596436 opID=#######-###-###-#######-reprotect:9413:48c4] [reprotectMain] Reverse replication failed: (dr.hbrProvider.fault.UnableToReverseReplication) {
--> faultCause = (hms.fault.InvalidSpecDiskAlreadyUsedFault) {
--> faultCause = (vmodl.MethodFault) null,
--> faultMessage = <unset>,
--> originalMessage = <unset>,
--> invalidProperty = "Spec.vms.disks",
--> datastoreMoId = "datastore-25",
--> path = "#######-###-###-#######",
--> fileName = "srmtest01_1.vmdk"
--> msg = "Group.Spec property 'Spec.vms.disks' is incorrect. Disk is already used at path: '#######-###-###-#######', filename: 'virtual_machinename_1.vmdk'."
--> },
--> faultMessage = <unset>,
--> productionVm = 'vim.VirtualMachine:b8039125-9c18-4171-9090-0700ac777ef3:vm-49244',
--> recoveredVm = 'vim.VirtualMachine:c8fdecda-3fe0-413a-a371-3dd6af97a74f:vm-18792',
--> vmName = "testsrm01",
--> protectedVm = 'dr.replication.ProtectedVm:ff76d9df-226d-4c0c-a882-1c06376bcd2e:protected-vm-13354567'
--> msg = ""
--> }
--> [context]zKq7AVECAAQAAGz3dwEUdm13YXJlLWRyAAAsGRxsaWJ2bWFjb3JlLnNvAAGVe19saWJkci10eXBlcy5zbwACkxQGbGliZHItdm1vbWkuc28AAzxFGWxpYmRyLWhici1wcm92aWRlci5zbwADTx4aBL0WBWxpYmRyLWhici1obXNQcm94eS5zbwAEQRgFBW3GCmxpYmNvbm5lY3Rpb24taG1zLnNvAAXsJQkFhoIIBSRHCwblCAdsaWJjb25uZWN0aW9uLWJhc2Uuc28ABsnhDgZeAhcGteIWBhfkFgDOKTQA0kI0AOB9SQewjgBsaWJwdGhyZWFkLnNvLjAA[/context]; bailing out
Environment
VMware vSphere Replication 8.x
VMware vSphere Replication 9.x
Cause
Multi-Writer and Bus Sharing Are Incompatible with vSphere Replication.
Multi-writer flags are designed for clustered environments where multiple VMs need simultaneous write access to the same disk, which conflicts with the snapshot-based, block-level change tracking used by vSphere Replication.
When a snapshot is created, VMware temporarily suspends I/O operations to the disk to establish a consistent state. A redo log (delta file) is created to track changes, while the base disk becomes read-only.
Resolution
This is a known limitation of vSphere Replication when used with disks configured in multi-writer mode. Virtual machines that utilize multi-writer disks are not supported for replication.
Additional Information
SRM – Array Based Replication vs. vSphere Replication
Understanding Multi-Writer Disks and Their Relation to Snapshots and Backups
For multi-writer disks, this mechanism introduces the following challenges:
Disk Locks: Shared-disk environments rely on simultaneous read/write access by multiple VMs. Snapshot operations impose exclusive locks on disks to manage delta files, which disrupt shared access and cause failures or data inconsistencies.
I/O Redirection: During a snapshot, all I/O operations are redirected to the delta file. Multi-writer applications, such as databases or clustered file systems, cannot efficiently handle this redirection, leading to performance degradation and potential corruption.
These inherent limitations of the snapshot mechanism make it unsuitable for multi-writer disks.
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