Cross vCenter migration (XvMotion) is not supported for virtual machines protected by vSphere Replication

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

In environments where virtual machines are protected using vSphere Replication (VR), administrators may consider performing a cross vCenter migration (XvMotion) to migrate a protected virtual machine from one vCenter to another.

Is that supported? Will this operation cause the existing vSphere Replication configuration to become invalid?

Cause

vSphere Replication is compatible with vSphere vMotion and vSphere Storage vMotion within the same vCenter. Reference: https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/live-recovery/vsphere-replication/8-6/vr-help-plug-in-8-6/vsphere-replication-system-requirements/compatibility-with-other-vsphere-features.html

Since vSphere Replication relies on a vCenter–based management model, moving a protected virtual machine to another vCenter is outside the supported replication lifecycle. Therefore, Cross vCenter migration is not supported for virtual machines protected by vSphere Replication, and replication does not continue to operate after such a migration.

Resolution

• Do not perform Cross vCenter migration on virtual machines that are protected by vSphere Replication.

• If a virtual machine must be migrated to another vCenter:

  • First, stop or remove the existing vSphere Replication configuration.

  • After migration is complete, configure a new vSphere Replication in the destination vCenter as required.

• After reconfiguration, verify the replication status.