Configure vCenter alarms for "Storage device all paths down" VMkernel Observations(VOB) message

Products

• VMware vCenter Server 8.0
• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0

Issue/Introduction

When ESXi host detected one storage device was enter all paths down status, a event was reported on the vobd.log file.

Example:

--/var/run/log/vobd.log

YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS: [APDCorrelator] xxxxxxxxxxxxxus: [esx.problem.storage.apd.start] Device or filesystem with identifier [########-########] has entered the All Paths Down state.

Environment

VMware vSphere 7.x

VMware vSphere 8.x

Cause

If it's plan to trigger the vCenter alarm for this event, it could be added by manually.

Resolution

Follow the steps mentioned below to register the alarm manually:

1. Navigate to vCenter Server -> Configure -> Alarm Definitions

2. Click Add

3. Input alarm name "Storage device all paths down".

4. Choose the "Target type" as Hosts and click Next

5. In the "Alarm Rule1" page, Input "esx.problem.storage.apd.start" as the trigger condition.

6. Select severity as "Show as Critical"

7. Optionally, you can configure email notification or SNMP traps or running any script whenever such alarm is triggered

8. Click Next

9. In the Review page, verify if the alarm rules is set correctly and make sure the "Enable this alarm" option is enabled.

10. Click CREATE.