Multiple VMs show “RPO Violation” with error “No host can be used to access datastore path <target_datastore>”

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Multiple VMs will be in “RPO Violation” state with the error message: “No host can be used to access datastore path <target_datastore>”

Environment

• vSphere Replication 9.x

Cause

• When the vSphere Replication Server service (hbrsrv) starts, it tries to communicate with all ESXi hosts registered under vCenter.

• The issue occurs when communication between the vSphere Replication Appliance and one or more ESXi hosts fails. Because of this, the hbrsrv service continuously attempts to reconnect to the unreachable host.

• These repeated failed communication attempts cause hbrsrv to refuse connections from the hms service, which leads to RPO violations on the replicated VMs.

• The /opt/vmware/support/logs/hbrsrv.log contains HbrError entries indicating: “Connection reset by peer”

Nov 29 08:54:57 vr_hostname hbrsrv[1191]: 2025-11-29T08:54:57.496Z error hbrsrv[01207] [Originator@6876 sub=Main] HbrError stack:
Nov 29 08:54:57 vr_hostname hbrsrv[1191]: 2025-11-29T08:54:57.496Z error hbrsrv[01207] [Originator@6876 sub=Main]    [0] ClientConnection (client=[10.###.###.101]:57278) request callback failed: Connection reset by peer: The connection is terminated by the remote end with a reset packet. Usually, this is a sign of a network problem,  timeout, or service overload.
Nov 29 08:54:57 vr_hostname hbrsrv[1191]: 2025-11-29T08:54:57.496Z error hbrsrv[01207] [Originator@6876 sub=Main]    [1] Dropping error encountered from network
Nov 29 08:54:57 vr_hostname hbrsrv[1191]: 2025-11-29T08:54:57.496Z info hbrsrv[01207] [Originator@6876 sub=StatsLog] HbrEvent: {"eventID":"lwdConnectionReset","groupID":"GID-c2b310a3-d6b2-4b9d-9632-9ddb8b129667","clientAddress":"[10.###.###.101]:57278","serverID":"52bdff74-8d03-b24c-9df3-9df1bfac2516","hbrEvent":1}

• From the /opt/vmware/hms/logs/hms.log on the Embedded Appliance, it will be observed that the hms service is refusing the connection with the hbr service on port 8123.

2025-11-29 09:11:47.224 WARN  com.vmware.hms.monitor.hbr.52bdff74-8d03-b24c-9df3-9df1bfac2516.PCFilterManager [hms-vlsi-client-thread-1333] (..jvsl.pcm.PCFilterManager) [operationID=0901e397-4a7f-4deb-87ba-317c7dad1ebb-HMSINT-5261376] | 'WaitForUpdates' for 'Stub: moRef = (ManagedObjectReference: type = PropertyCollector, value = session[5242ec1f-8e04-c960-a6ef-82cd0a790acb]52015b5b-bd3a-a0a4-ca10-c6e2779d3c89, serverGuid = null), binding = https://vr_hostname:8123/' failed.
com.vmware.vim.vmomi.client.exception.ConnectionException: https://vr_hostname:8123/ invocation failed with "org.apache.http.conn.HttpHostConnectException: Connect to vr_hostname:8123 [vr_hostname/127.0.0.1, vr_hostname/0:0:0:0:0:0:0:1] failed: Connection refused"

• Validation of the logs (/var/run/log/vmkernel.log) on the ESXi host further confirms that the host is failing to receive data from the VR Appliance due to network issues:

2025-11-29T01:24:49.829Z cpu13:12228180)WARNING: Hbr: 893: Failed to receive from 10.###.##.7 (groupID=GID-da9a4ec4-f58c-483b-89fc-6a2a874b793e): Timeout
2025-11-29T01:24:50.499Z cpu0:12263467)WARNING: Hbr: 893: Failed to receive from 10.###.##.6 (groupID=GID-c2b310a3-d6b2-4b9d-9632-9ddb8b129667): Timeout

Resolution

• Work with the network team to fix the connectivity issue between the vSphere Replication appliance and the ESXi hosts.
• Ensure all required ports and firewall rules are correctly configured.
• Refer to the official VMware Ports and Protocols documentation for detailed requirements.

As a workaround if you want to exclude hosts or a cluster of hosts under a given cluster or datacenter from registration in vSphere Replication, you can tag them with the com.vmware.vr.disallowedHost tag. This is valid for the incoming replications on the target site. 

Exclude hosts from registration in vSphere Replication