Unable to remove inaccessible datastore from vCenter server

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Datastore shows as (inaccessible) in the vCenter UI

• No files are available in the vCenter UI for the respective datastore

• There is an error: Datastore ‘{name}’ is not accessible or “No connected and accessible host is attached to the datastore.

• Datastores may show as accessible but will not have any reference to the ESXi hosts or virtual machines.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 7.x
VMware vCenter Server 8.x
VMware vCenter Server 9.0.x

Cause

This issue can be due to any of the following:

• The underlying storage device or LUN associated with the datastore may have been removed, decommissioned, or failed without proper cleanup.

• vCLS VMs were forcefully deleted from the VMs without the host being in Retreat Mode.

• The vCenter database (VCDB) retains inaccessible datastore records when they are not properly removed, leaving objects in the environment.

Resolution

Perform a cluster level rescan on all the clusters where the datastore was mounted previously.

If after a cluster level rescan the inaccessible datastore entry is seen open case with Broadcom Technical Support 

Additional Information

Additionally, if the datastore was removed or deleted from storage before removing from the host, and is now

 - showing as inaccessible from vCenter

 - is present but errors out when accessing from the host client

 - cannot be removed from vCenter or host client while failing with "Not a known device"

 - does NOT show from the host CLI

The issue may be resolved by rebooting the hosts showing the datastore attached.

Note: Please make sure that you remove the datastore assignments from the ESXi hosts at the backend storage level to prevent them from reappearing in vCenter.