Local Datastore Not Created After Re-imaging ESXi Host with 'Preserve VMFS' Option

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

After deleting a RAID array and creating a new logical volume, a fresh installation of ESXi is performed. Despite the new storage volume being visible in the hardware listing, the local VMFS datastore is not automatically created or listed in the vSphere Client.

• Standalone ESXi host with local RAID storage (e.g., HPE Storage).
• Fresh installation following a RAID re-configuration where the previous VMFS datastore was deleted.
• The storage volume may appear with an **Unknown** status for capacity in the ESXi host client.
• Running `esxcli storage core device capacity list` shows the device, but the disk is not found under `/vmfs/devices/disks/`.
• The local storage device appears as **Not Consumed** under storage devices.

Cause

The installer option "Install ESXi, preserve VMFS datastore" is selected during a fresh installation on a newly created RAID volume.

• ESXi attempts to automatically create a local VMFS datastore only if the installation process recognizes the disk as fresh or if it is instructed to overwrite existing structures. By selecting "preserve," the installer expects to find and mount an existing VMFS partition. Since the underlying RAID array was deleted and recreated, no valid VMFS metadata exists to preserve, and the installer fails to trigger the automatic creation of a new datastore in the remaining space (even if the volume is larger than 142 GB).

Resolution

Re-install ESX using the option of “Install ESXi, overwrite VMFS datastore”.

Additional Information

• Creation of Local Datastore post Installation of ESXi 7/8.X

• Unable to create VMFS datastore using "Not Consumed" storage device on ESX host