Datastore is full, need to free disk space

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to recover from a situation where a VMware vSphere datastore has reached capacity, causing virtual machines (VMs) to become unresponsive, fail to power on, or failed consolidations.

Environment

VMware ESXi 8.x

VMware ESXi 9.x

 

Cause

A datastore reaches critical capacity, preventing the creation of mandatory Virtual Machine Swap files (.vswp) or metadata updates required for online Storage vMotion. This is often caused by snapshot growth (e.g., failed backup consolidation), large log files, or orphaned files.

Resolution

1. Identify and Consolidate Snapshots
   If a VM has snapshots, new data is written to a delta disk, which can quickly fill the datastore. 
   - Check for active snapshots in the vSphere Client.
   - Attempt to **Consolidate** snapshots. Note: This requires free space to complete.

2.  

   Manual Space Reclamation

   If consolidation is not possible due to lack of space, use the following methods to regain headroom:
   - Power Off Unresponsive VMs: Powering off a VM allows the deletion of its `.vswp` file (swap file), which is equal to the size of the VM's unreserved RAM.
   - Remove ISO Files: Search the datastore for unused installation ISOs and delete them.
   - Delete Old Log Files: Log in to the ESXi host via SSH and remove large or old `vmware-##.log` files.
   - Cold Migration:  Power off a VM and perform a **Cold Migration** to another datastore. Cold migration does not require additional metadata space on the source datastore.

3.  

   Storage vMotion
   Once minimal space is restored, use Storage vMotion to move virtual disks to datastores with more capacity.

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Additional Information

To speak with a customer representative or a Support Engineer see Contact Support. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on your respective region.

Japanese KB: データストアの容量が不足しています。ディスク領域を解放する必要があります。