Known issues and limitations with Virtual Volumes

At times there might be issues and limitations when you configure the system to use VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes.

In addition to the information on this page, you can search the VMware Knowledge Base information on the VMware Web site to verify and troubleshoot your Virtual Volume configurations:

http://kb.vmware.com

Functions not supported in Virtual Volumes configurations

Virtual Volumes support cannot be used in the following configurations:
  • Metro Mirror
  • Global Mirror
  • HyperSwap® systems
  • SAS-attached hosts (VMware vSphere Virtual Volumes restriction)

Deleting a virtual machine

After an attempt is made to delete a virtual machine (VM), the VM is marked as orphaned or inaccessible on the VMware vSphere Web client. Virtual Volumes that are associated with the virtual machine remain on the system.

This problem can occur in rare scenarios when the Spectrum Control Base server cannot successfully complete the deletion tasks on the system. Potential causes for this issue could be network connectivity problems or scenarios where management CLI functionality is intentionally limited, such as following a tier-2 recovery.

To remove the VM and its associated Virtual Volumes completely, follow these steps:
  1. Establish the cause of the issue and restore full communications between Spectrum Control Base and your system.
  2. On the VMware vSphere Web client, remove the orphaned or inaccessible VM from your inventory.
  3. Re-register the virtual machine with your host.
  4. Right-click the virtual machine and select Delete from Disk to remove the Virtual Volumes that are associated with this machine from the system.

VMs marked as inaccessible by the VMware vSphere Web client

The command-line interface (CLI) has been unavailable for an extended period such as, for example, following a Tier 2 recovery. VMs that were powered off before the event might be marked as inaccessible by the VMware vSphere Web client. These machines need to be removed from the inventory and re-registered.