Troubleshoot FMC 1000 to FMCv on KVM Backup Restore Fails with Error "From J to I is not allowed.. Aborting the Restore"

Issue

When attempting to migrate from a Firewall Management Center 1000 (FMC 1000) hardware appliance to an FMCv deployed on KVM by restoring a backup taken from the FMC 1000, the restore operation fails immediately with this error message in the command line interface (CLI):

From J to I is not allowed.. Aborting the Restore

The migration attempt is blocked even though both the source FMC 1000 and the target FMCv on KVM are running the same displayed software version (7.0.7, build 518). The restore process does not complete, and the target FMCv on KVM remains in its pre-restore state. The error is generated by a compatibility check built into the restore process and is not a transient or recoverable failure — it is a deliberate block enforced by the platform.

The key characteristics of this issue are:

• The backup was taken from a physical FMC 1000 appliance.

• The restore target is an FMCv deployed on KVM.

• Both source and target are running software version 7.0.7 (build 518).

• The restore operation terminates with the error: "From J to I is not allowed.. Aborting the Restore".

• The error occurs regardless of version parity between the source and target systems.

Environment

• Source Platform: FMC 1000 (physical hardware appliance).

• Target Platform: FMCv deployed on KVM hypervisor.

• Software Version (both source and target): 7.0.7 (build 518). Other software versions can be also affected.

Resolution

The error "From J to I is not allowed.. Aborting the Restore" is generated by a compatibility check that is executed during the FMC restore process. This check evaluates the model class of the backup source against the model class of the restore target. The identifiers "J" and "I" in the error message represent internal model-class designators for the source (FMC 1000) and target (FMCv on KVM) platforms respectively. When these model classes are incompatible for a cross-platform restore, the process is immediately and deliberately aborted.

These steps describe the correct approach to understanding, and resolving this issue:

1. Understand why the error occurs

The restore operation is blocked because FMC 1000 to FMCv on KVM is not a supported model-migration path. Matching the displayed software version alone does not make a cross-platform restore supported. The FMC backup restore process enforces a model-class compatibility check, and when the source and target model classes are incompatible, the restore is aborted. This is an intentional platform safeguard, not a bug or transient error.

2. Do NOT Retry or attempt to bypass the restore

It is critical that the restore operation is not retried and that no attempt is made to bypass the model-class check. Forcing or circumventing this check can leave the target FMCv in an unsupported and potentially non-functional state, which can require a full rebuild of the virtual appliance. The compatibility check exists to protect the integrity of the target platform.

3. Migrate the FMC using a supported method

There are 2 options.

Option 1: Identify a supported migration path

Cisco documents specific supported model migration paths for the FMC 1000. The KVM hypervisor is not a documented or supported target platform for FMC 1000 model migration via backup restore. You must consult the Cisco FMC Model Migration Guide to identify a supported target platform and migration workflow before proceeding. The relevant Cisco documentation for FMC model migration is listed in the Related Content section of this article.

Option 2: Use the Import/Export process

Manually export the support policies from the source FMC and import them in the target FMC.

Source FMC

a. On the source FMC navigate to System > Tools > Import/Export.

b. Select the policies that you want to export. Note that at the time of this writing some policies such as VPN cannot be exported. You have to manually configure them on the target FMC.

c. Select Export to download the .sfo file.

Target FMC

d. On the target FMC navigate to System > Tools > Import/Export and select Upload Package.

e. Select Choose File and select the .sfo file.

f. Select Upload.

g. Select Import. An import manifest appears. Network and Port objects is reused if name and content matches with existing objects, in all other cases objects with duplicate names are imported as new objects with a number appended to the name. You can also map interface objects to existing or new objects.

h. Select Import. An import tasks starts.

i. Once the import tasks finishes refresh the browser to see the imported policies.

Cause

The root cause of the restore failure is that FMC 1000 to FMCv on KVM is not a supported model-migration path. The FMC backup restore process includes an internal model-class compatibility check that compares the model designator of the backup source against the model designator of the restore target. In this scenario, the source FMC 1000 carries a model-class identifier of "J" and the target FMCv on KVM carries a model-class identifier of "I." Because these two model classes are not compatible for a cross-platform restore, the process is immediately aborted with the message:

From J to I is not allowed.. Aborting the Restore

The fact that both the source and target systems are running the same software version (7.0.7, build 518) is not sufficient to make the restore supported. The compatibility check is model-class based, not version-based.

Related Content

• Cisco FMC Model Migration Guide — About FMC Model Migration

• Cisco FMC Model Migration Guide — FMC Migration Workflow

• FMC Import/Export

• Cisco Technical Support & Downloads

Revision History

Revision	Publish Date	Comments
1.0	25-Oct-2026	Initial Release