Datastore Displays Unexpected Behavior in vSphere Client UI After LUN Unmapping on the Storage Array

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

A user is utilizing a Dell SAN storage system.

A LUN from the Dell SAN was provisioned as a datastore within the vSphere Client.
This datastore is connected to the Dell SAN through two active paths.

When the LUN is unmounted, unmapped, or its association removed on the storage array side, the expected behavior is that the datastore and any virtual machines (VMs) residing on it should be reported as inaccessible or abnormal in the vSphere Client UI.

However, the datastore and the VMs continue to appear as normal and accessible in the vSphere Client, even though they are actually unusable.

Environment

• VMware ESXi 8.0

Cause

The datastore uses two separate VMHBA adapters to maintain connectivity with the Dell SAN storage system.
These two VMHBAs are not synchronizing their communication states properly.

As a result, the ESXi host receives inconsistent datastore status updates:

• One path reports that the LUN has lost heartbeat or has been unmapped.

• The other path still reports that the LUN is active and reachable.

This asynchronous behavior causes one path to disappear in the vSphere Client UI while the other path remains active, leading to an inconsistent and misleading datastore status.

Resolution

Engage the storage vendor (Dell) to investigate and resolve the synchronization issue between the multiple VMHBA paths.
Ensure that both paths return consistent LUN status information to the ESXi host.

Additional Information

If the LUN is unmapped directly from the storage array side (without first detaching or unmounting it from the ESXi host), the datastore will typically appear as inaccessible in the vSphere Client.