vSAN Datastores Appear Empty in vSphere Client After Reverting vCenter VM Snapshot

Products

• VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

After reverting the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) virtual machine to a previous snapshot which was created month ago:

• The vSAN datastore appears empty or missing in the vSphere Client.
• Virtual machines and files that previously existed on the datastore are not visible in vCenter.
• Browsing the datastore via ESXi Host Client still shows files and folders as expected.

Environment

VMware vSAN
vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA)

Cause

When the vCenter VM snapshot is reverted, the vCenter Server database and state are rolled back to an earlier point in time.
However, the vSAN cluster configuration and metadata stored on the ESXi hosts remain current.

This results in a metadata mismatch between vCenter and the actual vSAN cluster.
vCenter no longer has the correct cluster membership and object information, causing the vSAN datastore to appear empty even though the data is intact.

Resolution

Reconnect ESXi Hosts to vCenter one by one:

1.    In the vSphere Client, navigate to:
       Hosts and Clusters → Right-click one ESXi host → Disconnect

2.    Then right-click again and Reconnect host. Input ESXi root user name and password in the prompt if needed.
       This forces vCenter to refresh vSAN cluster metadata and rediscover datastore contents.

3.    Wait a few minutes and refresh the vSphere Client.Verify that the vSAN datastore content is visible.