'Error: "The vMotion failed because the destination host did not receive data from the source host on the vMotion network" '

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides troubleshooting steps to resolve vMotion connectivity failures encountered during migration attempts.

This issue is typically seen when attempting a vMotion migration between two ESXi hosts, and the task fails around **36% (or less)** completion. The failure occurs because a large volume of data is moved, and the destination host does not receive an acknowledgment receipt from the source host on the vMotion network.

Network misconfiguration can cause random vMotion failures. In such cases, retrying the vMotion operation may occasionally be successful, but the underlying issue persists.

 **Symptoms**

When the issue occurs, you will see one of the following error messages:

"The vMotion failed because the destination host did not receive data from the source host on the vMotion network. Please check your vMotion network settings and physical network configuration and ensure they are correct.”
"The vMotion migrations failed because the ESX hosts were not able to connect over the vMotion network. Check the vMotion network settings and physical network configuration."

Environment

VMware vSphere 7.x

VMware vSphere 8.x

Cause

• Inconsistent vMotion VMkernel adapter settings between the source and destination hosts.

• Mismatched TCP/IP stacks for vMotion. For example, some hosts might be configured with the "default" TCP/IP stack while others use a dedicated "vMotion" stack.

 

 

 

Resolution

To resolve this issue:

1. Check for IP address conflicts on the vMotion network and if the vmk configuration is correct.
   
   Note: Each host in the cluster should have a vMotion vmkernel, assigned a unique IP address.
    
2. Check for IP connectivity and packet loss over the vMotion network. Try having the source host ping (vmkping) the destination host's vMotion vmknic IP address for the duration of the vMotion.
   
   For example:
   
   vmkping -I vmk# <IP of destination host vMotion vmk>
   
   Where vmk# is the vmkernel number of the vMotion vmkernel on the source host.
   
   For more information, see Testing VMkernel network connectivity with the vmkping command.
    
3. Check the driver/firmware of the physical adapter used for vMotion.
   
   Note: If the driver or firmware is not up to date, the vMotions can fail with a "timeout" or "waiting for data" error. For more information, see Determining Network/Storage firmware and driver version in ESXi.
    
4. Ensure the ESXi firewall ruleset for vMotion is enabled and that there are no other conflicting rules blocking the traffic. 

5. Check for potential interaction with firewall hardware or software that prevents connectivity between the source and the destination TCP port 8000.
   
   
6. "Verify all hosts use the same TCP/IP stack for their vMotion VMkernel adapters (either all vMotion stack or all Default stack). Check via vCenter: Host > Configure > Networking > TCP/IP stacks."

Additional Information

Multiple-NIC vMotion in vSphere

For more information on vMotions and troubleshooting vMotion issues, see Understanding and troubleshooting vMotion.

Other examples:

• Migration [184329483:<mig_id>] failed to connect to remote host <###.###.###.###>: Timeout.
  
  This error indicates that remote host did not accept the connection within the allowed time limit.
   
• Migration [-1408237366:<mig_id>] failed to connect to remote host <###.###.###.###>: Connection refused.
  
  This error indicates that the remote host is explicitly not listening on the vMotion port.  The vMotion port is 8000, see also Port requirements for VMware vSphere ESXi

Additional Articles

• Troubleshooting vMotion network connectivity issues