Extra VMDK files on a datastore (maybe "lost" snapshots)

[nhhparker]

Hi All

I have about 500GB of space missing on one my datastores. Looking into whats stored on that datastore is one of our main file servers data drive.

The drive contains about 900GB of data (shown in windows) although on the actual datastore usage space used is 1.39TB

Looking into the folder directly on the datastore i can see the about 70-80 extra VMDK files?!

I dont have a clue where these are from, the only thing i can think of is that VDR failed a few times and didnt delete the snapshots it took?

Also there seems to be corrasponding ctk.vmdk for each vmdk file. (see screeny attached)

If they are snapshot files then is it safe to just delete them as i cannot see them in the snapshot manager.

I would just delete them right off now, but it being a critical server, i'm being very hesitant.

Bit worried as this is taking 500GB which really i need back

Hope someone can help

Cheers

Parker

[petedr]

The -ctk.vmdk files are not really snapshots. They are the Change Bock Tracking files, storing the information for CBT.

There is a good article here explaing CBT and the files.

http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/virtualization-pro/what-is-changed-block-tracking-in-vsphe...

I wouldn't delete them.

www.phdvirtual.com, makers of esXpress

[TimOudin]

The files -0000*.vmdk are remnants of failed vDR backups, check out the modification dates on those for some insight. As petedr says, the -ctk.vmkd files are for Change Block Tracking which is enabled upon instantiation of a vDR backup job. These are not large and do not grow. See the following blog post to remove the snapshots.

This is still not the entire issue. Those snapshots do not sum up to 500G. Are there not files in those VM other folders? The selected .vmdk is 830G alone and I see potentially 11 more virtual machine that might also have snapshots.

http://sysxperts.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/vdr-locks-snapshots-upon-failed-backup/

Good luck!

Tim Oudin