"The log partition size on this vCenter Server is smaller than the recommended 50 GB, increase the disk space of /storage/log to 50GB on vCenter 8.0"

Products

VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

vCenter Server patching to 8.0 U3h and above shows the warning message as below:

Warning

The log partition size on this vCenter Server is smaller than the recommended 50 GB.

Resolution

Please update log partition to 50 GB after successful patch. Refer to the Knowledge Base article for detailed steps. https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/409413

Symptoms

Patch pre-check fails or warns about disk space.
The /storage/log partition is typically sized at 10 GB or 25 GB.
Upgrade status may be blocked when using the VAMI.
Current size of log partition can be verified by:

# df -h /storage/log/
Filesystem             Size Used Avail Uses Mounted on
/dev/mapper/log_vg-log 9.8G 3.5G 5.9G 37% /storage/log
#

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0 U3h and above.

Cause

From 8.0 U3h onwards, the size of /storage/log is 50 GB by default for fresh vCenter deployments, major upgrades, and patching using the Reduced Downtime Update (RDU) method. Existing appliances deployed with smaller log partitions trigger this warning to ensure sufficient space for updated logging requirements.

Resolution

Increase the /storage/log partition size to 50 GB by following the steps below:

Important Considerations and Prerequisites:

Ensure a full file-level backup of the vCenter is taken before extending any disks. This is crucial for recovery in case of any issues.
Remove any snapshots on vCenter VM before proceeding. If extending the disk size option is greyed out, the disk may be running on VM level snapshots.

Identify the disk corresponding to /storage/log

Increase the disk (vmdk) size

Increase the /storage/log mount

Identify the hard disk corresponding to /storage/log Logical Volume

Login to vCenter via SSH
Change the shell to 'bash' using **shell** command if the default shell is Appliance shell.
* List APIs: "help api list"
* List Plugins: "help pi list"
* Launch BASH: "shell"
Command> shell
Shell access is granted to root
root@<hostname> [ ~ ]#
Run below command to find the logical volume mapping to /storage/log mount.

lsblk -o NAME,HCTL,MOUNTPOINT,SIZE
Get the real path PCI device details for each device using below command.

ls -al /sys/block/sd*
Based on above step, the partition /sys/block/sde is mapped to SCSI device 0 and Unit number 4 (from the 3rd part of the HCTL entry [2:0:4:0] in the above screenshots), which means /sys/block/sde maps to SCSI (0:4).
Note:
In VC, the letter in /dev/sdX follows the alphabetical order to indicate the sequence of hard disks detected by the system. Hence, /dev/sde maps to Hard disk 5. But, it is recommended to follow above steps to find the disk.

a = Hard Disk 1 (/dev/sda)
b = Hard Disk 2 (/dev/sdb)
...
e = Hard Disk 5 (/dev/sde)
...
q = Hard Disk 17 (/dev/sdq)

Increase the hard disk size

Log in to the vCenter Server using vSphere Client that manages the VC that requires disk resizing (it can also be self-managed VC)
Locate the VC VM, Right-click the VM -> Click Edit Settings
Go to the Hard Disk section and locate the hard disk as identified in above section.
Increase the disk size to 50 GB. Save the Settings (existing disk size will be 10 GB in Tiny and 25 GB in other deployments)

Notes:
Keep it exactly 50GB for future support.
If this option is greyed out, the disk may be running on snapshots or the disk may be at the maximum allowed size, depending on the block size of the datastore.

Increase /storage/log disk space from the Shell

Log in to vCenter as 'root' user using SSH and switch to the shell.
* List APIs: "help api list"
* List Plugins: "help pi list"
* Launch BASH: "shell"
Command> shell
Shell access is granted to root
root@<hostname> [ ~ ]#
Run this command to automatically expand any logical volumes for which the physical volumes are increased.

/usr/lib/applmgmt/support/scripts/autogrow.shNote: Execution will fail with error "/run/lock/lvm/P_global:aux: open failed: Permission denied" if the login was attempted using non-root user. Re-login to vCenter Server as root user or execute the command 'su -" before executing the above script.
Run this command to confirm that the /storage/log disk has successfully grown.

lsblk