I have a VM that is residing on two datastores, and I need to move it

[dangingerich]

OK, I'm attempting to reconfigure the storage on a software development ESXi cluster, and I have come across a VM that is residing on two datastores.  Somehow, the user configured this thing to have most of the VM files on datastore 5 while all the VMDKs but the boot drive reside on datastore 1.  He probably did this because of the size of the old datastores and the numerous old VMs that his coworkers left sitting.  Well, now I have come to reconfigure the datastores so that there is more usable space, but I can't move this one VM so that I can reconfigure the rest of the storage.  (For reference, the old datastores were set up in 4 sets of three drives in RAID 3 and one set of four drives in RAID 3 with two hot spares.  For the record: Not my idea.  I am reconfiguring them now to be a set of 15 drives in RAID 6, divided into two LUNs across the two controllers, with one hot spare.)

Well, now I need to figure out how to get this VM moved over to one of the new datastores.  The Migrate datastore function doesn't work.  Any recommendations?

[iiToby · Accepted solution]

Hi Dangingerich,

You can move the VMDKs individually with the Advanced Feature of Storage vMotion this will allow you to place the data drive on your new storage and then have the OS drive follow.

Youtube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhdmdcMmvas

Screen shots

When you are svMotioning click the Advanced Button

You here you can select the individual VMDKs and move them around.

All the content comes the youtube video by Paul Braren, I only annotated his work.

Have fun

@iiToby

[MBrownWFP]

When you say the VM is residing on two datastores, do you mean it has Virtual Disks on different datastores? If so, you can migrate the disks individually by launching an SvMotion then clicking the Advanced button in the datastore selection screen. This will change the view so you can select a destination datastore for each disk.

[dangingerich]

I never even noticed that "Advanced" button down there.  It worked perfectly.  Thanks. 

[dangingerich]

I spoke too soon.  It nearly finished, then came back with the wonderful error "A specified parameter was not correct" and nothing changed.  (I'm having this trouble with two other VMs, also the last ones on their datastores.)  I know how to fix this in most cases.  A simple "remove from inventory" and then browse the datastore to re-add it to the inventory usually fixes this.  With this one, I don't know, since it might not find the VMDKs that are on the other datastore.  I'm attempting to move the VMDKs over to the same datastore as the config files, but the VM was renamed, so they won't be going into the same folders.  

[bheemeswararao]

very simple, migrate VM and select datastore where you have enough space. not a big deal.

[dangingerich]

bheemeswararao wrote:

very simple, migrate VM and select datastore where you have enough space. not a big deal.

That is quite simply the most unhelpful response I have seen.  If it were that simple, I wouldn't have posted anything here. 

[dangingerich]

OK, I finally got it to migrate.  I had to do it one component at a time through the advanced migration options. 

[bheemeswararao]

You got it cool.