NetApp VAAI Plugin Required for Converting Virtual Disk Provisioning on ESXi

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to change the provisioning type of a virtual disk on a VMware ESXi using NetApp NFS storage, users may find that only "thin" provisioning option is available

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

This limitation occurs because the VMware ESXi hosts need the NetApp VAAI (vStorage APIs for Array Integration) plugin to perform certain storage operations on NetApp storage arrays.

The NetApp VAAI plugin provides hardware accelerated operations that allow seamless disk provisioning on NetApp NFS datastore.

Resolution

To enable full provisioning option on virtual disks with NetaApp NFS Storage follow these steps to install and configure the NetApp plugin on your ESXi host:

1. Download the Netapp VAAI Plugin

• Obtain the latest NetApp VAAI plugin for ESXi from the NetApp support site

2. Install the VAAI plugin on the ESXi host:

• Upload the plugin package to your ESXi using file transfer tool
• Install the plugin via SSH by running the following commands:

esxcli software vib install-v /path/plugin.vib

• Reboot the ESXi host.
• Confirm that the VAAI features are enabled on the NetApp NFS datastore. You can validate this through the vSphere web client or by checking the datastore properties hardware acceleration option.
• Attempt to convert the disk provisioning format again. Both thick and thin provisioning option should be available