Datastore is lost after upgrading from ESXi 7 to 8

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

After upgrading a host from ESXi 7 to 8 the Software FCoE datastores are no longer visible 
The software FCoE adapters are also no longer visible 

Environment

ESXi 8.0+ 
Software FCoE

Cause

As of 7.0 Software FCoE has been deprecated and not supported for production usage

See the document Configuration Guidelines for Software FCoE
"Starting from vSphere 7.0, VMware no longer supports software FCoE in production environments."

As of 8.0 the option for software FCoE is no longer available and will not work when upgraded. 

Resolution

If Software FCoE is in use, before upgrading to 8.0 move all data to a supported storage solution using storage vMotion by right clicking the VM and choosing migrate.

Once FCoE is no longer in use and all data has been moved to a supported storage solution, you can then upgrade to ESXi 8.0 or greater. 

Additional Information

For more information on using Storage vMotion see What is Migration with Storage vMotion


For supported storage solutions and how to work with them see Introduction to Storage in vSphere Environment for 8.0 or Introduction to Storage in vSphere Environment for 9.0