Virtual Machine Storage Size Displays Incorrectly on Newly Created NFS Datastores in vCenter

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

In the VMware vSphere Client UI, the storage capacity or disk size of virtual machines residing on newly created NFS datastores displays incorrectly.
For example, a virtual machine configured with thick-provisioned disks totaling 300 GB may display a total storage utilization of only 1.18 MB.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.x
VMware ESXi 8.x

Cause

The remote NFS storage array lacks NFSv4 protocol configuration on the newly created network shares or exports. When the storage backend restricts the volume deployment solely to NFSv3 without enabling NFSv4 capabilities, virtual disk metadata for specific provisioning types fails to map accurately back to the vSphere management layer.

Resolution

To enable both NFSv3 and NFSv4 protocols in NFS storage array side:
1. Log into the administrative or management console of your third-party NFS storage array provider.
2. Navigate to the export/share configuration settings for the newly provisioned and affected volumes.
3. Modify the protocol permissions of the target volumes to enable both NFSv3 and NFSv4 protocols, matching the configuration profiles of your existing functional NFS datastores.

From the vSphere Client, perform a storage provider rescan or refresh the datastore infrastructure on the connected ESXi hosts.