VMware content library not visible when mounting an ISO file to the VM backed by SMB or NFS

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

ISO files located in the Content Library do not appear when attempting to mount them to a virtual machine.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.x
VMware vCenter Server 8.x
vCenter 9.x

Cause

This issue occurs when ISO files reside in a Content Library backed by SMB or NFS, or when they are hosted on a datastore that is not directly visible to the virtual machine.

Resolution

This is an expected behavior.

Workaround Steps:

1. Ensure the Content Library is accessible to the virtual machine.

   1. Create the Content Library on a local or shared datastore rather than backing it with SMB or NFS.

   2. Verify the datastore connects directly to the ESXi host where the VM resides.

2. Alternatively, copy the ISO to a datastore that the VM can access.

Notes:

• For ISO files residing on an SMB or NFS-backed VMware Content Library, copy the file to a local computer and mount it via the client, or create a new Content Library on a datastore that meets the requirements listed above.
• For more information, refer to the "Using Content Libraries" section of the VMware vSphere Product Documentation.