Lost Datastore after reimporting foreign RAID 5

[jwulf1092]

I am hoping for some help from anyone in the community with helpful advice, and let me say before I start that I am grateful for any assistance provided!!!

I have also read a lot of @continuum  posts, and it sounds like you might be able to help me out.

I am relatively inexperienced with VMWare.

ENVIRONMENT:

Many years ago, I built an on premises Dell PE2950 with Perc 6i and six 300GB HDD in a single RAID 5. ESXI 5.1 is installed onto the RAID 5, with 2 VM's, I believe were on Datastore 1.

Datastore 3 is an external 2TB ESATA drive connected to the PE2950, and has local backup data on it (No real value in the data stored here, as it is all copied elsewhere).

There is another 2TB HDD connected to an internal SATA port, but it is not attached as a datastore. it is currently unused.

I do have the critical data from the server (ESATA datastore 3) backed up remotely on a different non VM windows machine.

I have root access on the console, Vsphere, and putty.

EVENTS:

I powered off the server, removed all six RAID 5 drives, the ESATA drive, and the internal 2TB SATA HDD. I then installed two DIFFERENT HDD's to verify if I can install a different OS (not Vmware) onto the server, in preparation for a future upgrade. I built a RAID 1 and successfully installed the OS.

I then removed the two RAID 1 drives, and reinstalled the six RAID5 drives, the ESATA drive, and the 2TB SATA drive, in the same order and locations. I then imported the now foreign array. The array looks fine and is in an optimal state, and ESXi 5.1 booted properly.

I believe Datastore 1 was part of the RAID 5 that the ESXi 5.1 OS boots from.

Datastore 1 is no longer visible in the Configuration>Storage tab

Datastore 3 is visible (figures the one datastore I don't need is visible)

My 2 VM's show as "Unknown (inaccessible)"

I have run NO destructive commands again the ESXi 5.1, only investagatory commands like listing the vms, and filesystem list, etc...

DREAMS:

I am hoping I can recover the Datastore and restart one of the two VM's.

I have a basic sense of how to run command lines against the ESXI through putty, but I do not really know any commands to use, other than what I have learned from Google today. So if you provide wisdom, please explain the specific command to run, or point me to a webpage that explains the command.

Thanks tons for any and all assistance!!!

P.S. I tried to UL images to show the status of my system and the results of my digging so far, but it appears I am not allowed to.

I tried to follow these instructions to create a header cump, but I am lost after the dev disks command I listed below.

https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-vSphere-Documents/Create-a-VMFS-Header-dump-using-an-ESXi-H...

COMMAND RESULTS:

~ # ls vmfs/volumes/
10bf3a73-e12f7d4f-0580-72f700f27ca9 52fa7383-c4322d2b-111d-0022191f820e
45897772-c224c5a1-3b67-bc8addb07742 5cfe6812-faacf9f6-6e39-0022191f820e
52fa737c-822349a7-06ac-0022191f820e Datastore 3(ESATA External B)

~ # esxcli storage filesystem list
Mount Point Volume Name UUID Mounted Typ e Size Free
------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------- ----------------------------------- ------- --- --- ------------- ----------
/vmfs/volumes/5cfe6812-faacf9f6-6e39-0022191f820e Datastore 3(ESATA External B) 5cfe6812-faacf9f6-6e39-0022191f820e true VMF S-5 2000112582656 8968470528
/vmfs/volumes/52fa7383-c4322d2b-111d-0022191f820e 52fa7383-c4322d2b-111d-0022191f820e true vfa t 4293591040 4259119104
/vmfs/volumes/10bf3a73-e12f7d4f-0580-72f700f27ca9 10bf3a73-e12f7d4f-0580-72f700f27ca9 true vfa t 261853184 125374464
/vmfs/volumes/45897772-c224c5a1-3b67-bc8addb07742 45897772-c224c5a1-3b67-bc8addb07742 true vfa t 261853184 261844992
/vmfs/volumes/52fa737c-822349a7-06ac-0022191f820e 52fa737c-822349a7-06ac-0022191f820e true vfa t 299712512 87957504

