6.0.1

Failures When Migrating VMs or Deploying VM OVFs to Virtual Volumes
Datastores
Your attempts to migrate a virtual machine or to deploy a VM OVF to virtual datastores fail.
Problem
An OVF template or a VM being migrated from a nonvirtual datastore might include additional large files,
such as ISO disk images, DVD images, and image files. If these additional files cause the configuration
virtual volume to exceed its 4-GB limit, migration or deployment to a virtual datastore fails.
Cause
The configuration virtual volume, or config-VVol, contains various VM-related files. On traditional
nonvirtual datastores, these files are stored in the VM home directory. Similar to the VM home directory, the
config-VVol typically includes the VM configuration file, virtual disk and snapshot descriptor files, log files,
lock files, and so on.
On virtual datastores, all other large-sized files, such as virtual disks, memory snapshots, swap, and digest,
are stored as separate virtual volumes.
Config-VVols are created as 4-GB virtual volumes. Generic content of the config-VVol usually consumes
only a fraction of this 4-GB allocation, so config-VVols are typically thin-provisioned to conserve backing
space. Any additional large files, such as ISO disk images, DVD images, and image files, might cause the
config-VVol to exceed its 4-GB limit. If such files are included in an OVF template, deployment of the VM
OVF to vSphere Virtual Volumes storage fails. If these files are part of an existing VM, migration of that VM
from a traditional datastore to vSphere Virtual Volumes storage also fails.
Solution
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For VM migration. Before migrating a VM from a traditional datastore to a virtual datastore, remove
excess content from the VM home directory to keep the config-VVol under the 4-GB limit.
n
For OVF deployment. Because you cannot deploy an OVF template that contains excess files directly to
a virtual datastore, first deploy the VM to a nonvirtual datastore. Remove any excess content from the
VM home directory, and migrate the resulting VM to vSphere Virtual Volumes storage.
Failed Attempts to Migrate VMs with Memory Snapshots to and from Virtual
Datastores
When you attempt to migrate a VM with hardware version 10 or earlier to and from a vSphere Virtual
Volumes datastore, failures occur if the VM has memory snapshots.
Problem
The following problems occur when you migrate a version 10 or earlier VM with memory snapshots:
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Migration of a version 10 or earlier VM with memory snapshots to a virtual datastore is not supported
and causes a failure.
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Migration of a version 10 or earlier VM with memory snapshots from a virtual datastore to a nonvirtual
datastore, such as VMFS, can succeed. If you later make additional snapshots and attempt to migrate
this VM back to vSphere Virtual Volumes storage, your attempt fails.
Cause
vSphere Virtual Volumes storage does not require that you use a particular hardware version for your
virtual machines. Typically, you can move a virtual machine with any hardware version to vSphere Virtual
Volumes storage. However, if you have a VM with memory snapshots, and plan to migrate this VM
between a virtual datastore and a nonvirtual datastore, use the VM of hardware version 11.
vSphere Troubleshooting
74 VMware, Inc.