"VMware ESXi"-The version of the virtual machine is not compatible with the version of the host "xxxx"@20210225

Problem Description

When migrating a virtual machine to another host, during the "Select Target" step, the selected host prompts the error "The version of the virtual machine is incompatible with the version of the host "xxxx"".

This article will explain how to deal with this migration error.

problem causes

Every virtual machine running in ESXi has a "hardware version number". In vSphere Client, it is displayed as "virtual machine version":

The target host runs the "ESXi 5.5" version, and the maximum hardware version that can be supported is "10". The host where the virtual machine is located is running the "ESXi 6.0" version, and the hardware version of the created virtual machine is "11".

Therefore, the error "The version of the virtual machine is not compatible with the version of the host "xxxx"" will be prompted during the migration process.

Solution

Precautions

There are two methods below: official recommendation; forced migration.

We naturally use the "official recommendation" method. Of course, in special circumstances, we can also use the "forced migration" method. At the beginning, we did not find the "official recommendation" method. We did not discover the "official recommendation" method until after forcibly migrating a virtual machine. Although the forcibly migrated virtual machine can run normally, we still recommend the "official recommendation" method.

Method one: forced migration

(1) In the vSphere Client, close the virtual machine.
(2) Remove the virtual machine from the host list. Note that it is "remove from list", not "delete from disk".
(3) In the vSphere Client, browse the corresponding data storage, find the ".vmx" file, and download it to the local.
(4) Open the .vmx file with an editor, modify virtualHW.version = "x" to virtualHW.version = "y" , save and exit the editor (usually in the third line).
(5) Upload the modified file to and overwrite the original file.
(6) After uploading, right-click on the file and select "Add to List" item.
(7) After the above operations are completed, the migration operation can be officially started.

Method two, official recommendation

-「Downgrading the virtual machine hardware version in ESX/ESXi (1028019)」

Three options are officially recommended. Of course, all three options require the virtual machine to be shut down:

	(1) Create a virtual machine on the target host, and then add the existing virtual disk file (.vmdk) to the virtual machine. 
	(2) Use VMware vCenter Converter Standalone tool, which can choose the hardware version. (This tool is similar to copying a virtual machine instead of directly migrating) 
	(3) Roll back to the snapshot created before upgrading the hardware version. However, we usually do not take snapshots :-)

The official method is simpler and easier to operate, so I will not introduce it in detail here. Method (2) We have already used it and haven't encountered any problems for the time being.

Additional information

(1) The migration action will not cause the "virtual machine version" to change.

references

Solved: How to downgrade the hardware version of a VM?
Downgrading the virtual machine hardware version in ESX/ESXi (1028019)