vMotion fails with error "The migration has exceeded the maximum switchover time of 100 second(s). ESX has preemptively failed the migration to allow the VM to continue running on the source. To avoid this failure, either increase the maximum allowable"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to perform a vMotion migration of a virtual machine, the task fails with the following error:`
  The migration has exceeded the maximum switchover time of 100 second(s). ESX has preemptively failed the migration to allow the VM to continue running on the source. To avoid this failure, either increase the maximum allowable switchover time or wait until the VM is performing a less intensive workload`
  
  
• VM logs on ESXi /vmfs/volume/datastore/VM_folder/vmware.log file shows entries similar to:
  
  yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ss In(05) vcpu-0 - Migrate: VM successfully stunned.
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - MigrateWriteHostLog: Writing to log file took 5272 us.
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - MigrateSetStateFinished: type=1 new state=MIGRATE_TO_VMX_FINISHED
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - MigrateSetState: Transitioning from state MIGRATE_TO_VMX_WAIT_HANDSHAKE (5) to MIGRATE_TO_VMX_FINISHED (6).
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssNo(00) vmx - ConfigDB: Setting config.readOnly = "FALSE"
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - Migrate_SetFailureMsgList: switching to new log file.
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - Migrate_SetFailureMsgList: Now in new log file.
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - Migrate: Caching migration error message list:
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - [msg.checkpoint.migration.maxSwitchoverTimeExceeded] The migration has exceeded the maximum switchover time of 100 second(s). ESX has preemptively failed the migration to allow the VM to continue running on the source. To avoid this failure, either increase the maximum allowable switchover time or wait until the VM is performing a less intensive workload.
  
  
• While source VMX was waiting, destination VMX was stuck for over 2 minutes in ToolsISO activities:
  
  yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - WORKER: Creating new group with maxThreads=1 (16)
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - DISKUTIL: scsi0:1 : max toolsVersion = 2147483647, type = 0
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - TOOLS setting legacy tools version to '2147483647' type 0, manifest status is 9
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - TOOLS refreshing value for isoImageExists (refreshCount=1, lastCount=0).
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - ToolsISO: Failed to get realpath for '/usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/isoimages_manifest.txt' (error=5)
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - FILE:open error on /usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/isoimages_manifest.txt: Input/output error
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - ToolsISO: open of /usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/isoimages_manifest.txt failed: Error
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - ToolsISO: Updated cached value for imageName to 'linux.iso'.
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - ToolsISO: Selected Tools ISO 'linux.iso' for 'other26xlinux-64' guest.
yyyy-mm-ddThh:mm:ssIn(05) vmx - TOOLS updated cached value for isoImageExists to 0.


• Additionally, reviewing the VM disk descriptor file /vmfs/volumes/<datastore>/<VM_folder>/<vm_name>.vmdk shows:

  ddb.toolsInstallType = "0"       <=== TOOLS_TYPE_UNKNOWN
ddb.toolsVersion = "2147483647"  <=== 0x7fffffff, TOOLS_VERSION_UNMANAGED

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0.x

Cause

This issue can occur due to multiple factors contributing to vMotion switchover timeout. In this specific scenario, the primary causes include:

• The virtual machine reports an unmanaged VMware Tools version (2147483647), commonly seen in:
  • Third-party or custom-built virtual appliances
  • Systems using modified or non-standard Open VM Tools builds
  • The guest OS configuration may include:
    
    /etc/vmware-tools/tools.conf
[vmtools]
hide-tools-version = true



• During vMotion, the destination host attempts to access VMware Tools ISO metadata but encounters delayed or blocked I/O operations on /usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/isoimages_manifest.txt:
  This file is typically located on a shared ProductLocker, and latency or access issues can significantly delay the migration switchover phase.

Resolution

If the affected virtual machine originates from a third-party appliance:

• Contact the respective vendor to validate how VMware Tools (or Open VM Tools) has been configured or packaged.

Alternatively, apply the following workaround to bypass VMware Tools status checks during vMotion:

1. Power off the Virtual Machine.
   
   
2. Edit Virtual Machine Advanced Settings
   
   • In the vSphere Client, navigate to the VM settings.

   • Add/Edit the following advanced parameter:

     tools.statusMsgs.disable = "TRUE"