Difference between re-scan and rebooting ESXi for mounting storages as a datastore.
Article ID: 393180
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
Explanation on difference between effect of Rescanning datastore and rebooting ESXi host on volumes presented to Host and existing Datastores.
Environment
Applicable to all versions of ESXi and vCenter.
Resolution
Rescan of Datastore:
The rescan in the vSphere Client, by default, combines the rescan for new LUNs (and removal of retired ones) with the detection of new VMFS data stores, depending on which check boxes are selected when the rescan is initiated.
The rescan and datastore detection are asynchronous processes. As a result, the detection process for new data stores may complete before the detection process for new LUNs is complete. It may be needed to perform the rescan twice if the newly added LUN has a VMFS data store on it, or perform an HBA rescan and VMFS rescan in separate tasks.
Note: It is always suggested to do a ESXi Host cluster level rescan of Storage, which makes all the esxi hosts aware of current situation of the volumes.
To rescan a datastore on an ESXi Host Client, log into the Host Client, navigate to "Storage > Storage Adapters," and click "Rescan Storage"
To rescan storage on an ESXi host managed by vCenter, right-click the host in the vCenter inventory, navigate to Storage > Rescan Storage, and choose to scan for new storage devices or VMFS volumes, or both.
Rebooting ESXi Host:
On the other hand, when ESXi reboot is initiated, it forces a complete restart and re-initialization, including storage discovery.
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