Specifications

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Use the steps in this article to resolve the error "VMDK is larger than the
maximum size supported by datastore" encountered when creating an
ESX/ESXi virtual machine snapshot.
In this article:
Step 1. Determine Maximum File Size
ESXi 5.0 and 5.1 with VMFS5
ESX/ESXi 4.1 and ESXi 5.1 with VMFS3
ESX/ESXi 4.0 with VMFS3
Step 2. Move Files to Accommodate Space Requirements
Step 3. Calculate Required Overhead
Barracuda Networks Technical Support
VMware KB Solution: Creating a snapshot for a
virtual machine fails with the error: File is larger
than maximum file size supported (1012384)
In the vSphere Client, you may see the error:
File is larger than the maximum size supported by datastore.
In the hostd log file, you may see the error:
Snapshot guest failed: The file is too big for the filesystem.
In the vmware.log file of the virtual machine, you may see an error similar to:
vmx| FILE: File_VMFSSupportsFileSize: Requested file size ( ) larger than maximum554051831808
supported filesystem file size (274877906944)
vmx| DiskLibCreateCustom: if your disk is on VMFS, you may consider increasing the block size.
vmx| DISKLIB-LIB : Failed to create link: The destination file system does not support large files
(12)
vmx| SNAPSHOT: BranchDisk: Failed to create child disk ' '/vmfs/volumes/uuid/vmname/vmname-000001.vmdk
: The destination file system does not support large files (12)
vmx| SNAPSHOT: SnapshotBranch failed: The destination file system does not support large files (5).
vmx| [msg.checkpoint.save.fail2.std3] Error encountered while saving snapshot.
vmx| The destination file system does not support large files.
These errors occur when the snapshot file has exceeded the maximum size to fit in a datastore. Beginning with version 4.0, ESX/ESXi
compares the maximum size of a snapshot redolog file to the maximum size of files on the datastore. The redolog
file may not work correctly once it reaches the maximum size of the datastore. If the file can grow beyond the
maximum size, ESX cancels the operation and displays the Create Snapshot File is larger than the
error message.maximum size supported by datastore
Use the following steps to resolve this error:
Step 1. Determine Maximum File Size
Compare the base disk size of the virtual machine against the block size of the datastore which contains the working directory of the
virtual machine. By default, the working directory contains the virtual machine's configuration file. Note that the maximum file size .vmx
differs among versions of ESX/ESXi and among versions of VMFS.
If you experience this error even after confirming that the snapshot files can fit on the datastore, proceed to St
.ep 3
ESX/ESXi 3.5 and Earlier
This does not apply to ESX/ESXi versions prior to 4.0; in prior versions, a snapshot is created even if there is insufficient space to store
the full size redolog.