Troubleshooting DataCore Plug-in for VMware vSphere

Installation and Registration Error

Review and attempt the following steps during a DataCore Plug-in registration error:

  • Verify that the minimum version upgrade of the SANsymphony server is 10.0 PSP 15.

  • Review vCenter Web Console Administrator/Plug-in section for any error messages that were logged during the registration failure.

  • Confirm that the required information (vCenter FQDN, Plug-in URL, etc.) is correct.

  • Review vCenter "Recent Tasks" panel in the vCenter web client console for any relevant error messages.

  • Unregister the Plug-in if previously registered, and re-register.

Login Error

DataCore Plug-in error in the vCenter menu

If the vCenter menu displays a blank panel or error upon selecting the “DataCore SANsymphony" Plug-in, validate that the SANsymphony and DataCore REST services are running on the SANsymphony server where DataCore Plug-in was registered.

Serving Storage Error

ESXi host unavailable in the Hosts list

  • When serving a Datastore and/or virtual disk (vDisk), if the desired ESXi host is disconnected, then that ESXi host will not display in the Hosts list within the New Datastore dialog. The Create Datastore and vDisk workflows filter out any ESXi hosts that are disconnected from the SANsymphony.

  • Validate that the iSCSI ports/paths are successfully connected between the ESXi Host Bus Adaptor (HBA) and all the SANsymphony servers in the group. This Host connection status is displayed in the status and may be viewed in the Hosts panel.

Virtual Disk displays offline status

If the virtual disks (vDisks) go offline, validate the iSCSI paths and port connection health between the ESXi host and SANsymphony servers.

Datastore does not appear on the ESXi host after Datastore creation operations are successful

  • Datastore creation operations may timeout if the ESXi host takes a long time to rescan the storage devices and ports. This may be due to unreachable or incorrect paths that causes the HBA rescans to take a long time. In such cases, DataCore Plug-in operation times out in the backend.

  • Manually initiate a storage device rescan from the vCenter for the ESXi host to confirm that the rescans are taking a long time.

  • Remove any unreachable or incorrect paths in the storage adapters for that ESXi host and retry.

  • Validate that there are no unresolved dead path(s) on the Datastores in use.

Datastore does not show increased capacity after the Add Capacity operation was performed from the DataCore Plug-in

  • The Add Capacity operation executed via the DataCore Plug-in results in a series of operations between the SANsymphony and the vCenter web client. This includes increasing the virtual disk size and invoking calls to the vCenter web client to expand the Datastore size. The vCenter web client may take a longer time than expected to complete some operations which may result in a time out. This is expected to be a temporary issue and operations may be retried after some time.

  • Alternatively, manually execute the "Increase Datastore" operation via the vCenter web client user interface (UI) for the Datastore in question.

New Datastore creation from the DataCore Plug-in results in the following error: “Trying to get an instance of type VirtualDiskData with null ID”

  • After a virtual disk (vDisk) is created, there may be instances when the vDisk may take longer than expected to become healthy. This may interrupt the Datastore creation process.

  • Do either of the following to resolve this issue:

    • Repeat the "Create Datastore" operation from the DataCore Plug-in. This will create a new vDisk and the Datastore should be created successfully. Delete the vDisk that was created in the first attempt.

    • Alternatively, perform the "Create Datastore" operation from the vCenter web client and select the vDisk that was already created.