'Virtual machine Consolidation Needed status' alarm question

[citpaj]

I have a virtual machine showing a 'Virtual machine Consolidation Needed status'  alarm.  From what I have read on-line, this can happen if a snapshot file exists and is not recognized by Snapshot Manager, which is not the case here.  I have checked Snapshot Manager and no snapshots exist, and I've checked the datastore, and no snapshot files exist.  Should I just acknowledge the alarm, or should I consolidate?  In my mind, if there's no snapshot file, there's no point in running the consolidation ... it might simply error-out, or tell me there are no snapshots.  I wanted some expert opinions before I take any action,  Thanks.

[Wscholz]

I´ve seen that in my environment also a few times, mostly caused by a previous backup. In my experience this error does not come for no reason, so i would do a backup of the machine and then try to consolidate and see how that goes. Maybe there are leftovers of former snapshots present on the datastore but you don´t see them in the VI Client. Have you also checked on the datastore itself for snapshot files ?

[a_p_]

When you say "I have a virtual machine showing a 'Virtual machine Consolidation Needed status'  alarm", does this mean there's a yellow warning in the VM's Overview/Summary tab, or is it a triggered alarm? Anyway, if no snapshots exists - i.e. no delta files in the VM's folder and the virtual disk's name, and the VM's settings show the base disk's file name - but there's an alarm, then I'd assume that you can safely ignore/reset it.

André

[Wscholz]

That´s what meant when i wrote about leftovers in the datastore, The problem is that sometimes the VI Client is showing no signs of a snapshot but on the datastore level the snaphot files are still there. If you do not see anything regarding snapshot files in the directory of the vm on the datastore you can try to reset it. the Alarm itself is a triggered Alarm:

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=206189...

But what i would try after that is creating a new snapshot and then deleting it, just to make sure that everything works.

[citpaj]

There are two VMDK files in the datastore.  The first is <servername>.VMDK, which is the size of the only disk the server has (35 GB).  The other VMDK is <servername>-000002.VMDK, which is around 7 GB, which looks like a delta file to me.  Snapshot Manager doesn't show any snapshots.  The owner of the VM deleted the only snapshot a couple of weeks ago, so I would have expected the delta file to have been consolidated by the system, and then to disappear.  We have backups.  I might just ask the owner of the VM if he would like to consolidate, or simply to acknowledge and clear the alarm ... but that won't make the <servername>-000002.VMDK go away. Thoughts?

[citpaj]

It's both.  A yellow flag on the VM's icon and a triggered alarm. 

There are two VMDK files in the datastore.  The first is <servername>.VMDK, which is the size of the only disk the server has (35 GB).  The other VMDK is <servername>-000002.VMDK, which is around 7 GB, which looks like a delta file to me.  Snapshot Manager doesn't show any snapshots.  The owner of the VM deleted the only snapshot a couple of weeks ago, so I would have expected the delta file to have been consolidated by the system, and then to disappear.  I don't like that idea of just acknowledging and clearing the alarm, and leaving that <servername>-000002.VMDK file hanging out there.  I wonder if I acknowledged and cleared the alarm, would I be able to safely delete the 000002.VMDK file?  The VM is running fine, according to the owner.

[Wscholz · Accepted solution]

Are you able to do the following ?:

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&externalId=2...

[a_p_]

The delta file "<servername>-000002.VMDK" is a snapshot, and most likely shows up as the VM's virtual disk name in the VM's HDD settings. So in this case the alarm is correct, and you either need to run "Consolidate" or delete all snapshots from the Snapshot Manager. In order to be able to delete the snapshot from the Snapshot Manager you first need to create a new snapshot to enable the "Delete All" button.

André

[citpaj]

I am planning to do that (consolidate) tomorrow.  We have a full backup of the VM scheduled for this evening, in case something goes wrong.  I'll let you know how it goes, thanks.

[NewNow]

Hi Citpaj,

Did you made a consolidation, everything is Ok?

I'm facing the same issue. In my case, datastore on ESXi host is completely populated and divided for five servers. Two VM shows consolidation is needed. Snapshot mnager is Sphere  doesn't show vmdk and delta vmdk files, but i can see it via WinSCP or browsing the datastore....

Mladen

[a_p_]

@NewNow

Please read my response in Re: "virtual machine disk consolidation is needed" - what to do ?. In your case it may be more complicated due to the lack of free disk space and thin provisioned virtual disks!

André

[citpaj]

I successfully performed the consolidation last night.  The 'consolidation required' alarm went away and when I checked the properties of the VM, it's running off the original VMDK, not the delta, and the delta disk is gone.