Cannot complete file creation operation during Planned Recovery of vVol-Protected VMs
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Cannot complete file creation operation during Planned Recovery of vVol-Protected VMs

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Article ID: 451647

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Updated On:

Products

VMware Live Recovery

Issue/Introduction

  • Planned recovery or test recovery fails for vVol-protected virtual machines.
  • Operations consistently fail with the error: Cannot complete file creation operation.
  • The vCenter server reports the specific fault: vim.fault.CannotCreateFile.
  • Logs in /var/log/vmware/srm/vmware-dr.log may show VvolProvider.Deactivate.vasaProvider errors, indicating that SRM is attempting to interact with a storage path that cannot be accessed.

Environment

VMware Live Site Recovery (SRM) 9.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs when the SRM "Placeholder Datastore" configuration on the protected or recovery site is stale.

If a datastore that was previously mapped as a placeholder datastore is decommissioned or removed from the vCenter inventory, but the mapping remains in the SRM configuration, SRM will continue to attempt file operations on that non-existent path.

This leads to a vim.fault.CannotCreateFile error as the host cannot reach the decommissioned datastore.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, you must update the SRM placeholder datastore mappings to point to an active, accessible datastore.

  1. Identify the Stale Mapping:

    • Log in to the Site Recovery UI.
    • Navigate to Site Pairs > [Your Site Pair] > Configure.
    • Select Placeholder Mappings.
    • Review the current mappings to identify any entries pointing to decommissioned or inaccessible datastores.

  2. Update the Configuration:

    • Remove the stale mapping entry.
    • Click New to create a mapping for the affected cluster.
    • Select an active, shared datastore that is correctly mounted and accessible to all hosts in the recovery cluster.

  3. Clean Up Inventory:

    • Search for any orphaned placeholder VMs at the recovery site associated with the old datastore.
    • Right-click the orphaned placeholder and select Remove from Inventory.

  4. Recreate Placeholders:

    • Navigate back to the Protection Group in the Site Recovery UI.
    • Select the affected virtual machines.
    • Click the Recreate Placeholder option to trigger a fresh creation of the placeholder VM configuration files on the correct, active datastore.
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