VMDK delta file confusion

[SalemComputer]

I have a virtual disk that lost the descriptor files and I've tried going through the process of recreating them but I just cant figure it out...

It is in a seperate datastore than the VM. I can use the

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # vmkfstools -v 10 -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001.vmdk

DISKLIB-VMFS  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000010-delta.vmdk" : open successful (14) size = 18959282176, hd = 5664418. Type 8

DISKLIB-DSCPTR: Opened [0]: "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000010-delta.vmdk" (0xe)

DISKLIB-LINK  : Opened '/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001.vmdk' (0xe): vmfsSparse, 1048576000 sectors / 500 GB.

DISKLIB-VMFS  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-flat.vmdk" : open successful (14) size = 536870912000, hd = 5664419. Type 3

DISKLIB-DSCPTR: Opened [0]: "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-flat.vmdk" (0xe)

DISKLIB-LINK  : Opened '/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1.vmdk' (0xe): vmfs, 1048576000 sectors / 500 GB.

DISKLIB-CHAINESX : ChainESXOpenSubChain: numLinks = 2, numSubChains = 1

DISKLIB-CHAINESX : ChainESXOpenSubChain:(0) fid = 5664419, extentType = 2

DISKLIB-CHAINESX : ChainESXOpenSubChain:(1) fid = 5664418, extentType = 0

DISKLIB-LIB   : Opened "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001.vmdk" (flags 0xe, type vmfs).

Disk chain is consistent.

DISKLIB-VMFS  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000010-delta.vmdk" : closed.

DISKLIB-VMFS  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-flat.vmdk" : closed.

AIOMGR-S : stat o=2 r=6 w=0 i=0 br=98304 bw=0

AIOMGR-U : stat o=3 r=1 w=0 i=5 br=2048 bw=0

OBJLIB-LIB: ObjLib cleanup done.

But if I go up the chain one more delta....

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # vmkfstools -v 10 -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk

DISKLIB-VMFS  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk" : open successful (14) size = 185577472, hd = 6271401. Type 8

DISKLIB-DSCPTR: Opened [0]: "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk" (0xe)

DISKLIB-LINK  : Opened '/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk' (0xe): vmfsSparse, 1048576000 sectors / 500 GB.

DISKLIB-DSCPTR: descriptor above max size: 1158656000

DISKLIB-LINK  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk" : failed to open (The file specified is not a virtual disk).

DISKLIB-CHAIN :"/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk": Failed to open parent "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk": The file specified is not a virtual disk.

DISKLIB-CHAIN : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk" : failed to open (The parent of this virtual disk could not be opened).

DISKLIB-VMFS  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk" : closed.

DISKLIB-LIB   : Failed to open '/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk' with flags 0xe The parent of this virtual disk could not be opened (23).

DISKLIB-VMFS  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk" : open successful (12) size = 185577472, hd = 6304169. Type 8

DISKLIB-DSCPTR: Opened [0]: "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk" (0xc)

DISKLIB-LINK  : Opened '/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk' (0xc): vmfsSparse, 1048576000 sectors / 500 GB.

DISKLIB-CHAINESX : ChainESXOpenSubChain: numLinks = 1, numSubChains = 1

DISKLIB-CHAINESX : ChainESXOpenSubChain:(0) fid = 6304169, extentType = 0

DISKLIB-LIB   : Opened "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk" (flags 0xc, type vmfsSparse).

Disk link /vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk successfully opened.

DISKLIB-DSCPTR: descriptor above max size: 1158656000

DISKLIB-LINK  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk" : failed to open (The file specified is not a virtual disk).

DISKLIB-CHAIN : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk" : failed to open (The file specified is not a virtual disk).

DISKLIB-LIB   : Failed to open '/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk' with flags 0xc The file specified is not a virtual disk (15).

Failed to open disk link /vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk :The file specified is not a virtual disk (15)Disk chain is not consistent : The parent of this virtual disk could not be opened (23)

DISKLIB-VMFS  : "/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2/AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk" : closed.

AIOMGR-S : stat o=4 r=22 w=0 i=0 br=174208 bw=0

AIOMGR-U : stat o=3 r=2 w=0 i=4 br=4096 bw=0

OBJLIB-LIB: ObjLib cleanup done.

Here are the vmdk descriptor files I had to recreate. There are 10 total. This the first 2:

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d1

parentCID=ab35c349

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000010-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

ddb.longContentID = "806f6d739509977d43cbe1196ef7c8f5"

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=10000d2

parentCID=01000d1

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

ddb.longContentID = "806f6d739509977d43cbe1196ef7c8f5"

And here is my vfms descriptor:

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=ab35c349

parentCID=ffffffff

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfs"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFS "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-flat.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

ddb.adapterType = "lsilogic"

ddb.geometry.cylinders = "65270"

ddb.geometry.heads = "255"

ddb.geometry.sectors = "63"

ddb.longContentID = "3a43f90f4a0828135c6c5ddbab35c349"

ddb.uuid = "60 00 C2 96 17 79 b7 12-1d 50 c0 aa e8 f3 e2 a8"

ddb.virtualHWVersion = "8"

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 #

Any help would be appreciated!

[a_p_]

Welcome to the Community,

you've got a typo in "parentCID=01000d1" of "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk", i.e. one "0" is missing".

In addition to this, the "parentFileNameHint" has to point to the descriptor .vmdk file rather than to a delta, or flat file.

