VCF 9.x Validation Fails With Error: Cluster - No Common Datastore Found

Products

• VMware SDDC Manager / VCF Installer
• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

During a VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) greenfield deployment, the VCF Installer validation phase fails. The validation UI returns the following explicit error:

cluster <cluster-name: no common datastore found

This condition is typically observed when resuming an interrupted deployment where the vSphere cluster and hosts were already partially deployed.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0.x

Cause

On or a subset of ESXi hosts in the target vSphere cluster are missing the principal datastore mount. This creates a state mismatch where the physical vSphere inventory lacks the shared storage topology declared in the JSON specification file.

Resolution

• Log in to the vCenter Server using the vSphere Client UI.

• Navigate to the Storage inventory view and select the principal datastore defined in your deployment JSON.

• Check the Hosts tab to verify datastore connectivity across the cluster.

• Identify the specific ESXi hosts that are missing the datastore mount.

• Manually mount the shared datastore to those missing ESXi hosts.

• Verify that the datastore status shows as accessible for all hosts in the target cluster.

• Return to the VCF Installer UI and click to re-run the validations.

Additional Information

Adding host in SDDC Manager fails with error cluster: no common datastore found