Replicated VMs Not Visible in Target vCenter Inventory

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

Users utilizing standalone vSphere Replication (without Site Recovery Manager) observe the following:

1.Replicated data (VMDKs and configuration files) is present and growing on the target datastore.
2.The replication status in the vSphere Replication UI shows as "OK."
3.However, the virtual machines (VMs) do not appear in the vCenter Server inventory (list or tree view) at the recovery/target site.

Environment

VMware Live Recovery (vSphere Replication)

Cause

This is expected behavior by design for standalone vSphere Replication. 

Unlike VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM), which creates "placeholder" VMs in the inventory upon protection, standalone vSphere Replication only manages the data transport to the target datastore.

The virtual machine does not exist as an object in the target vCenter inventory until a Recovery workflow is manually initiated. It is only during the recovery process that vSphere Replication registers the VM with the target ESXi host and vCenter Server.

Resolution

To verify replication health and manage VMs at the target site, follow these steps:

 1. Verify Replication Health
Do not rely on the vCenter inventory to confirm protection. Instead:
- Navigate to the **vSphere Client**.
- Go to Site Recovery > Open Site Recovery.
- Check the Incoming Replications (at the target site) or Outgoing Replications (at the source site).
- Ensure the status is OK and review the Last Sync Time.

2. Confirm Data on Datastore
To manually verify that data is arriving:
- Use the Datastore Browser on the target site.
- Locate the folder corresponding to the replicated VM. You should see `.vmdk` and `.hbrvmdk` files being updated.