VMCity
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Vcenter (vCSA 6.0) self shut down due to space issue even with 150GB datastore
This vCSA worked flawlessly for several months since it has been installed.
Installed in a 150Gb datastore, this vCSA with an Embedded Platform Services Controller has 8 ESXi hosts registered to it with about 85 VMs in total. If I am not mistaken VMware vCSA with embedded PSC can handles up to 10 ESXi and 1000 VMs.
The VM had a single snapshot when it went down and while the VM was down and failed to turn on and inaccessible, I decided to consolidate the snapshot by using the "Delete All". Now the the VM shows up under the ESXi on which it was running like this (See file attached please):
/vmfs/volumes/xxxxxxxx-xxx
The Datastore is about 148 Gb at this point...
Can i still delete the snapshot which is still present (see files attached)?
How can I solve this issue without damaging the VM?
vCenter.png
VM-files.png
Installed in a 150Gb datastore, this vCSA with an Embedded Platform Services Controller has 8 ESXi hosts registered to it with about 85 VMs in total. If I am not mistaken VMware vCSA with embedded PSC can handles up to 10 ESXi and 1000 VMs.
The VM had a single snapshot when it went down and while the VM was down and failed to turn on and inaccessible, I decided to consolidate the snapshot by using the "Delete All". Now the the VM shows up under the ESXi on which it was running like this (See file attached please):
/vmfs/volumes/xxxxxxxx-xxx
The Datastore is about 148 Gb at this point...
Can i still delete the snapshot which is still present (see files attached)?
How can I solve this issue without damaging the VM?
vCenter.png
VM-files.png
SOLUTION
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I think you may have a corrupt VM, and this has occurred, when it went down, and was inaccessible.
Why did it go down, because the snapshot filled up the datastore ?
Restore the appliance from backup, or just import a new one (re-install).
Why did it go down, because the snapshot filled up the datastore ?
Restore the appliance from backup, or just import a new one (re-install).
ASKER
Thanks for your suggestions.
Is there any way to manually get rid of the snapshots in the VM folder?
Since the parent drive still exists, can a "Remove from inventory" then "Add to inventory" under the same name help in any way after of course deleting the snapshots?
Is there any way to manually get rid of the snapshots in the VM folder?
Since the parent drive still exists, can a "Remove from inventory" then "Add to inventory" under the same name help in any way after of course deleting the snapshots?
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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ASKER
I will try that tonight and if it does not work i will install a new version as I do not have a backup a this moment. I will keep you posted.
ASKER
Thanks Andrew I reinstalled vcenter and it worked fine.
FYI: This is what really happened and I realized after removing vcenter from inventory on the ESXi on which it was running.
When vcenter stopped responding and was no more accessible because the snapshot filled up the datastore, I decided to restart it via the ESXi server on which it was running on since vcenter was not accessible. When every troubleshooting attempt failed, I decided to remove it from inventory but I could not add back because it was no where to be found.
Therefore I decided to connect to all ESXi individually in the cluster and that is when I understood what happened.
The VM (vcenter server) was still present and in a running state on the other two ESXi servers in the cluster but not accessible and shutting down it from one ESXi server was not good enough. I had to shut it down from both ESXi server (in the cluster) from which the VM (vcenter server was NOT enough ruining from).
That is when I realized without vcenter, It was impossible to have a bigger picture of what was going on until when I opened a connection to to every single ESXi.
Could it be that vcenter server as a VM is an exception to the rule when a VM corruption takes place?
Thank you for your assistance.
FYI: This is what really happened and I realized after removing vcenter from inventory on the ESXi on which it was running.
When vcenter stopped responding and was no more accessible because the snapshot filled up the datastore, I decided to restart it via the ESXi server on which it was running on since vcenter was not accessible. When every troubleshooting attempt failed, I decided to remove it from inventory but I could not add back because it was no where to be found.
Therefore I decided to connect to all ESXi individually in the cluster and that is when I understood what happened.
The VM (vcenter server) was still present and in a running state on the other two ESXi servers in the cluster but not accessible and shutting down it from one ESXi server was not good enough. I had to shut it down from both ESXi server (in the cluster) from which the VM (vcenter server was NOT enough ruining from).
That is when I realized without vcenter, It was impossible to have a bigger picture of what was going on until when I opened a connection to to every single ESXi.
Could it be that vcenter server as a VM is an exception to the rule when a VM corruption takes place?
Thank you for your assistance.
ASKER
Attached are the following files < VM_Folder_Content, Snapshot Manager,VM_Property, VM_Name_on_ESXI>
1.The content of the VM folder shows a lot of files as stated in your article (See file attached)
2.The VM Property does not even show a drive anymore (See file attached)
3.The snapshot manager does not show any snapshot and the VM name has completely changed (See file attached)
4. The name on the ESXi on which it is currently running has completely changed.
For now I copied the entire VM content to a another directory just in case they are multiple manipulations to be done with the VM files.
What do you suggest in this case?
VM_Folder_Content.png
VM_Properties.png
Snapshot-Manager.png
VM_Name_on_ESXi.png