Abstract: Systems and methods for reliably migrating a virtual machine (VM) are provided. The method comprises receiving overhead and reliability factors for hosts in a hosting fabric; determining a plurality of viable migration paths for migrating a source VM from a source host to a target host in the hosting fabric, wherein the migration is accomplished through a series of migration phases, wherein a phase involves migration of the source VM from one host to another host in a migration path; determining total overhead costs associated with each migration path; and selecting a migration path from among said plurality of migration paths according to the overhead costs and reliability factors, wherein the reliability of the migration over the selected path is monitored and controlled by dynamically allocating and de-allocating one or more replicas of the source VM on one or more hosts in the migration fabric.