Cannot select datastore during vCenter Server deployment

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• During the vCenter Server deployment process, datastores cannot be selected on the storage selection page.
• However, the datastore is visible and recognized when checking within the ESXi Host Client UI.
• Running the following command to check the device capacity and format details confirms that the disk used by the datastore is in 4Kn format:
  
  esxcli storage core device capacity list

Device           Physical Blocksize  Logical Blocksize  Logical Block Count        Size  Format Type
---------------  ------------------  -----------------  -------------------  ----------  -----------
naa.<device-id>                4096               4096        <block-count>  <size> MiB           4K

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1

Cause

The disk used for the datastore is in 4Kn format. The 'support4KN' feature is not supported on the vCenter Server virtual machine hardware version, preventing the deployment wizard from identifying or selecting the datastore.

Resolution

As a workaround reformat 4Kn disk to 512e format.

1. Delete the datastore created from the 4Kn disk. Refer Remove VMFS Datastores
2. Reformat the 4Kn disk to 512e format from storage. Engage with hardware vendor to obtain the appropriate documentation and assistance regarding disk reformatting.
3. Recreate the datastore.