HCX RAV Migration Fails at Switchover Phase with "(vim.fault.InvalidState) { faultCause = null, faultMessage = null }" Error.
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HCX RAV Migration Fails at Switchover Phase with "(vim.fault.InvalidState) { faultCause = null, faultMessage = null }" Error.

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Article ID: 431979

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Updated On:

Products

VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

  • During a VMware HCX Replication Assisted vMotion (RAV) migration, the virtual machine switchover phase fails to complete.

  • The following error message is observed within the HCX Manager UI: Error : (vim.fault.InvalidState) { faultCause = null, faultMessage = null }

    'Migration failed' error as seen from HCX Manager UI :



  • A review of the /common/log/admin/app.log at the target site during the switchover phase shows the CREATE_MULE_VM workflow failing:

    2026-02-19 18:27:12.789 UTC [RAVService_SvcThread-116176, Ent: HybridityAdmin, , TxId: TxId: e3####73-c##8-4##2-a##c-6ba6####a833] ERROR c.v.h.s.rav.jobs.CreateImageWorkflow- [migId=3d####2e-b##3-4##0-9##6-bd66####645f] Error while executing createImageWorkflow state 'CREATE_MULE_VM'.
java.lang.RuntimeException: (vim.fault.InvalidState) {
   faultCause = null,
   faultMessage = null
}
        at com.vmware.hybridity.service.rav.jobs.CreateImageWorkflow.createMuleVmForDeltaVmotion(CreateImageWorkflow.java:354)
        at com.vmware.hybridity.service.rav.jobs.CreateImageWorkflow.run(CreateImageWorkflow.java:99)
        at com.vmware.vchs.hybridity.messaging.LoggingJobWrapper.run(LoggingJobWrapper.java:41)
        at java.base/java.util.concurrent.Executors$RunnableAdapter.call(Executors.java:515)
        at java.base/java.util.concurrent.FutureTask.run(FutureTask.java:264)
        at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor$ScheduledFutureTask.run(ScheduledThreadPoolExecutor.java:304)
        at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1128)
        at java.base/java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:628)
        at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:829)
Caused by: com.vmware.vim.binding.vim.fault.InvalidState: The operation is not allowed in the current state.

     

  • Reviewing the target ESXi host hostd logs during the same timeframe reveals warning event 'Blocked due to host (partial) maintenance mode state':

    Log location : /var/run/log

     
    2026-02-19T18:27:01.396Z Wa(164) Hostd[2099800]: [Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/68####1b-e9####ad-f##b-d404####77f0/<VM_name>/<VM_Name>.vmx opID=TxId: e3####73-c##8-4##2-a##c-6ba6####a833-43-01-8d-9##6 sid=52####2c user=vpxuser:VSPHERE.LOCAL\Administrator] State Transition (VM_STATE_OFF -> VM_STATE_RECONFIGURING) not allowed for this Vm : Blocked due to host (partial) maintenance mode state
  • The target ESXi vobd logs confirm the host began entering maintenance mode previously but never explicitly exited:

    Log location : /var/run/log

    2026-02-18T07:52:00.284Z In(14) vobd[2097956]:  [GenericCorrelator] 1177461617266us: [vob.user.maintenancemode.entering] The host has begun entering maintenance mode
2026-02-18T07:52:00.284Z In(14) vobd[2097956]:  [UserLevelCorrelator] 1177461617771us: [esx.audit.maintenancemode.entering] The host has begun entering maintenance mode.

        Note: The preceding log excerpts are only examples. Date, time, and environmental variables may vary depending on your environment.

Environment

VMware HCX
VMware vSphere (ESXi 8.0 U3 or newer where Partial Maintenance Mode is supported)

Cause

The virtual machine switchover operation fails because the target ESXi host is stuck in Partial Maintenance Mode. This mode blocks new virtual machine state transitions (e.g., from VM_STATE_OFF to VM_STATE_RECONFIGURING). Consequently, the HCX system cannot complete the CREATE_MULE_VM operation required for the RAV delta vMotion, throwing an InvalidState exception.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, force the target ESXi host out of its pending or partial maintenance mode state. You can accomplish this using either the vSphere Client or the ESXi Host Client.

Method 1: Enter and Exit Maintenance Mode from vSphere Client

  1. Log in to the vSphere Client.

  2. Locate the target ESXi host in the inventory.

  3. Right-click the host and select Maintenance Mode > Enter Maintenance Mode. Wait for the task to complete.

  4. Right-click the host again and select Maintenance Mode > Exit Maintenance Mode.

Method 2: Exit Maintenance Mode from ESXi Host Client

  1. Log in to the ESXi Host Client directly via a web browser using the root credentials.

  2. In the Navigator pane, click on Host.

  3. Click on the Actions drop-down menu at the top.

  4. Select Exit Maintenance Mode.

Additional Information

For further details regarding operations failing due to a host being stuck in partial maintenance mode, refer to Broadcom KB 393092 : Virtual Machine operations fail on ESXi with error "The operation is not allowed in the current state" due to partial maintenance mode

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