Copy VM - Error caused by file /vmfs/....vmdk

[outsider6]

Hi!

I have a problem with copy virtual machine *.*vmdk file. As a result of the operation Copy/paste on use vSphere Client i have error:

"Error caused by file /vmfs/....vmdk"

Machine is power down.

I tried to move the machine to another directory - and it is OK.

I tried copy vmdk file using WinSCP and function Download (Browser Datastore) but this operation also ending error.

I have a about 700GB free place. Size vmdk file is 20GB.

Please help me to solution problem!

Best Regards!

[daphnissov]

You should not use either of those methods to copy/clone a virtual machine because of the errors you've now experienced. The proper way is to use vmkfstools and there is a KB covering that procedure here.

[outsider6]

I use command:

vmkfstools -i "/vmfs/volumes/Datastore/examplevm/examplevm.vmdk" "/vmfs/volumes/Datastore 2/newexamplevm/newexamplevm.vmdk" -d thin -a buslogic

but still error:

Clone: 100% done.

Failed to clone disk: Input/output error (327689).

And file vmdk is remove from datastore

[outsider6]

I am sending logs from vmware.log from the time when vm backup starts

2018-03-10T20:00:26.250Z| vmx| I120: SnapshotVMX_TakeSnapshot start: 'xsibackup' - Pastebin.com

[continuum]

I looked at both log files but  did not found anything related to your problem.
But I have some experience with copying vmdks with I/O errors. Maybe we can find the problem in a Teamviewer-session.
Feel free to call me via skype.
Ulli

[twoton]

FYI, in case anyone else runs into a similar problem, ours turned out to be NFS settings on our server that was exporting the datastore.  We are using a NetApp 9.5 cluster mode SVM that had its export policies set to NFSv3 only. We could clone VM's to the new datastore, power on VM's, and perform all other operations besides creating new clones of any machines that were on the datastore. 

Some what counter intuitively, we changed the Access protocols on the NetApp export policy from NFSv3 only to NFS and clone operations started working again.  For those of you who have this problem and are using NFS mounted datastores, I would check the settings on your server side to make sure nothing hokey is going on.

[KWKirchner]

Dude! Thank you for sharing that!  We just upgraded to an A900 and after we storage vmotioned everything off our 8080's to it, things seemed fine, until we started seeing consolidation issues after deleting snapshots (had to power off VM to get it to work) and then storage vmotion and cloning no longer worked.  Only NFSv3 was selected in the SVM and the export policy.  I added all the NFS options to the SVM, but didnt help. It wasnt until I added all the NFS options to the export policy that everything started to work.