Creating a local VMFS volume generates the error: Error during the configuration of the host: Failed to update the disk partition information
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Creating a local VMFS volume generates the error: Error during the configuration of the host: Failed to update the disk partition information

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Article ID: 344486

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

You are experiencing these issues:

  • Creating a VMFS volume on your local hard disk fails with the error:
    • Error during the configuration of the host:Failed to update the disk partition information
    • Device or Resource Busy


Environment

VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable

Resolution

These issues occur because the VMFS volume and partition you are creating is on the same controller as the local storage, and that volume is continually locked by the service console. The command line tool does not check locking state, so it succeeds in creating the partition. Removing a datastore on local disk has the same restriction. You must use command line tools.

The datastore can be created on local disk, but needs to be done via the command line. The following steps describes how to create the partition and VMFS filesystem manually:

  1. Log into the ESX host as root via the console or SSH. For more information, see Unable to connect to an ESX host using Secure Shell (SSH) (1003807). If you ware using ESXi, the partitioning steps must be done at the console. For more information on ESXi, see Tech Support Mode for Emergency Support (1003677).
  2. Identify the disk in which you wish to add the datastore. For more information on how to identify disks in ESX, see Identifying disks when working with VMware ESX (1014953).
  3. Run the command:

    fdisk -u <identifier>

    where <identifier> is the disk selected in step 2.
  4. Use the fdisk utility to create a new partition to house the VMFS filesystem or datastore. The partition should be type fb. For information on partitioning with fdisk, see Partitioning with fdisk.

    The following is an example of the steps you may need take during the partitioning phase:
    1. Type n and press Enter for new partition.
    2. Type p and press Enter for a primary partition.
    3. Type 1 and press Enter.
    4. For the First cylinder prompt, press Enter for the default.
    5. For last cylinder or +size..., press Enter for the default.
    6. Type t and press Enter to change start the process to change volume type.
    7. Type 1 and press Enter to select the first partition and.
    8. Type fb and press Enter. fb is the hexadecimal code for VMFS volumes.
    9. Type x and press Enter to go into Expert mode.
    10. Type b and press Enter to start the process of changing the starting block of the partition.
    11. Type 1 and press Enter to select the first partition.
    12. Type 128 and press Enter to set the starting block to 128.
    13. Type w and press Enter to save the changes and exit fdisk.

  5. Record the partition number that was created as a result of step 4.
  6. Since the ESX installation is actively using the disk, reboot the ESX host for the changes to take effect.
  7. Log into the ESX host as root via the console or SSH.
  8. Run the command:

    vmkfstools -C vmfs3 -b <block size> -S <datastore name> /vmfs/devices/disks/<identifier>:<partition>

    where:
    • <block size> is the block size for the volume. This value determines the maximum file size on the volume. For more information, see Configuration Maximums for the appropriate VMware product version.
    • <datastore name> is the name for the datastore you are about to create.
    • <identifier> is the string used to identify the disk as used in steps 2 and 3.
    • <partition> is the partition number as recorded in step 5.

      Example: vmkfstools -C vmfs3 -b 1m -S localVMFS /vmfs/devices/disks/vmhba0:0:0:7
Note: If the new partition is on the same disk as the Service Console OS and there is I/O going on, vmkfstools cannot reserve it for filesystem creation. This is particularly true with Dell and its PERC controllers.
  1. During the installation of ESX, specify a VMFS partition.
  2. Install ESX using two LUNS on the disk array using the PERC management utility. One LUN to be used by the ESX installation, and the other for the VMFS datastore.

Additional Information

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