Enter Datastore Maintenance Mode on Datastores that do not have SDRS enabled.

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

The purpose of this KB is to document the steps that are involved to successfully put a datastore into maintenance mode when SDRS is not enabled.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 8.0.x

Resolution

When datastore maintenance mode is initiated on a datastore that does not have Storage DRS enabled, an user with either Administrator or CloudAdmin role has to manually storage migrate the Virtual Machines that have vmdks residing on the datastore.

This behavior differs from the entering datastore maintenance mode workflow on Storage DRS enabled datastore where Storage DRS will generate recommendations to migrate the vmdk and can automatically trigger the migrations depending on the Storage DRS migration settings such as automatic or manual.

The maintenance mode task will remain in a waiting state till all migration tasks are complete. Datastore Maintenance mode is successful only when all the Virtual Machines have been migrated away from the source datastore.

When a datastore is in a Entering Maintence Mode or has successfully entered maintenance mode, it will not accept any incoming Virtual Machine requests. Virtual Machine requests are accepted only when the datastore has exited Maintenance Mode.