Newly installed NVME disk cannot be recognized by ESXi

Products

• VMware vSAN
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Newly installed NVME disk cannot be recognized by ESXi;
• When checking with "esxcfg-mpath -l" command, the "Device Display Name" is empty;
• When checking in vCenter Server inventory by selecting ESXi host --> Configure --> Storage Adapters --> Selecting vmhbaX -->  Devices, the device name is displayed as empty.

Environment

vSphere ESXi 7.0

vSphere ESXi 8.0

Cause

The newly installed NVMe disk is not recognized by the ESXi host because it is not formatted in a supported or expected format. As a result, ESXi is unable to display the appropriate device information.

Resolution

To resolve the issue and ensure the ESXi host can recognize the newly installed NVMe disk, follow the steps below to format the disk using the appropriate esxcli command:

• Log in to the ESXi host via SSH or console.
  
  
• List the available NVMe devices to confirm you have the right vmhba device 
  
  esxcli nvme device list
  
  
• Run the following command to format the NVMe disk  
  
  esxcli nvme device namespace format -A vmhba6 -f 0 -n 1 -m 0 -p 0 -l 0 -s 0
  
  Note: The values in the above command are examples. You should use the correct parameters specific to your NVMe device and configuration.
  
  
• For detailed information on available options and their usage, refer to the ESXCLI Command Reference document. 
  
  
• Please engage the disk vendor to confirm the appropriate parameters for the "esxcli nvme device namespace format" command based on the disk model and firmware.