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Error: "Subsite could not be created" during SharePoint Migration

Updated

This article explains how to resolve an error that can occur when creating SharePoint subsites due to a timing issue with Microsoft 365 provisioning. 

 

Symptom

When migrating to SharePoint Online or Microsoft Teams, the migration of a subsite fails. The migration logs show the following error:

Migration failed: Subsite could not be created

This typically happens after CloudM Migrate has just created the top-level parent site for the subsite in question or it does not exist.

 

Cause

This error is caused by a provisioning delay within the Microsoft 365 environment. The process works like this:

  1. CloudM Migrate sends a command to Microsoft 365 to create a new parent site (a SharePoint Site Collection).

  2. Microsoft's servers begin provisioning the new site in the background. This process can sometimes take several minutes.

  3. CloudM Migrate waits for a specific period (the "timeout") before attempting to create a subsite within that new parent site.

The error occurs when the actual time it takes Microsoft to provision the parent site is longer than the default timeout configured in CloudM Migrate. The tool attempts to create the subsite, but because the parent site isn't fully ready, the API reports that it doesn't exist, causing the subsite creation to fail.

 

Resolution

The solution is to increase the timeout period in the configuration, giving Microsoft 365 more time to complete the parent site provisioning before CloudM Migrate proceeds.

  1. In your CloudM Migrate configuration, navigate to the Destination settings tab within the Configuration page.

  2. Select the Advanced Settings tab.

  3. Locate the setting named Provision Sites Timeout Check.

  4. Increase the value from the default of 180000 (3 minutes) to 300000 (5 minutes). If the issue persists on very slow tenants, you can increase this value further.

  5. Save your configuration.

After saving the new setting, you can re-run the migration for the failed items. The tool will now wait for the longer duration, allowing the parent site to be created successfully before it attempts to add the subsite.

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