Unable to delete empty datastore

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0
• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Issue/Introduction

Unable to delete empty datastore, stuck datastore in vSphere that can't be deleted because of the "vSphere Cluster Service VM"/vCLS machines attached to it. Also unable to migrate these vCLS machines.

The vCLS VMs show 0 bytes used storage.

 

Environment

vSphere cluster with vCLS VMs

Cause

The underlying storage being removed while the vCLS VMs were running and before the datastore was unmounted. The datastore cannot be removed from vCenter or host viewpoint until all references to it are removed.

Resolution

Place cluster into retreat mode.

Reboot the host. - Note that entering maintenance mode may hang or fail due to hostd performance during the problem, if this is the case a force reboot outside of maintenance may is required.

Take cluster out of retreat mode.

Additional Information

Disable vCLS on a cluster via Retreat Mode

Unmounting or detaching a VMFS, NFS and vVols datastore fails (KB 321023)