diff --git a/docs/how-to/import-remote-cluster.rst b/docs/how-to/import-remote-cluster.rst
index edeecff0c..76d89c41e 100644
--- a/docs/how-to/import-remote-cluster.rst
+++ b/docs/how-to/import-remote-cluster.rst
@@ -26,6 +26,11 @@ At the primary cluster, this token can be imported to create the remote record.
 
    sudo microceph remote import simple eyJmc2lkIjoiN2FiZmMwYmItNjIwNC00M2FmLTg4NDQtMjg3NDg2OGNiYTc0Iiwia2V5cmluZy5jbGllbnQubWFnaWNhbCI6IkFRQ0hJdmRtNG91SUNoQUFraGsvRldCUFI0WXZCRkpzUC92dDZ3PT0iLCJtb24uaG9zdC5zaW1wbGUtcmVpbmRlZXIiOiIxMC40Mi44OC42OSIsInB1YmxpY19uZXR3b3JrIjoiMTAuNDIuODguNjkvMjQifQ== --local-name magical
 
+.. note::
+
+   The value of ``--local-name`` must be different from the remote cluster name (``simple`` in this example).
+   Using the same name for both will result in an error to avoid conflicts during replication.
+
 This will create the required $simple.conf and $simple.keyring files.
 Note: Importing a remote cluster is a uni-directional operation. For symmetric
 relations both clusters should be added as remotes at each other.
diff --git a/microceph/api/ops_replication.go b/microceph/api/ops_replication.go
index 50bc0cd1d..3e9e8a6aa 100644
--- a/microceph/api/ops_replication.go
+++ b/microceph/api/ops_replication.go
@@ -100,6 +100,10 @@ func cmdOpsReplication(s state.State, r *http.Request, patchRequest types.Replic
 			return response.InternalError(err)
 		}
 
+        if data.RemoteName != "" && data.RemoteName == data.LocalAlias {
+            return response.SmartError(fmt.Errorf("local alias (--local-name) and remote name must be different to avoid site conflicts"))
+        }
+
 		// carry RbdReplicationRequest in interface object.
 		data.SetAPIObjectId(resource)
 		// Patch request type.
diff --git a/microceph/api/types/replication_rbd.go b/microceph/api/types/replication_rbd.go
index f45a1be2d..0eaa6a121 100644
--- a/microceph/api/types/replication_rbd.go
+++ b/microceph/api/types/replication_rbd.go
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ type RbdReplicationRequest struct {
 	SourcePool  string `json:"source_pool" yaml:"source_pool"`
 	SourceImage string `json:"source_image" yaml:"source_image"`
 	RemoteName  string `json:"remote" yaml:"remote"`
+	LocalAlias  string `json:"local_alias" yaml:"local_alias"`
 	// snapshot in d,h,m format
 	Schedule        string                 `json:"schedule" yaml:"schedule"`
 	ReplicationType RbdReplicationType     `json:"replication_type" yaml:"replication_type"`