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Tell me what you will do in this case-VM offline after migration to Sangfor HCI

George Fady Lv2  Posted 2026-Oct-15 17:25

Hello Sangfor Community,
I am George Fady, Technical Support Engineer, and I would like to share a practical troubleshooting case related to migrating a Windows SQL Server failover cluster from VMware to Sangfor HCI with SCMT.
Problem Description
During an HCI PoC, a Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC) running SQL Server was migrated from VMware to Sangfor HCI 6.11.1 R1 using agent-based SCMT. The disk migration completed successfully, but the VM and SQL cluster did not come online afterwards.
Environment details:

  • Source: VMware, Windows SQL cluster with shared quorum disks

  • Disk type: paravirtual (not RDM, not independent)

  • Migration mode: agent-based SCMT

Likely Root Cause (under investigation)
A successful disk migration does not mean the cluster’s shared disk was migrated as a shared disk. Agent-based SCMT copies the data from inside the guest OS, but it does not recreate the shared-bus attachment that WSFC needs. The quorum/data disk most likely arrives as a normal single-VM disk, so Failover Cluster Manager shows it as Offline or Missing and the cluster role cannot start.
Note that agentless SCMT does not support cluster applications such as SQL FCI/AG, or RDM and independent disks. Agent-based migration avoids those limits, but the shared topology still has to be rebuilt on HCI.
Recommended Troubleshooting Steps

  • Check whether the VM boots into Windows. If it does not, confirm the boot mode (UEFI vs. Legacy BIOS) and the disk controller type (VirtIO/IDE) match the source, and remove any mounted ISO.

  • If it boots, open Failover Cluster Manager → Storage → Disks and check the status of the quorum and data disks.

  • In HCI Manager, check whether the quorum/data disk is a regular disk attached to only one VM.

  • Create a Shared Virtual Disk on aSAN and attach it to both cluster node VMs. Both nodes must be present on HCI.

  • Place the cluster data on the shared disk, bring the disks online, and run Validate Cluster.

  • Bring the SQL Server role online and test failover.

If the shared disk cannot be restored, rebuild the cluster on HCI and move the SQL data at database level (backup/restore, log shipping or Always On seeding).
Key Takeaway
When migrating a clustered workload, do not treat disk migration success as cluster migration success. Check the shared storage first:
Boot State → Cluster Disk Status → Shared vs. Non-Shared Disk → Both Nodes Present → Validate Cluster
This case is still open, and I will update the post once the root cause is confirmed.
Have you migrated WSFC or SQL clusters to Sangfor HCI with SCMT? Please share your experience, especially how you handled the shared quorum disk, in the comments.
#Sangfor #SangforHCI #HCI #SCMT #Migration #VMware #SQLServer #WSFC #Storage #TechnicalSupport #Troubleshooting

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Humayun Ahmed Lv4  Posted 2026-Oct-15 17:40
  
Thanks to share!

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