Unable to mount NFS datastore from NetApp storage array due to incorrect configuration
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Unable to mount NFS datastore from NetApp storage array due to incorrect configuration

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Article ID: 307882

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
  • When mounting a NFS datastore, it mounts but is not accessible.
  • When attempting to check the contents of the NFS datastore you see this error:

    [root@ netApp_NFS]# pwd
    /vmfs/volumes/netApp_NFS
    [root@ netApp_NFS]# ls
    ls: .: Permission denied

  • Unmounting and re-mounting the datastore with esxcfg-nas command does not resolve this issue.
  • In the vSphere Client, you see error similar to:

    error during configuration of the host. Cannot open volume

    or

    error: An error occurred during host configuration

  • In the vmkernel or messages log files, you see an entry similar to:

    NFS: 107: Command: (mount) Server: (nfsserver.vmware.com) IP: (11.111.11.111) Path: (/vol/UATNFS1) Label: (UATNFS1) Options: (None)

  • In the hostd.log log file of the ESX host, you see entries similar to:

    [2009-02-10 13:44:42.852 'Hostsvc::DatastoreSystem' 22633392 info] Creating datastore UATNFS1
    [2009-02-10 13:44:42.887 'FSVolumeProvider' 22633392 error] VmkCtl mount or ProcessNas failed: Cannot open volume: /vmfs/volumes/59826fe0-4018785d
    [2009-02-10 13:44:42.894 'TaskManager' 22633392 info] Task Completed : haTask-ha-host-vim.host.DatastoreSystem.createNasDatastore-46962
    [2009-02-10 13:44:42.897 'Vmomi' 22633392 info] Activation [N5Vmomi10ActivationE:0xf823f18] : Invoke done [createNasDatastore] on [vim.host.DatastoreSystem:ha-datastoresystem]
    [2009-02-10 13:44:42.897 'Vmomi' 22633392 info] Throw vim.fault.PlatformConfigFault
    [2009-02-10 13:44:42.898 'Vmomi' 22633392 info] Result:
    (vim.fault.PlatformConfigFault) {
    dynamicType = <unset>,text = "Cannot open volume: /vmfs/volumes/59826fe0-4018785d",
    msg = ""
    }

    [2011-05-31 15:36:42.151 F64D0B90 verbose 'Hostsvc::DatastoreSystem'] NfsClientUpdate -- unable to find vol 10.1.1.1:/vol/NFS_DataStore
    [2011-05-31 15:36:42.151 F64D0B90 verbose 'Hostsvc::DatastoreSystem'] ReconcileNASDatastores: Discovering new filesystem volumes.
    [2011-05-31 15:36:42.151 F64D0B90 verbose 'FSVolumeProvider'] RefreshNASVolumes called
    [2011-05-31 15:36:42.169 F640DB90 info 'App'] AdapterServer caught exception: vim.fault.PlatformConfigFault
    [2011-05-31 15:36:42.169 F640DB90 info 'TaskManager'] Task Completed : haTask-ha-host-vim.host.DatastoreSystem.createNasDatastore-1937427937 Status error
    [2011-05-31 15:36:42.170 F640DB90 info 'Vmomi'] Activation [N5Vmomi10ActivationE:0x5c6e0510] : Invoke done [createNasDatastore] on [vim.host.DatastoreSystem:ha-datastoresystem]
    [2011-05-31 15:36:42.170 F640DB90 verbose 'Vmomi'] Arg spec:
    (vim.host.NasVolume.Specification) {
    dynamicType = <unset>,
    remoteHost = "10.1.1.1",
    remotePath = "/vol/NFS_DataStore",
    localPath = "NFS_DataStore",
    accessMode = "readWrite",
    type = "nfs",
    userName = <unset>,
    password = <unset>,
    }


Environment

VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded

Cause

This issue occurs due to an incorrect configuration value for the qtree security type on the NetApp storage array. The qtree permissions on the NetApp storage device are set to NTFS or Mixed style (also known as UNIX).

Resolution

To resolve this issue, check and correct the setting of the qtree security type value for the NetApp volume in question.

Ensure that the qtree security type value is set to Unix rather than NTFS.

This setting can be set for each individual NFS export, depending on the configuration of the NetApp.

For more information, see the NetApp whitepapers TR-3428: NetApp and VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3 Storage Best Practices and TR-3749: NetApp and VMware vSphere Storage Best Practices.

Note: The preceding links were correct as of December 16, 2014. If you find a link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

To check the qtree permissions, run this command from the CLI on NetApp:

qtree status

You see output similar to:

Volume Tree Style Oplocks Status
-------- -------- ----- -------- ---------
vol0 unix enabled normal
ProdLuns unix enabled normal
ProdRDM1 unix enabled normal
<server> ntfs enabled normal

This sample output indicates that the volume is set to NTFS style.

Note: Enabling CIFS can change the qtree type to NTFS on existing datastores. After enabling CIFS, be sure to change the qtree permission back to UNIX.

To resolve this issue, run this command from the NetApp CLI to set the qtree permission to UNIX:

qtree security /vol/<volume> unix

To change the qtree permission using the NetApp GUI:

  1. Click Volumes > Qtrees > Manage.
  2. Select the volume and change the permission from NTFS to UNIX.


Additional Information

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