HCX Bulk Migration fails at switchover with DatacenterMismatch fault

Products

VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

When performing a Bulk Migration using VMware HCX, the migration process completes the data synchronization phase but fails during the switchover/instantiation phase.

The migration status changes to "Failed" during the switchover.
The HCX Manager UI or app.log reports the following error:
```
com.vmware.vim.binding.vim.fault.DatacenterMismatch: The input arguments had entities that did not belong to the same datacenter
```
The log files contain a stack trace similar to:
2026-07-23 14:43:55.057 UTC [ReplicationTransferService_SvcThread-4059, Ent: HybridityAdmin, , TxId: TxId: 60####-####-0000-####-000########] ERROR c.v.v.h.a.vcenter.VCenterAdapter- Instantiating a VM <vm-name> failed.
com.vmware.vim.binding.vim.fault.DatacenterMismatch: The input arguments had entities that did not belong to the same datacenter.
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance0(Native Method)
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(NativeConstructorAccessorImpl.java:62)
at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.newInstance(DelegatingConstructorAccessorImpl.java:45)
at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Constructor.newInstance(Constructor.java:490)
at java.base/java.lang.Class.newInstance(Class.java:584)
at com.vmware.vim.vmomi.core.types.impl.ComplexTypeImpl.newInstance(ComplexTypeImpl.java:173)
at com.vmware.vim.vmomi.core.types.impl.DefaultDataObjectFactory.newDataObject(DefaultDataObjectFactory.java:26)
2026-07-23 14:43:55.059 UTC [ReplicationTransferService_SvcThread-4059, Ent: HybridityAdmin, , TxId: TxId: 60####-####-0000-####-000########] ERROR c.v.h.s.r.jobs.InstantiateVmJob- Error Executing Job (9b####-####-####-####-de#########
)
java.lang.RuntimeException: Failed to instantiate vm. Task state: error
at com.vmware.vchs.hybridity.adapters.vcenter.VCenterAdapter.instantiateVm(VCenterAdapter.java:341)
at com.vmware.hybridity.service.replicationtransfer.jobs.InstantiateVmJob.instantiateVm(InstantiateVmJob.java:573)
at com.vmware.hybridity.service.replicationtransfer.jobs.InstantiateVmJob.doRegisterVm(InstantiateVmJob.java:316)

Environment

VMware HCX

Cause

The migration configuration references a Destination Folder placeholder that does not physically exist in the target vCenter Server's datacenter inventory. This inventory mismatch causes the vCenter API to reject the VM instantiation request because the specified folder entity cannot be located within the expected datacenter boundary.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must ensure the destination folder is valid or reset the folder selection in the migration profile.

Validate Target Inventory: Log in to the target vCenter Server and confirm that the intended destination folder path exists.
Edit Migration Profile: In the HCX UI, navigate to Services > Migration.
Select Affected VM(s): Select the impacted VM(s) or Mobility Group and click Edit.
Update Folder Selection: Under Transfer and Placement settings, locate the Destination Folder field.
Re-select Folder: Even if the folder path appears correct, manually re-select a known existing folder from the inventory tree (for example, the default Discovered virtual machine folder).
Trigger Migration: Click Save, then click Finish to retry the migration.

Note: Folder selection is optional. To ensure a smooth migration without placement errors, you can also leave the Destination Folder field unselected/blank before initiating the transfer.

Additional Information

If the issue persists after following these steps, collect a support bundle and contact Broadcom Support.

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