Creating a local VMFS datastore after a new ESXi 5.x install fails with the error: Error during the configuration of the host:Failed to update the disk partition information

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• After a fresh installation of ESXi 5.x, you are unable to create a local VMFS datastore on the host.
• Creating a local VMFS datastore on the ESXi 5.x host fails.
• In the Datastore Creation wizard, you see the error:
  
  Error during the configuration of the host:Failed to update the disk partition information
  
  
• This issue is seen to occur on, but is not restricted to, DELL PowerEdge R 720 servers
• This issue occurs if the host is installed or booting from a USB key.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Cause

This issue occurs if there are two partitions on the local disk and the host cannot delete these partitions to create a VMFS partition.

To determine if there are already two partitions on the local disk, run this command:

# fdisk -lu

You see output similar to:

Disk /dev/disks/naa.12345678901234567890123456789012: 299.4 GB, 299439751168 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 36404 cylinders, total 584843264 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes

Device Boot Start End Blocks Id System
/dev/disks/naa.12345678901234567890123456789012p1 63 80324 40131 de Unknown
Partition 1 does not end on cylinder boundary
/dev/disks/naa.12345678901234567890123456789012p2 * 81920 4276223 2097152 c Win95 FAT32 (LBA)
Partition 2 does not end on cylinder boundary

Resolution

To resolve this issue, remove the two partitions from the local disk:

1. Make note of the disk identifier which was returned by the fdisk command in the Cause section as it is required in this procedure.
   
   
2. Run this command to open the disk's partition table for editing:
   
   # fdisk -u /dev/disks/naa.12345678901234567890123456789012
   
   Example output:
   
   The number of cylinders for this disk is set to 36404.
   There is nothing wrong with that, but this is larger than 1024, and could in certain setups cause problems with:
   
   1) software that runs at boot time (e.g., old versions of LILO)
   
   2) booting and partitioning software from other OSs (e.g., DOS FDISK, OS/2 FDISK)
   
   
3. To delete the first partition, type d and then type 1. For example:
   
   Command (m for help): d
   Partition number (1-4): 1
   
   
4. To delete the second partition, type d and then type 2. For example:
   
   Command (m for help): d
   Partition number (1-4): 2
   
   
5. To write the changes made by fdisk, type w. For example:
   
   Command (m for help): w
   The partition table has been altered!
   
   Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table
   
   
6. To confirm that the partitions have been deleted, run this command:
   
   # fdisk -lu
   
   Example output:
   
   Disk /dev/disks/naa.12345678901234567890123456789012: 299.4 GB, 299439751168 bytes
   255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 36404 cylinders, total 584843264 sectors Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
   
   
7. You are now able to add the local VMFS datastore without issues.

Additional Information

To remove ESXi 5.x GPT partitions, perform these steps:

1. Navigate to the disks/ folder by running the command:
   
   cd /vmfs/devices/disks/
   
   
    
2. To view a long list of the files with their file size in the disks/ folder by running the command:
   
   ls -lh
   
   Note: Look for the network address authority (NAA) number listed in the vSphere Client for the local adapter and note it.
   
    
3. Run these commands:
   
   partedUtil delete naanumber_2
   partedUtil delete naanumber_1
    
4. To verify that the partitions are deleted, run the command:
   
   ls -lh
5. In the vSphere client, click Rescan All in the Storage Adapters view.
6. Navigate through the Add Storage wizard.

For more information, see Using the partedUtil command line utility on ESXi and ESX (1036609).

Identifying disks when working with VMware ESXi/ESX