VMware vSAN: Replacing Disks
This document is organized based on Dell's official illustrated guide for capacity disk replacement, applicable to vSAN OSA using disk groups. for standard capacity disk replacement. Screenshots are from the official vSphere Client; menus may vary by version. Before starting, verify disk roles, cluster health, and data migration prerequisites.
First, distinguish the replacement scenario
| Scenario | Process Used |
|---|---|
| Standard OSA Capacity Disk | After meeting migration and redundancy conditions, remove and add the capacity disk as described below. |
| Cache disks or disk groups with deduplication and compression enabled | The entire group removal and rebuild process must be verified; do not copy single capacity disk steps directly. |
| vSAN ESA Storage Pool Device | Use the ESA-specific process; OSA disk group operations cannot be applied. |
Remove Old Capacity Disk
- Record the target host, disk identifier, and physical slot; enter host maintenance mode according to the maintenance plan.
- Navigate to the cluster's Configure → vSAN → Disk Management, expand the target host and disk group.
- Select the target capacity disk, execute Pre-check Data Migration, confirm the impact, then select Remove Disk. Determine the migration method based on disk readability, redundancy, and pre-check results; do not default to No Data Migration.
Add New Disk and Verify
- Confirm logical removal is complete, the slot is correct, and hardware supports the corresponding replacement method before replacing the physical disk.
- Return to the target disk group, click Add Disks, select the new disk, and click Add.
- Verify capacity, disk, and object health status, check resync tasks, then exit maintenance mode according to the maintenance plan.
If graphical interface removal fails, first check the failure reason and object accessibility; do not forcibly eject the disk by copying UUID deletion commands. For cache disks, deduplicated disk groups, ESA, or inaccessible objects, refer to the corresponding official procedures below.