Error "Cloud file system is running low on internal storage" in VMware Live Cyber Recovery

Products

• VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

 

• Administrators may receive an email or console alert stating: "Cloud file system [CFS_NAME] is running low on internal storage. This might result in downtime. Contact support."
  
  
  

• Data protection jobs may fail or stall.

• The Cloud File System (CFS) health status may show a warning or critical state regarding capacity.

 

Environment

 

VMware Live Cyber Recovery (formerly VMware Cloud Disaster Recovery)

Cloud File System (CFS) / Recovery SDDC

 

Cause

This alert triggers when the physical storage consumption of the Cloud File System exceeds safety thresholds (typically >80-85%). This can occur due to:

1. Organic Growth: Protected data volume has naturally exceeded the provisioned capacity.

2. Retention Policy: Snapshots are being retained longer than the storage sizing accounts for.

3. Entitlement Mismatch: The provisioned backend storage does not match the purchased capacity entitlement (rare, requires Engineering intervention).

Resolution

1. Verify Usage vs. Entitlement: Check the current storage usage in the VLCR orchestrator console. Compare this against your purchased subscription capacity.

2. Clean Up Old Snapshots (If Applicable): If the usage is due to retention, expire older snapshots to reclaim space:

   • Navigate to the Protected Sites dashboard.

   • Select the relevant site and view Snapshots.

   • Manually expire snapshots that are no longer needed.

   • Note: Space reclamation is not immediate and may take time as the background garbage collection process runs.

3. Contact Support: If the current usage is within your purchased entitlement (e.g., you paid for 240TB but receive alerts at 120TB usage), or if you require an expansion of your environment:

   • File a Support Request with Broadcom Support.

   • Include the Support Bundle from the Cloud Connector.

   • Reference the specific CFS Name and Org ID.

   • Support will validate the backend provisioning and engage Engineering to resize the instance if a mismatch is confirmed.

Validation: Once space is reclaimed or added, the CFS health status will return to OK, and the storage.available metric in the logs will reflect the increased headroom.