Error: virtual machine host does not support enhanced replication in VMware Live Recovery

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to configure vSphere Replication for a virtual machine in a VMware Live Recovery (VLR) environment, the task fails. This typically occurs after upgrading the vSphere infrastructure (vCenter or ESXi) while the replication appliances remain on an older version.

• The following error appears in the vSphere Client: "The virtual machine host does not support enhanced replication."
• The hbr-agent VIB is missing from ESXi hosts.
• The dpx-agent service is in a stopped state.
• Attempts to configure replication result in the message: "Some of the selected virtual machines are not in a valid state for replication."

Environment

• VMware Live Recovery / vSphere Live Site Recovery (VLSR) 9.0.x
• VMware vCenter Server 9.1
• VMware ESXi 9.1

Cause

The issue is caused by a version interoperability conflict between the management appliance and the host environment. VLSR version 9.0.5.1 and earlier do not support vSphere 9.1.

vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) enforces image compliance and prevents the deployment of the Host-Based Replication (HBR) Agent when there is a mismatch between the host version and the management appliance version. vLCM identifies a "delta" or drift that it cannot remediate automatically, resulting in the installation failure of the required VIBs.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, upgrade the VMware Live Site Recovery appliances to version 9.1. This ensures compatibility with vSphere 9.1 and allows for the correct deployment of host-based replication agents.

1. Snapshot: Take a standard virtual machine snapshot of the VLSR appliances before proceeding.

2. Upgrade: Perform the in-place upgrade to version 9.1.

Note: If the upgrade hangs on "Running Pre-Installation Checks" with an "Is a directory (21)" error, refer to KB 445953 for the required workaround.

1. VIB Remediation: Once the appliance is upgraded to 9.1: 

• Navigate to the Cluster > Updates tab in the vSphere Client.
• Run Check Compliance to identify the drift.
• Select Remediate to push the compliant hbr-agent VIB to the ESXi 9.1 hosts.

Note: To ensure consistent image compliance across the environment, you must perform this remediation on every host in the cluster.

2. Verification: Confirm that the hbr-agent and dpx-agent services are running on the hosts and that replication can now be configured.

Additional Information

Product Interoperability Matrix