Orphaned VMDK

[esnmb]

Is it safe to delete the orphaned VMDK's the Virtualization ecoshell finds?

I really don't understand why I have so many since these VM's still exist...  I tried taking a snapshot and deleting it to see if it gets removed but no luck,

Thanks.

[MauroBonder]

see http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2009/01/16/orphaned-vmdks/ maybe helpful    

[idle-jam]

i would rename it and hopefully no one is complaining of missing disk. then only i will proceed to delete it few days later.

[esnmb]

Good idea!

[Troy_Clavell]

...I really don't understand why I have so many since these VM's still exist

I've seen this from time to time in our environment and usually the issue revolves around human error.  Instead of deleting a disk from a VM you will find admins who only remove the disk from the VM's inventory, therefore leaving an orphaned disk.

[depping]

I tend to move them to a different LUN and then move them off to a different type of storage / archive place to make sure you don't delete something that someone still needs.

Duncan (VCDX)

Available now on Amazon: vSphere 4.1 HA and DRS technical deepdive

[HMitschele]

The Eco shell also reports CBT Files as Orphaned. You may have a backup Appliance who uses Change Block tracking. -ctk.vmdk files. they will be reported by eco shell as orphaned.

regards

Harry

[bulletprooffool]

Yes - it is - though my preference is to manually copy a backup of the VMDK to somewhere before deleting it.

At a minimum, rename the VMDK, then wait a week or so before deleting it - do make sure thogh that you rename it at the cmdline, not through the Datastore browser, as this would update any pointers.