/dev/disks # ls -lisa | grep -v vml
4 0 drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 512 Mar 1 03:32 .
1 0 drwxr-xr-x 1 root root 512 Mar 1 03:32 ..
156 1462108160 -rw------- 1 root root 1497198755840 Mar 1 03:32 naa.6001ec90f64c0700ff00002b02d1db51
142 4064 -rw------- 1 root root 4161536 Mar 1 03:32 naa.6001ec90f64c0700ff00002b02d1db51:1
144 4193280 -rw------- 1 root root 4293918720 Mar 1 03:32 naa.6001ec90f64c0700ff00002b02d1db51:2
146 1456993263 -rw------- 1 root root 1491961101824 Mar 1 03:32 naa.6001ec90f64c0700ff00002b02d1db51:3
148 255984 -rw------- 1 root root 262127616 Mar 1 03:32 naa.6001ec90f64c0700ff00002b02d1db51:5
150 255984 -rw------- 1 root root 262127616 Mar 1 03:32 naa.6001ec90f64c0700ff00002b02d1db51:6
152 112624 -rw------- 1 root root 115326976 Mar 1 03:32 naa.6001ec90f64c0700ff00002b02d1db51:7
154 292848 -rw------- 1 root root 299876352 Mar 1 03:32 naa.6001ec90f64c0700ff00002b02d1db51:8
128 1953514584 -rw------- 1 root root 2000398934016 Mar 1 03:32 t10.ATA_____ST2000DM0082D2FR102__________________________________ZFL08WFD
126 1953513472 -rw------- 1 root root 2000397795328 Mar 1 03:32 t10.ATA_____ST2000DM0082D2FR102__________________________________ZFL08WFD:1
139 1953514584 -rw------- 1 root root 2000398934016 Mar 1 03:32 t10.ATA_____WDC_WD20EZRX2D00D8PB0_________________________WD2DWMC4N1232625
131 488375968 -rw------- 1 root root 500096991744 Mar 1 03:32 t10.ATA_____WDC_WD20EZRX2D00D8PB0_________________________WD2DWMC4N1232625:1
133 488376000 -rw------- 1 root root 500097024000 Mar 1 03:32 t10.ATA_____WDC_WD20EZRX2D00D8PB0_________________________WD2DWMC4N1232625:2
135 488376000 -rw------- 1 root root 500097024000 Mar 1 03:32 t10.ATA_____WDC_WD20EZRX2D00D8PB0_________________________WD2DWMC4N1232625:3
137 488384032 -rw------- 1 root root 500105249280 Mar 1 03:32 t10.ATA_____WDC_WD20EZRX2D00D8PB0_________________________WD2DWMC4N1232625:4
/dev/disks #

[e_espinel]

Hello.
You could try a storge rescan

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/5.5/com.vmware.vsphere.hostclient.doc/GUID-FA49E8EF-A3DC-4...

[jwulf1092]

@e_espinel#! thanks tons for your reply and guidance!!!

#2 I followed the link you gave me, and I tried the rescan on main storage folder, then on storage adapters with no success.

In the Configuration>Hardware>Storage adapters page, I DO SEE my Dell Perc 6i SCSI controller. I highlighted that controller and had it rescan, but again no luck my missing datastore does not come back into the storage list.

[e_espinel]

Hello.

Run  vmware-cmd -l   to list the location of the configuration files for the virtual machines registered on the ESXi host.
Run  vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms   to list the location of the configuration files for the virtual machines registered on the ESXi host.

If the virtual machine is not registered on the ESXi host, you need to find its configuration file, run this command find / -name "*.vmx"

Please paste the results of these commands.

[a_p_ · Accepted solution]

What may have happened is that the RAID controller has been detected differently as before, and therefore ESXi marked the VMFS volume on the RAID5 set as a so called snapshot LUN.

Please follow the "Command line" section at https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1011387 to find whether esxcli storage vmfs snapshot list shows the missing datastore, and if it does, use the following commands in the KB to mount the datastore again.

André

[jwulf1092]

@e_espinel Again, thanks for taking your valuable time to try an assist me, but I have found the results to my issue.

@a_p_  #1 Thanks tons for your help and guidance. Taking time to reply to me is GREATLY appreciated 🙂

#2 I followed your link. It specifically lists ESXi 6.x and 7.x, but I read on. It gives a link for doing this on older versions, but I still read on.

In the command line section, it says to run: # esxcli storage vmfs snapshot list. I did and got:

Volume Name: Datastore 1 (Main OS Raid 5 drives)
VMFS UUID: 52fa7383-9320509d-d96d-0022191f820e
Can mount: true
Reason for un-mountability:
Can resignature: true
Reason for non-resignaturability:
Unresolved Extent Count: 1

That pretty closely duplicates their example results.

I then tried tried several times to run

# esxcli storage vmfs snapshot mount -1 "VMFS_1"   But in a Putty console, there is NO discernible difference between the display of a ONE (1) and and an EL(1), so that held me up for a few minutes, then it would not take my datastore name with the parenthesis in it.

So I ran the alternative command: # esxcli storage vmfs snapshot mount -u 52fa7383-9320509d-d96d-0022191f820e

and it just returned me back to the prompt with no results output. I thought it can't be that easy can it?

I looked and VIOLA my Datastore 1 is now visible, and I was able to power on the VM that I really wanted and needed!!!

Kudoos to you for your wisdom and assistance. You sir are greatly appreciated!!! Can i pay you for your time and assistance??? I will send any reasonable amount up to a hundred bucks, to you, or to a charity of your choice, just tell me where. If this offer offends you, then please accept my apologies, as you do not see the world the way that I do, and I do not mean to push my views onto you. I ONLY wish to show my gratitude!

Sincerely John Wulf

[a_p_]

Great to read that you're back in business.
Your offer isn't offending at all. However, it took me only a few minutes, and your expressed gratitude alone is enough reward for me.

André