VM Consolidation Failure Due to 'File Too Large' Error

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to consolidate snapshots on a virtual machine (VM), vSphere Client displays the error:

Consolidation failed for disk node 'scsi#:#': ## (File too large). An error occurred while consolidating disks: ## (File too large).

"Virtual machine disks consolidation is needed" warning is visible in the Virtual Machine summary tab.
Virtual machine remains functional while powered on, but fails to power on after shutdown.
Migration of the affected virtual machine to a different datastore fails while powered on.
Consolidation task reports success in vSphere Client, but VM settings indicate disks are still running on snapshot disks.
ESXi host logs indicate consolidation failure due to lack of disk space.

ESXi /var/run/log/hostd.log contains errors such as:

DiskLib_IsCombinePossible: Could not get free space on disk using /vmfs/volumes/...
Consolidate Disks message: An error occurred while consolidating disks: File too large.
Event 33746 : Virtual machine ##### disks consolidation failed on ##### in cluster ##### in ha-datacenter.

VMX log (/vmfs/volumes/vm-dir/vmware.log) contains error entries such as:

ConsolidateItemComplete: Online consolidation failed for disk node 'scsi#:#': File too large
DiskLib IsCombinePossible: Could not get free space on disk using /vmf s/volumes/<Datastore>/<VM_name>/<VM_name>.vmdk.
ConsolidateCheckSpaceNeeded: Not enough space to combine source disk: ' /vmfs/volumes/<Datastore>/<VM_name>/<VM_name-00000#. vmdk' and destination disk: '/vmfs/volumes/<Datastore>/<VM_name>/ <VM_name>.vmdk.': File too large (1769481)

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)
VMware vSphere Storage (VVS)
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x, 9.x
VMware vCenter Server 8.x, 9.x

Cause

This issue occurs due to insufficient free space on the datastore hosting the virtual machine's disk files. To successfully consolidate snapshots, the available free space must be at least 1.5 times the total size of all snapshot files (.vmdk) for the virtual machine.

If this requirement is not met, consolidation will fail with a “File too large” error.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, perform the following steps:

Calculate the required free disk space for consolidation by following: How to calculate snapshot consolidation space requirements.
Free up datastore space by performing one of the following:
1. 1. Remove or relocate unused files.
  2. Migrate other virtual machines to different datastores.
  3. Extend the datastore capacity.
Once sufficient space is available, initiate consolidation:
1. 1. Right-click the virtual machine in the vSphere Client.
  2. Select Snapshots > Consolidate.
Monitor the task in the vSphere Client to ensure successful completion.

Workaround

If online consolidation fails, migrate the disks or clone the virtual machine to a different datastore while in a powered-off state:

Power off the virtual machine.
Migrate the disk with the snapshot chain to another datastore to consolidate, or clone the virtual machine to another datastore. Cloning automatically consolidates snapshots into the new destination disk.

Additional Information

To avoid these situations, monitor snapshots in the environment and delete them as soon as possible. Refer to Best practices for using VMware snapshots in the vSphere environment for more information.
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