6.0.1

Table Of Contents
n
A specified datastore is not optimal for host accessibility and storage backing redundancy. More
specifically, the datastore might not be chosen if it is accessible to only a small set of hosts in the cluster.
A datastore also might not be chosen if it is on the same LUN or the same NFS server as datastores that
vCenter Server has already chosen.
n
A specified datastore is inaccessible because of storage failures, for example, storage array all paths
down (APD) or permanent device loss (PDL).
n
If the cluster contains a network partition, or if a host is unreachable or isolated, the host continues to
use the existing heartbeat datastores even if the user preferences change.
Solution
Verify that all the hosts in the cluster are reachable and have the vSphere HA agent running. Also, ensure
that the specified datastores are accessible to most, if not all, hosts in the cluster and that the datastores are
on different LUNs or NFS servers.
Unmounting or Removing Datastore Fails
When you try to unmount or remove a datastore, the operation fails.
Problem
The operation to unmount or remove a datastore fails if the datastore has any opened files. For these user
operations, the vSphere HA agent closes all of the files that it has opened, for example, heartbeat files. If the
agent is not reachable by vCenter Server or the agent cannot flush out pending I/Os to close the files, a The
HA agent on host '{hostName}' failed to quiesce file activity on datastore '{dsName} fault is
triggered.
Cause
If the datastore to be unmounted or removed is used for heartbeating, vCenter Server excludes it from
heartbeating and chooses a new one. However, the agent does not receive the updated heartbeat datastores
if it is not reachable, that is, if the host is isolated or in a network partition. In such cases, heartbeat files are
not closed and the user operation fails. The operation can also fail if the datastore is not accessible because of
storage failures such as all paths down.
NOTE When you remove a VMFS datastore, the datastore is removed from all the hosts in inventory. So if
there are any hosts in a vSphere HA cluster that are unreachable or that cannot access the datastore, the
operation fails.
Solution
Ensure that the datastore is accessible and the affected hosts are reachable.
Troubleshooting vSphere HA Failure Response
vSphere HA provides high availability for virtual machines by pooling them and the hosts that they reside
on into a cluster. Hosts in the cluster are monitored and in the event of a failure, the virtual machines on a
failed host are restarted on alternate hosts.
There are various reasons why affected virtual machines might not be restarted and if this happens you
should troubleshoot to determine the cause.
vSphere Troubleshooting
46 VMware, Inc.