ESXi disk cannot be added to vSAN disk group and shows “Ineligible” due to Invalid GPT partition table

Products

• VMware vSAN

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to create a vSAN disk group on an ESXi host, one of the disks appears as Ineligible and cannot be added to the disk group.

• Attempting to perform Erase Partitions in vCenter results in the following error: Cannot change the host configuration
• The disk’s partition details show 'unknown'.
• After connecting to the host via SSH and running:
  
  partedUtil getptbl /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.########
  
  the following warning is displayed:

  The format of the GPT partition table is version 10000, which is newer than what Parted can recognise. Please tell us! [email protected]

Environment

 

• VMware ESXi 8.0, 9.0

• vSAN environment

 

Cause

The disk contains a corrupted or non-standard GPT partition table that cannot be recognized by ESXi.

As a result:

• The partition type displays as unknown

• The Erase Partitions operation fails

• vSAN marks the disk as Ineligible

This condition is commonly seen when:

• The disk was previously used by another operating system

• Non-standard or damaged GPT headers exist on the disk

• Residual RAID metadata or foreign configuration remains on the drive

Resolution

Rebuild the disk’s partition table using partedUtil so ESXi can properly recognize the device.

1. Create a new msdos partition table
   
   partedUtil setptbl /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.######## msdos
   
   
2. Verify the updated partition table
   
   partedUtil getptbl /vmfs/devices/disks/naa.########
   
   The output should now show a valid msdos partition table, and the previous GPT-related warning (for example, “GPT partition table is version 10000”) should no longer appear.
   
   
3. Rescan storage devices in vCenter
   
   On the affected ESXi host -> Configure -> Storage -> Storage Adapters , click Rescan Storage.
   
   After the rescan completes, the disk status changes from Ineligible to Unclaimed, allowing it to be added to a vSAN Disk Group.

Additional Information

 

• Ensure that the disk does not contain any required data before modifying its partition table.

• If the disk continues to show abnormal behavior after rebuilding the partition table, a hardware vendor investigation may be required.

• For further assistance, contact Broadcom Support.