vSphere Replication Reprotect fails with error : Details: 'No connection to VR Server for virtual machine VMTest1 on host in cluster ProductionCluster in Datacenter-XXXX: Not responding'.

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

• Recovery Plan is failing during the re-protect operation with error message - 
  TestVM replication error: A replication error occurred at the vSphere Replication Server for replication 'TestVM'. Details: 'No connection to VR Server for virtual machine TestVM on host xxx in cluster in Datacenter xxx : Not responding'. VR synchronization failed for VRM group . Synchronization monitoring has stopped. Please verify replication traffic connectivity between the source host and the target vSphere Replication Server. Synchronization monitoring will resume when connectivity issues are resolved. 

 

• Replication state shows as inactive, paused when checked via vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.getState <VMID>.

Environment

VMware vSphere Replication 8.x
VMware vSphere Replication 9.x

Cause

Required network ports (TCP 31031/32032 and 902) are not open or reachable between the Disaster Recovery (DR) ESXi hosts and the Primary vSphere Replication appliance, or a missing network route prevents connectivity.

Resolution

 

• Verify Port Connectivity:

  • From the DR ESXi host, test connectivity to the Primary VR appliance IP on port 31031: nc -zv <Primary_VR_IP> 31031

  • If the connection fails with Connection timed out, investigate the physical firewall or virtual network security groups.

• Validate VM Replication Configuration:

  • Identify the VM ID: vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms | grep '<VM_NAME>'

    • Check replication config: vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.getConfig <VMID>

      In case of Legacy Replication:

      [root@esx1:~] vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.getConfig 532
      Retrieve VM replication configuration:
              The VM is configured for replication with the following options:
                      VM Replication ID = GID-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
                      Destination IP Address = 10.xx.xx.xx
                      Destination Port = 31031
                      Recovery Point Objective = 360
                      Quiesce Guest OS = false
                      Enable Opportunistic Updates = false
                      Network Compression = true
                      DataSets replication = false
                      Network Encryption = false
                      Paused for Replication = true
       
                      Disk scsi0:0 is configured for replication:

                              Device key = 2000

                              Replication ID = RDID-3dbef365-######-####-77b25a309d3e

       

                      Disk scsi0:1 is configured for replication:

                              Device key = 2001

                              Replication ID = RDID-7c22b271-#########-####-7ab4fff127f0

      In case of Enhanced Replication:

         

      [root@esx-07a :~ ] vim-cmd hbrsvc/vmreplica.getConfig 6
      Retrieve VM replication configuration:
             The VM is configured for replication with the following options:
                   VM Replication ID = GID-63b1a0d4-####-####-####-255390782242
                   Destination IP Address = 127.0.0.1
                   Destination Port = 32032
                   Recovery Point Objective = 60
                   Quiesce Guest OS = false
                   Enable Opportunistic Updates = false
                   Network Compression = false
                   DataSets replication = true
                   Network Encryption = true
                   Encryption Destination IP Address = 10.x.x.xx
                   Encryption Destination Port = 32032
      Remote Certificate Thumbprint = PFUc1uF2PcFK0jxj09tD5dEqCpmnDvw10MVEga9ljKQ=
      Paused for Replication = false

      Disk scsi0:0 is configured for replication:
      Device key = 2000
      Replication ID = RDID-27996226-###-###-####-ce75e48311ba

       

    • Confirm the "Destination IP Address" and "Destination Port" (31031/32032) match the target environment.

• Configure Network Routing:

  • Log in to the vSphere Replication appliance via SSH as admin.

  • Check existing routes: ip route

  • If the route to the source host network is missing, add a static route: sudo ip route add <Source_Host_IP>/32 via <Gateway_IP>

  • Verify the route is persistent or add it to the appliance configuration.

• Verify Management Connectivity:

  • Ensure port 902 is open from the VR appliance to the ESXi hosts: curl -v telnet://<ESXi_FQDN>:902

• Resume Replication:

  • Once connectivity is restored, the synchronization monitoring will resume automatically, and the re-protect process can be re-initiated in SRM.

 

Additional Information

Port numbers that must be open for vSphere Replication

https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/312798/port-numbers-that-must-be-open-for-vsphe.html