HCX Migration Failures Due to SCSI Bus Sharing

Products

• VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

• HCX migration validation or execution fails with the error: "SCSI controller with bus sharing is configured".
• Compatibility prechecks in HCX Manager or vCenter identify a device preventing migration.
• Bulk Migrations may get stuck at 0% or fail with replication configuration errors.
  
  
  

Environment

VMware HCX

Cause

VMware HCX utilizes vSphere-level migration and replication engines that have inherent restrictions for virtual machines with SCSI bus sharing (Virtual or Physical mode):

• vMotion/RAV: vSphere does not support live migration for VMs with virtual SCSI bus sharing 
• Storage vMotion: HCX cannot move VM storage while powered on if bus sharing is enabled 
• vSphere Replication (Bulk): Clustered disks are not supported for host-based replication 

Resolution

To migrate these VMs using HCX, downtime is required for all nodes sharing the disks:

 

1. Power Off: Shut down the source VM and any other cluster nodes (e.g., WSFC or Oracle RAC) that share the same disks SCSI controller bus-sharing.
2. Select Cold Migration: In the HCX migration wizard, select the Cold Migration type. This moves the VM and its shared disks while they are in an offline state.
3. Post-Migration Update: Once migrated, ensure that peer cluster nodes are updated with the new disk locations on the target datastores before attempting to power them on.