How to monitor snapshot deletion using esxtop command

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to monitor the snapshot deletion using esxtop when time stamps are not updating for virtual-mode RDM base disks.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0

Resolution

To monitor the snapshot deletion using esxtop in ESXi 4.x/5.x:

1. Log in as root to the ESX/ESXi host using SSH.
2. Run the esxtop command.
   
   Note: This command works only if the virtual machine is powered on.
   
   
3. Press V to see only running virtual machines.
   
   Note: This is not the same as using the v option.
   
   
4. Find the virtual machine running the consolidation.
5. Type e to expand.
6. Enter the Group World ID (value from GID column).
7. Press Enter.
8. Make a note of the World ID (ID column) of the snapshot consolidation process:
   
   
   • In ESX/ESXi 4.x, the process is called SnapshotVMXCombiner.
   • In ESXi 5.x, the process is called vmx-SnapshotVMX.
     
     
9. Type u to display the disk device statistics.
10. Type e to expand and enter the device where the snapshot consolidation process is writing to.
    
    For example:
    
    naa.xxx value
    
    Notes:
    • For a regular vmdk file, the device is the datastore that the flat file is located.
    • For a flat vmdk, identifying the datastore device ID can be done by running esxcfg-scsidevs -m.
    • For RDM, the vmkfstools -q against the pointer file reveals the vml ID, which needs to be correlated with the output of ls -l /vmfs/devices/disks/ to get the device ID.
      
      
11. Identify the Group World ID from step 6.
    
    Note: You may need to sort by MBREAD/s ( press R) or MBWRTN/s (press T) to see the process at the top of the screen.
    
    
12. Review the number IOPS and throughput for the Consolidation process (WRITES/s and MBWRTN/s columns) to ensure that there is activity and the process is working.