Important Consideration When Deleting Datacenters with Objects

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Deleting a datacenter that contains objects, including hosts, switches, and settings, is technically possible through certain interfaces or APIs. However, this action is not reversible, and VMware cannot recover the deleted datacenter or its contents.

Resolution

To avoid unintended data loss and ensure the stability of your vCenter environment, we recommend the following best practices:

•  Take a snapshot of the vCenter Server before making any changes to ensure a restore point is available.
•  Before deleting a datacenter, ensure it is empty of all objects, including hosts, switches, and other settings.
•  If you need to remove a datacenter, carefully plan and execute the removal process to avoid any potential data loss.
•  Regularly back up your vCenter configuration to mitigate the risk of data loss in case of accidental deletion.

Additional Information

While the system may allow you to delete a datacenter with objects, it's essential to exercise caution and follow best practices to avoid irreversible data loss. If you have any questions or concerns about managing your datacenter inventory, please refer to the official documentation for guidance.

Create a Data Center

Note:

When working with vCenter inventory structure, note that objects like VMs, Hosts, or Datastores are not direct child objects of a datacenter. Instead, each datacenter has four folder objects:
- vm
- host
- datastore
- network

These folder objects are reflected in the vSphere client as tabs on the left-hand side in the inventory view. Other inventory objects are child objects of their specific folders (e.g., hosts and clusters under "host", virtual machines under "vm", etc.).