Live Site Recovery replication fails with Unknown Connection Error after domain change

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

Following a data center migration and a change to the appliance domain/hostname, VMware Live Site Recovery (VLSR) fails to replicate virtual machines. 

The VLSR summary page shows this error

vSphere Replication Management Server could not establish connection to vSphere Replication Server at '##.##.##.##:443'.

The vSphere Replication interface may show the embedded replication server in a "Disconnected" state or still referencing the legacy FQDN.

Error: A replication error occurred at the vSphere Replication Server for replication '<VM_NAME>'. Details: 'No connection to VR Server for virtual machine <VM_NAME> on host <HOST_NAME> in cluster <CLUSTER_NAME>: Unknown'.

The VLSR Management UI under Replication Servers displays the old appliance hostname (e.g., <REDACTED_HOSTNAME>) instead of the new configured name.

Site pairing may fail or show partial connectivity.

Environment

VMware Live Site Recovery 9.X

vCenter Server 8.0 Update 3

ESXi 8.0 Update 3

Cause

The vSphere Replication Management Server (VRMS) database (vrmsdb) contains stale metadata in the hbrserverentity table. 

When the appliance domain or hostname is changed, the internal database fields for the site name, configuration URL, and SSL thumbprint do not automatically update to reflect the new identity, causing a communication mismatch between the management logic and the replication engine.

Resolution

If the above symptoms are observed, contact Broadcom Support for further assistance.