Error: "A general system error occurred vds host error: see faultCause" during a Cross-vCenter vMotion using vSAN for VM storage.
Article ID: 441121
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
The hostd logs record a failed to create dir error when attempting to access this path on the destination vSAN datastore.
/var/run/log/hostd.log
2026-05-07T01:44:01.415Z Wa(164) Hostd[2101478]: [Originator@6876 sub=Hostsvc.NetworkProvider opID=mkoueip6-#######-auto-##wpg-h5:70597180-83-01-dd-01-d1-cc64 sid=52363401 user=vpxuser:<no user>] Skip saving dvport dvs-######-785 to /vmfs/volumes/vsan:###########-0f28522e73f7bac6/########-cec2-4a87-da66-###########/.dvsData/## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##-## ## ## ## ## ## ## ##/785: failed to create dir
Running the 'ls' command on the destination Host, on the referenced datastore, confirms that the directory path for the source VM's storage UUID physically does not exist on the destination host.
Cause
During a Cross-vCenter vMotion, the VM is assigned a new namespace UUID on the destination vSAN datastore. However, the migration process incorrectly attempts to back up the VM's source Distributed Switch (vDS) port state by writing it to the old source UUID path on the destination datastore. Because the destination is an isolated vSAN datastore, the old UUID folder does not exist, causing the file write to fail and aborting the migration.
This can be confirmed by the missing directory path on the destination host.
Resolution
Decouple the VM from its vDS port binding before moving it across the vCenter boundary using one of the following methods:
Option 1: The Disconnect Method (Causes brief network disconnect during the migration)
- On the source vCenter, edit the VM's settings.
- Uncheck "Connected" and "Connect at power on" for the Network Adapter(s).
- Perform the Cross-vCenter vMotion.
- Once the VM successfully lands on the destination vCenter, edit the settings again and attach it to the correct destination vDS port group.
Option 2: The Standard Switch Method (Maintains Connectivity)
- Create a temporary Standard Virtual Switch (vSwitch) port group on the source and destination hosts.
- Edit the VM's settings and change its network adapter to this temporary port group.
- Perform the Cross-vCenter vMotion.
- Once migrated, move the VM to the proper vDS network on the destination host/vCenter.
By removing the VM from a static-binding vDS port or disconnecting it entirely, ESXi does not attempt to migrate the vDS port persistence state. This bypasses the invalid .dvsData write operation to the non-existent UUID directory on the destination datastore.
Additional Information
Feedback
