vSAN -- Host stuck entering Maintenance Mode / Content library creation fails with "Failed to create directory"
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vSAN -- Host stuck entering Maintenance Mode / Content library creation fails with "Failed to create directory"

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Article ID: 415341

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vCenter Server 8.0 VMware vSAN 8.x VMware vSAN VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

You observe one or more of the following Symptoms:
 
 
  • vCenter vSphere Client: vSAN Host appears to be stuck in entering Maintenance Mode. The related Task appears to be not progressing. 
Example:
 
 
 
 
  • vCenter vSphere Client: Attempting to create Content Library fails with below error in vCenter:

A general system error occurred: Failed to create directory: {vsanDatastore] contentlib-###########

 

  • vCenter Error:    /var/log/vmware/content-library/cls.log :

    Unable to update storage backing for library 
    com.vmware.vapi.std.errors.InternalServerError: InternalServerError (com.vmware.vapi.std.errors.internal_server_error) => {
        messages = [LocalizableMessage (com.vmware.vapi.std.localizable_message) => {
        id = com.vmware.vdcs.cls-main.fail_to_create_directory,
        defaultMessage = Failed to create directory: [vsanDatastore] contentlib-###########,
        args = [[vsanDatastore] contentlib-<ID>],
        params = <null>,
        localized = <null>
    }],
        data = <null>,
        errorType = INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR

 

  • vCenter Error pointing to insufficient fault domains available:   /var/log/vmware/vpxd/vpxd.log :

Example

"There are currently 0 usable fault domains. The operation requires 3 more usable fault domains."
file = "contentlib-<ID> (Cannot Create File)"

Environment

vCenter Server 8.x
vCenter Server 9.x
 
vSAN 8.x
vSAN 9.x

Cause

Current number of available vSAN Hosts in the Cluster (= being online and not in Maintenance Mode )
does not meet the requirements dictated by the default Storage Policy configured for the affected vSAN Datastore. 
The requirements are expressed by the Rules configured in that Storage Policy (as shown below).
 
 
Example of affected vSAN Datastore shown the configured Default Storage Policy (= it might have a different name on your affected vSAN Cluster):

 

 

Rules of the Default Storage Policy shown above :

Resolution

Ensure that resulting number of required vSAN Hosts
matches the current number of vSAN Hosts 
being online and not in Maintenance Mode
 
 
In regards to vSAN ESA:
In a standard vSAN ESA cluster, the recommended minimum number of hosts when using FTT=1 using RAID-1 or RAID-5 is 4 hosts.  
The recommended minimum number of hosts when using FTT=2 using RAID-6 is 7 hosts. 

Additional Information

Some other scenarios that could lead to the same issue as described above:

Supplemental Information:

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