Increasing the size of an existing virtual disk fails with the error:The disk extend operation failed:
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Increasing the size of an existing virtual disk fails with the error:The disk extend operation failed:

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Article ID: 322255

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
  • Cannot increase the size of a virtual disk
  • Expanding a virtual disk (VMDK) fails
  • You see the error:

    The disk extend operation failed: REASON

    Where REASON can be any one of these:
     
    • msg.disklib.NOSPACE
    • msg.fileio.lock
    • msg.disklib.UNSUPPORTEDFEATURE
    • msg.disklib.INVAL
    • 22 (Invalid argument)
    • 5 (Input/output error)
    • 12 (Cannot allocate memory)


Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 6.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware vCenter Server 6.7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.7
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5

Cause

This issue occurs due to one of these reasons:
  • msg.disklib.NOSPACE
  • msg.fileio.lock
  • msg.disklib.UNSUPPORTEDFEATURE
  • msg.disklib.INVAL
  • 22 (Invalid argument)
  • 5 (Input/output error)
  • 12 (Cannot allocate memory)

Resolution

This table list the issues, cause of the issues, and the its corresponding resolution:
 
ErrorCause of the ErrorResolution
msg.disklib.NOSPACEThis issue occurs if the datastore on which the virtual disk resides does not have enough free space to accommodate the increase in the virtual machine size.
To resolve this issue, either create more free space in the datastore by migrating or deleting unnecessary virtual machines and files, or increase the size of the datastore.
 
msg.fileio.lockThis issue occurs if the virtual disk is already actively in use and locked by some ESXi host. In certain circumstances, these locks may not be released when the virtual machine is powered off.
To prevent concurrent changes to critical virtual machine files and file systems, ESXi/ESX hosts establish locks on these files including the virtual disks.
msg.disklib.UNSUPPORTEDFEATUREThis issue occurs if the ParentCID parameter in the virtual disk's descriptor file is not set to ffffffff.To resolve this issue, see Extending a virtual disk fails with the error:msg.disklib.UNSUPPORTEDFEATURE (2109730).
msg.disklib.INVAL or 22 (Invalid argument)
This issue occurs if an invalid argument was passed for extend operation. This can happen because of various reasons:
  • If the virtual disk does not allow extend option. For example, growing sparse disk is not allowed.
  • If the new size of the virtual disk is smaller than the existing size.
  • If ESXi cannot determine the available space of the datastore on which the virtual machine resides.
  • If you attempt to extend a VMDK beyond 2 TB on a powered on virtual machine. For more information, see Support for virtual machine disks larger than 2 TB in VMware ESXi 5.5.x and 6.0.x (2058287).
If the cause of your failure is not listed here, file a support request. For more information on how to file a support request, see How to file a Support Request in Customer Connect (2006985).
5 (Input/output error)This issue occurs if ESXi host has a problem accessing the underlying storage device or datastore.
Troubleshoot and resolve any issues with the underlying storage device:
12 (Cannot allocate memory)
This issue occurs if any of the software component in the ESXi storage stack, such as VMFS module, runs out of heap memory capacity.
 
Another instance where this can occur is if there are lot of stale snapshot files in the data store on which the virtual machine is located.

If the issue is due to other reasons, file a support request. For more information, see How to file a Support Request in Customer Connect (2006985).


Note: If you see a different reason for the failure, open a support request with VMware Support. For more information, see How to file a Support Request in Customer Connect (2006985).


Additional Information

For more information, see:
Growing, thinning, and shrinking virtual disks for VMware ESX and ESXi
Committing snapshots when there are no snapshot entries in the Snapshot Manager
Troubleshooting fibre channel storage connectivity
Troubleshooting iSCSI LUN connectivity issues on ESX/ESXi hosts
Troubleshooting ESXi/ESX connectivity to iSCSI arrays using software initiators
Troubleshooting LUN connectivity issues on ESXi/ESX hosts
Troubleshooting connectivity issues to an NFS datastore on ESX and ESXi hosts
Increasing the size of a virtual disk
ESXi/ESX host reports VMFS heap warnings when hosting virtual machines that collectively use 4 TB or 20 TB of virtual disk storage
How to file a Support Request in Customer Connect
Support for virtual machine disks larger than 2 TB in VMware ESXi 5.5.x and 6.0.x
Extending a virtual disk fails with the error:msg.disklib.UNSUPPORTEDFEATURE
既存の仮想ディスクのサイズを増やすと次のエラーで失敗する：ディスクの拡張操作に失敗しました：<Reason> (The disk extend operation failed: <Reason>)
Adding space to an ESXi/ESX host virtual disk

中文简体：增加现有虚拟磁盘大小失败并显示错误：磁盘扩展操作失败: (The disk extend operation failed:)

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