All vVOLs in the vCenter shows inaccessible, SPS Logs shows : Request Entity Too Large

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This document outlines a known issue in PURE Storage VASA 5.0 that may result in VASA Providers appearing offline in vCenter Server.

Symptoms:

VASA Provider in vCenter showing offline

Unable to Manage VMs running on vVOLs
No VASA provider visible in the ESXi Host

# localcli storage vvol vasaprovider list
#

Storage Container shows Accessible: false

# localcli storage vvol storagecontainer list

<Storage_Container>-vvol:
StorageContainer Name: <Storage_Container>-vvol
UUID: vvol:a1##########4a00-a2##########1d2b
Array: com.purestorage:########-####-####-a26c-############
Size(MB): 0
Free(MB): 0
Accessible: false
Default Policy:
Stretched: No

Protocol Endpoint list shows accessible

# localcli storage vvol protocolendpoint list

naa.60060#######################FC10:
Host Id: naa.60060#######################fc10
Array Id: com.purestorage:########-####-####-a26c-############
Type: SCSI
Accessible: true
Configured: true
Lun Id: naa.60060#######################fc10
Remote Host:
Remote Share:
NFS4x Transport IPs:
Server Scope:
Server Major:
Auth:
User:
Storage Containers: ########-####-####-a26c-############

Environment

vSphere ESXi 7.x
vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

The SetContext() operation triggered by the Storage Policy Service (SPS) is being rejected by the Pure VASA Provider with the error "413 - Request Entity Too Large". This is due to the payload size exceeding the default maximum allowed by the VASA provider.
In VASA 3.0, Pure had configured the payload size limit to 5 MB. However, during the migration/upgrade to VASA 5.0, this configuration was inadvertently omitted. Although the UI reflects a 5 MB limit, the VASA provider internally enforces a 1 MB limit, resulting in the rejection of payloads larger than 1 MB.

The SetContext() API is invoked by SPS to establish a session with the VASA Provider (VP).
- This call includes the vSphere storage context, which contains:
  - Filesystem mount point details,
  - ESXi host HBA initiators required for storage access,
  - A unique identifier for the vCenter Server.
- The payload also encloses details of all ESXi hosts managed by the vCenter Server.

The issue arises due to a mismatch between the expected and actual payload size at VASA Provider.
- /var/log/vmware/vmware-sps/sps.log shows following events:

[pool-115936-thread-1] DEBUG opId=sps-Main-898183-523 httpclient.wire.header - << "HTTP/1.1 413 Request Entity Too Large[][\n]"
[pool-115936-thread-1] DEBUG opId=sps-Main-898183-523 httpclient.wire.content - << "<head><title>413 Request Entity Too Large</title></head>[][\n]"

Caused by: org.apache.axis2.AxisFault: Transport error: 413 Error: Request Entity Too Large
java.lang.InterruptedException: org.apache.axis2.AxisFault: Transport error: 413 Error: Request Entity Too Large

Resolution

A configuration correction on the Pure VASA provider side is required to resolve the issue and restore compatibility with larger payload sizes generated by SPS.

Additional Information

The VVOLD service is responsible for managing the ESXi firewall rules related to the VVol VASA Provider. Manual configuration of firewall settings for VVol access is typically not required, as VVOLD handles this automatically.
In the event of any issues or inconsistencies with the firewall rules, restarting the VVOLD service is usually sufficient to restore the correct configuration and re-establish communication with the VASA Provider.