VM Verification Fails for Jobs with Direct Connect

Product version: 11.1

Last modified: 21 April 2026

Problem

When running a backup job with VM verification enabled in a cross-site scenario using Direct Connect, VM verification fails during execution.

The error message may vary depending on the hypervisor platform.

Background

VM verification (including boot verification) is not supported for cross-site backup jobs that use Direct Connect between MSP and client environments.

In this scenario:

  • The backup job itself may complete successfully.

  • VM verification fails during execution.

  • The system displays a generic vSphere licensing error, even though the issue is not related to the vSphere license.

Depending on the platform, different error messages may be displayed:

  • VMware:

The current vSphere license prevents the execution of the requested operation

  • Hyper-V:

Verification of the "<VM_name>" VM cannot be started

VM disks exposed from the backup as iSCSI targets cannot be mounted to the "<host_IP>" host

  • Proxmox:

Verification of the "<VM_name>" VM cannot be started

VM disks exposed from the backup as iSCSI targets cannot be mounted to the "<host_IP>" host

Although the messages differ, the root cause is the same and is not related to licensing or iSCSI configuration. This occurs because VM verification requires local access to VMware infrastructure and is out of scope for cross-site Direct Connect workflows.

Solution

For cross-site backup jobs using Direct Connect (client to MSP or MSP to client), VM verification is not supported and should remain disabled.

To resolve this issue:

  1. Disable VM verification in the backup job settings.

  2. Re-run the backup job.

  3. If VM verification is required, run the backup job within the same site, without using Direct Connect.