I was able to shrink the C: drive to 200gb desired space. Now I have two unallocated partitions that I need to combine into one and convert to GPT.
Any ideas how to best handle this? See image attached.
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
Sorry, my bad. This doesn't work, since the partition table on a single disk is either MBR or GPT.
In my case, I found out that HP BL460c blade has Legacy BIOS and can not boot in UEFI.
It's not the host, but the guest OS which requires EFI boot in order to boot from a >2TB system disk. So you will unfortunately not be able to workaround this, but need to reinstall the guest OS. Even with GPT in place, you may still consider to create separate OS and data partitions, or - even better - create two virtual disks, one for the OS and one for the data.
André
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
Yeap, Reinstall sounds like the way to go here. Couple of questions to get this right this time around:
1. Can I delete the OS part without having to delete the entire VM or I should delete the entire VM and redo it from scratch?
2. Should I create two virtual disks right away or first create 200gb for OS then 10.8TB GPT for data?
Thanks in advance.
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
I'd actually go with Option 2. There's no need to delete the whole VM, you can also just delete the VM's virtual disk, and then create 2 new ones. Please make sure you close the VM's settings after deleting the virtual disk, and before creating the new ones. This will ensure that the disks are named properly.
Rembmer that if you want to have both disks with GPT, you need to set the virtual boot firmware to EFI.
André
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
Are you referring to VMDK file(s) to be deleted in current virtual machine?
In my case there are two vmdk files. See attached,
Because my blade does not have EFI, I can only have data drive set to GPT.
I would have to create the first Drive as eager zero for Win OS. Then create thin provisioned for data in GPT.
Should I create both drives right away? First OS then Data?
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
The .vmdk files shown in the screenshot belong to a single virtual disk with an active snapshot. Anyway, do NOT delete the files from the datastore browser. Delete it from the VM's settings hardware dialog.
Because my blade does not have EFI, I can only have data drive set to GPT.
The host's hardware doesn't matter. It's only the VM's setting and the guest OS partitioning which matter.
I would have to create the first Drive as eager zero for Win OS. Then create thin provisioned for data in GPT.
Don't bother with eager zeroed disks for operating systems. This won't improve performance very much.
Should I create both drives right away? First OS then Data?
Yes, after deleting the VM's current virtual disk, you can create both new virtual disks. This way the OS disk will be attached to SCSI 0:0 and the data disk will be SCSI 0:1.
André
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
Oops, I already deleted them from the datastore browser first (after consolidating snapshots) then I deleted the drive from VMs settings. Hope its not a problem. It did allow me to create new drive without any problems.
Question regarding creating second GPT drive (Thin) for 10.8TB:
At which point do I indicate it is in GPT? In the OS?
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
Yes, the guest partitioning is done from the guest OS level.
André
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vSAN maximun size = 64TB?
Hi guys,
Since vSAN 6.0 support max 1 datastore per cluster and Max volume size for VMFS is 64TB.
Does it means 64TB is the maximum for a single vSAN cluster?
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
I gave D: drive 10.8TB space i.e. 10800GB
So not sure why D: drive is only showing 10.5TB
I have a question regarding the mode of D: drive in vmware:
Do I want this large D drive be affected by snapshots or not? MODE: Independent Persistent/Non or not at all?
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
I gave D: drive 10.8TB space i.e. 10800GB
So not sure why D: drive is only showing 10.5TB
That's correct. One TB equals 1,024GB, so 10,800 / 1,024 = ~10.56TB
Do I want this large D drive be affected by snapshots or not? ...
It depends on whether you need snapshots, e.g. for VM based backups.
... MODE: Independent Persistent/Non or not at all?
You definitely don't want to set the mode to "Non persistent"! In this mode all changes are discarded when you shut down the VM.
André
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
I guess i would have to recreate it again for 10.8tb. You mentioned not to delete vmdk drive file from datastore browser but do it in the settings. Why? what is the proper way to delete?
Do you know what would happen if I create a drive larger than what my RAID controller can support. My RAID support 10.8 TB sas volume but what if I create new 11tb HD in VM settings?
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
Basically, you do it from the VM settings because it removes the path to the VMDK from the config file and then also gives you the option to remove it from the datastore. Deleting VMDK and other VM files from the datastore browser is reserved for cleaning up after a disaster of some kind that left extra files behind.
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
In my case, with previous VMDK delete I did both but in the wrong order. First I deleted VMDK from Datastore browser then I deleted it from VM settings.
I am not sure if the method above still did it cleanly. If not, what file should I be cleaning up and what to clean up?
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
Browse the datastore and look at what big files are still there.You can edit the settings of your VM and get the path to the disk that is still there. Remove the other VMDK that isn't still in the folder. If you post a screen shot of your datastore, we can probably point you to the specific file.
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Re: Extend existing datastores vs Creating new datastores
I usually recommend to all my customers to avoid extending datastores, upgrading VMFS and all related modifications.
This is based on my experience with VMFS-recovery.Thats why I highly recommend your option #2
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Re: File Server Datastore Provisioning assistance
All the big VMDK files are gone. My VMX file seems to point to correct new VMDK file. Should I assume the previous delete went well?
Also the answer to my question was solved by EXPANDING the volume with the following command:
vmkfstools -X 10.8T /vmfs/volumes/datastore2/VIXXXX/VIXXXX_2.vmdk
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Re: Extend existing datastores vs Creating new datastores
Thanks a lot for your input, that is what I think we will go with.
Just to pick your brain (if you have time), what negative experiences with VMFS recovery drove you to this recommendation for your customers? thanks again!
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Re: Extend existing datastores vs Creating new datastores
As a counter point I agree with VMFS upgrades, historically they were pretty sketchy. However just extending VMFS datastores I do all the time without interruption. Recreating 100 datastores and migrating the data becomes a massive endeavor compared to increasing the size of the existing ones depending on how much data you need to move. I would have a quick discussion with your storage vendor but I have done this consistently on Dell EqualLogic, EMC Clariion and HP 3Par without incident.
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Re: Extend existing datastores vs Creating new datastores
Hmmmm, interesting. That (recreating over 100 datastores) is the biggest reason I asked. The amount of downtime we have in production is extremely minimal and a lot of customers opt out of any maintenance periods thus making it more difficult. Obviously, if there are major consequences for increasing the datastores I would do it the longer way and just suck it up, but if there are really no downsides with the newer vSphere versions it makes the idea of just increasing them look better and better.
We are using 3Par storage, and will most definitely ask them for their insight.
Thanks!
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