VMFS Datastore Maximum Supported Capacity

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

The maximum supported capacity for a single VMFS5 or VMFS6 datastore is 64 TB. While it is technically possible to create a datastore larger than 64 TB without immediate errors, any configuration exceeding this limit is unsupported by VMware. Using an oversized datastore can lead to data corruption and operational instability.

Environment

VMware ESXi 7.x

VMware ESXi 8.x

Cause

• An administrator can format a LUN to create a VMFS datastore that reports a size larger than 64 TB. The system may not prevent this action.
• Data Corruption: The file system metadata structures are not validated or tested for capacities beyond 64 TB, significantly increasing the risk of metadata corruption and data loss.
• Unsupported Configurations: If you encounter performance issues, space allocation problems, VMware Support will require you to reduce the datastore size to within the supported limit before offering assistance.

Resolution

• Configure VMFS datastores to be at or under 64 TB.
•  If you require more than 64 TB of storage on a single array, present multiple LUNs from your storage array and create multiple, separate VMFS datastores within the supported limit.
• Alternatively, consider using VMware vSAN or a NFS datastore if a single large namespace is required, as these have different scalability limits.

Additional Information

VMware vSphere VMFS