Verify the health of the RAID controller or SAN LUN. Step 2: Use VOMA (VMware On-disk Metadata Analyzer)
Look for "All Paths Down" or "Permanent Device Loss" in the vSphere client.
If VOMA shows extensive corruption and vmkfstools fails, standard tools may not suffice. repair vmfs datastore
The vmkfstools -F (or --fix ) switch is the closest analogue to Windows chkdsk . When executed against a volume path (e.g., vmkfstools -F check /vmfs/volumes/DatastoreName ), it scans for metadata inconsistencies, orphaned file descriptors, and incorrect resource counts. However, this is not a magic wand. It operates in three phases: "check" (read-only), "repair" (fixing minor issues like incorrect link counts), and "fix" (attempting more aggressive recovery). A crucial caveat: vmkfstools cannot recover actual file data; it can only repair the filesystem's pointers. If a virtual machine's VMDK descriptor file points to the wrong blocks, the repair may succeed logically while leaving the VM booting to a blue screen.
VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) is the backbone of your VMware environment. When a datastore becomes inaccessible or "corrupted," it often brings your entire infrastructure to a halt. Repairing a VMFS datastore requires a mix of built-in VMware tools and a careful, phased approach to ensure you don’t lose critical data. Identifying the Root Cause Verify the health of the RAID controller or SAN LUN
Depending on the diagnosis, one of these paths is typically required:
: Use the vSphere On-disk Metadata Analyzer (VOMA) to check for consistency. This tool identifies errors in VMFS metadata, though it often cannot repair extensive damage if the datastore has been overwritten. 2. Common Repair Scenarios The vmkfstools -F (or --fix ) switch is
Logical errors in the file system structure.