Configuring Dedicated vSphere Provisioning Service for Cold Migration Network Traffic

Products

• VMware vSphere ESX 8.x

Issue/Introduction

By default, cold migration, cloning, and snapshot operations use the Management network. In high-traffic environments, this can saturate the management interface. In some cases, the cloning or migration task persistently stalls at 39% progress for an extended period.  Enabling the vSphere Provisioning service on a dedicated VMkernel adapter allows vSphere to offload Network File Copy (NFC) traffic to a separate physical or logical network, improving performance and isolation. 

Environment

vSphere 8.x

Cause

• Cold migration (NFC) traffic defaults to the Management VMkernel interface unless a specific adapter is tagged with the "Provisioning" service.
• hostd logs contain following errors pointing to timeout during the disk copy process.
  In(166) Hostd[2098903]: --> Failed to copy one or more disks.
In(166) Hostd[2098903]: --> Failed to copy source (.../abc.vmdk) to destination (.../Test1-xyz.vmdk): Timeout.

 

Resolution

To dedicate a VMkernel adapter for Provisioning traffic, follow these steps:

1. Log in to the vSphere Client and navigate to Home > Hosts and Clusters.
2. Select the ESXi host and click the Configure tab.
3. Under Networking, select VMkernel adapters.
4. Select the specific adapter and click Edit.
5. In Port properties, enable the Provisioning service and click OK

Repeat these steps on all participating ESXi hosts in the cluster to ensure consistent traffic routing.

 

Additional Information

vSphere VMkernel Service Configuration

For cross-vCenter cold migrations, ensure the Provisioning network is routable between source and destination if they reside on different subnets