Cold Migration Fails with "The property partitioninfo is missing from the request body" in VMware Cloud Director Availability

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

• When performing a cold migration in VMware Cloud Director Availability, the migration fails. The virtual machine console shows the following error:
  
  The property "partitioninfo" is missing from the request body
• This issue typically affects environments upgraded to 4.7.4 or 4.7.5, while versions 4.7.3 and earlier function correctly.

Environment

VMware Cloud Director Availability 4.7.4 and 4.7.5

Cause

The issue is caused by an outdated Cold Migration ISO template. During the VCDA upgrade process, the url configuration for the migration template may not automatically update to the required version. Newer VCDA versions include API changes that require the 4.7.4+ template to correctly process partition information.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must manually update the replicator configuration to point to the correct ISO version and recreate the templates.

Step 1: Clear existing templates

1. Log in to the VCDA User Interface.
2. Navigate to Cold Migration Templates.
3. Delete all existing templates.

Step 2: Update Replicator configuration

Perform these steps on each replicator appliance in your environment.

1. SSH into the replicator appliance as root.
2. Open the configuration file for editing:
   
   vi /opt/vmware/h4/h4dm/conf/conf.toml


3. Locate the line starting with url. It will likely point to an older version (e.g., 4.7.0). Update it to the version corresponding to your VCDA release.
4. For VCDA 4.7.4 and 4.7.5: This command will make changes to your system. Review it carefully before running.
   
   url = "https://packages.vmware.com/vcav/cold-mig/4.7.4-120a304/live-image-amd64.hybrid.iso"


5. Save and exit the file.

Step 3: Clear cached ISO data

1. Run the following commands to remove the old extracted ISO files.
2. This command cannot be undone. Verify every parameter before running.
   
   cd /opt/vmware/h4/h4dm/iso && rm -rf boot .disk EFI efi.img isolinux live sha256sum.README sha256sum.txt

Step 4: Restart services and recreate templates

1. Restart the replicator service to apply the configuration changes: This command will make changes to your system. Review it carefully before running.
   
   systemctl restart h4dm
   
   
2. Return to the VCDA UI.
3. Create a new Cold Migration Template.