A word of caution. Please be careful with chaining the snapshots. Note that the 6 digit number in the file names do not necessarily represent the snapshot sequence! To determine the correct order, either use the files' time stamps, or check any existing vmware.log files.

In any case, once you've recreated all the descriptor files, take another snapshot prior to powering on the VM, to have a way back in case it's needed!

As a side note. Omit the "ddb.longContentID" entry in the snapshot files. It's usually generated based on the CID (as you can see in the

André

[SalemComputer]

Here is the files ordered by date. This is way over my head...

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # ls -laht

total 555379720

-rw-------    1 root     root        1.1G Dec  9 05:52 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk

drwxr-xr-x    1 root     root        3.8K Dec  9 05:48 .

-rw-------    1 root     root         343 Dec  9 05:48 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         356 Dec  9 05:41 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root      500.0G Dec  9 05:11 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-flat.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         483 Dec  9 04:55 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         356 Dec  9 04:39 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000003.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         301 Dec  9 04:16 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000009.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         301 Dec  9 04:16 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000008.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         301 Dec  9 04:16 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000007.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         301 Dec  9 04:15 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000006.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         301 Dec  9 04:15 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000005.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         301 Dec  9 04:14 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000004.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root         301 Dec  9 03:13 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000010.vmdk

drwxr-xr-t    1 root     root        2.3K Dec  7 20:48 ..

-rw-------    1 root     root       17.7G Dec  6 17:31 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000010-delta.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root      705.0M Oct  7 18:56 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000009-delta.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root      817.0M Sep 28 04:04 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000008-delta.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root        2.6G Sep 23 07:18 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000007-delta.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root      129.0M Aug 24 17:32 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000006-delta.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root        1.4G Aug 22 19:08 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000005-delta.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root        2.3G Jul 17 06:32 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000004-delta.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root        2.8G Jun 13 18:30 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000003-delta.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root      177.0M Apr  6  2018 AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk

Here is what the vmdk files look like.

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=e74d0666

parentCID=ab35c349

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

ddb.longContentID = "644940aa1f7b45cfab26f1fde74d0666"

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d2

parentCID=010000d1

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000001-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

ddb.longContentID = "806f6d739509977d43cbe1196ef7c8f5"

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000003.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d3

parentCID=010000d2

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000002-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000003-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

ddb.longContentID = "806f6d739509977d43cbe1196ef7c8f5"

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000004.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d4

parentCID=010000d3

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000003-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000004-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000005.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d5

parentCID=010000d4

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000004-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000005-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000006.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d6

parentCID=001000d5

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000005-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000006-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000007.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d7

parentCID=010000d6

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000006-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000007-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000008.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d8

parentCID=010000d7

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000007-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000008-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000009.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=010000d9

parentCID=010000d8

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000008-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000009-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

/vmfs/volumes/53612937-dc2dee84-51cc-f8bc123d168c/AGEC-SERVER2008R2-Disk2 # cat  AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000010.vmdk

# Disk DescriptorFile

version=1

encoding="UTF-8"

CID=10000d10

parentCID=010000d9

isNativeSnapshot="no"

createType="vmfsSparse"

parentFileNameHint="AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000009-delta.vmdk"

# Extent description

RW 1048576000 VMFSSPARSE "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000010-delta.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base

#DDB

[SalemComputer]

Is it normal not to show all the deltas in the sphere ui?

[a_p_ · Accepted solution]

You are close, and the screenshot is ok. The delta/flat files are hidden from the GUI.

The only error that I can see is that "-delta" in the "parentFileNameHint". That needs to be removed.

Either edit your files, or use the ones that I've attached to this post.

Once uploaded, please check whether the VM's configuration (.vmx) file points to the latest snapshot file, which I assume is "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000010.vmdk".

If you need to edit the .vmx file, don't forget to reload it (see https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1026043​) prior to powering on the VM. As mentioned in my previous post, I'd recommend that - prior to powering on the VM - you create another snapshot!

André

[a_p_]

WAIT a second!

Your screenshot shows file .vmdk names that didn't exist previously!?

Did you change anything with the VM in the meantime?

André

[SalemComputer]

I don't think so. Please explain....

[a_p_]

The screenshot is very small, but isn't there a "AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000020.vmdk". in the list?

André

[SalemComputer]

It looks like my previous post didnt post.

Sorry about that file. That was actually my template for the delta descriptor files. There were no descriptor files at all in the directory when I first checked it. The only thing I think that is different is the date on the first delta file is the newest. I'm kinda frozen in fear! I do not want to lose any of these changes. There was also a back

Delta2.vdmk, temp.vfmk and AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1-000020.vdmk are all new. I created them while making the new descriptors.

[SalemComputer]

Man! I was scared to pull the trigger and after lots of backing up......

You are the man!!!! Totally worked.

I also used the vmkfstools  -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000002.vmdk

vmkfstools  -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000002.vmdk

vmkfstools  -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000003.vmdk

vmkfstools  -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000004.vmdk

vmkfstools  -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000005.vmdk

vmkfstools  -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000006.vmdk

vmkfstools  -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000007.vmdk

This is where I founf the chain broken.

vmkfstools  -e AGEC-SERVER2008R2_1_000010.vmdk also showed me the break but going up the chain is what helped me find the syntax error.

Thank you Andre! You are a lifesaver!