2V0-621 · Question #144
A vSphere Web Client task fails while creating a VMFS datastore on a disk with these characteristics: - The disk was formatted with an Master Boot Record (MBR) partition table - The disk was not…
The correct answer is A. Delete the partitions manually with partedUtil. An existing MBR partition table on a disk prevents the vSphere Web Client datastore wizard from formatting the disk as VMFS. The partedUtil utility must be used from the ESXi shell to remove the MBR partitions so the disk can be cleanly provisioned.
Question
A vSphere Web Client task fails while creating a VMFS datastore on a disk with these characteristics:
- The disk was formatted with an Master Boot Record (MBR) partition
table
- The disk was not erased
- The disk is visible in the vSphere Web Client
What action needs to be performed to resolve the issue?
Options
- ADelete the partitions manually with partedUtil.
- BCreate a VMFS3 file system first, then upgrade it.
- CCreate a VMFS5 file system with the command esxcli storage filesystem add.
- DDelete the data with the vmkfstools command.
How the community answered
(55 responses)- A76% (42)
- B4% (2)
- C13% (7)
- D7% (4)
Why each option
An existing MBR partition table on a disk prevents the vSphere Web Client datastore wizard from formatting the disk as VMFS. The partedUtil utility must be used from the ESXi shell to remove the MBR partitions so the disk can be cleanly provisioned.
ESXi requires that a disk be free of any pre-existing partition table before it can write a new GPT-based VMFS partition. The partedUtil command, run directly on the ESXi host, can delete all existing MBR partitions, allowing the datastore creation task to proceed without error.
Creating VMFS3 first does not resolve the issue because the MBR partition table still blocks any VMFS creation attempt; the root cause must be addressed at the partition level first.
The esxcli storage filesystem add command is used to mount or register an existing VMFS volume, not to create a new one on a disk that still has a conflicting partition table.
vmkfstools operates on VMFS volumes and VMDK files and does not have the capability to delete MBR partition entries from a raw block device.
Concept tested: Using partedUtil to clear MBR partitions for VMFS provisioning
Source: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1036609
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