Changing the Managed Object Reference (MoRef) ID is not supported

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

After deleting a cluster or removing a VM from inventory and recreating the cluster or re-registering the VM a new MoRef ID is generated, this can cause issues with some third-party backup providers like Veeam.

Environment

VMware vCenter 8.x

VMware VCF 9.x

Cause

Some third-party backup providers like Veeam rely on the MoRef to maintain the incremental backup chain.

Resolution

You cannot change a MoRef ID back to a previous value through any supported VMware method (UI, API, or PowerCLI).

The MoRef ID (e.g., domain-c7) is a unique primary key generated by the vCenter Database (VCDB) sequence at the moment the object is created. It is immutable for the lifecycle of that specific object within the database.

Additional Information

As the MoRef is a non-editable ID on the vCenter side, workarounds may be available from the third-party.