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New method of enabling Multiwriter VMDK flag in vSphere 6.0 Update 1 (UI + API)

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Prior to vSphere 6.0, in order for multiple Virtual Machines to share a VMFS-backed VMDK, the Multiwriter VMDK flag must be enabled, which is accomplished by adding a specific VM Advanced Setting as shown in this VMware KB 1034165. For customers who were accustomed to this old method, you may have found that this option no longer works. This was true regardless if you had used the vSphere Web/C# Client or the vSphere API to apply the configuration.

To provide for a better user experience, this behavior was changed in vSphere 6.0 and a new API was introduced for enabling and disabling the Multiwriter VMDK flag. In vSphere 6.0, there is now a new sharing attribute on the Virtual Disk backing property which accepts one of two values: sharingMultiWriter or sharingNone for specifying the Multiwriter flag. In my opinion, this is a positive change as we too often rely on the VM Advanced Setting as a generic "catch all" for enabling or configuring various settings versus adding proper APIs to a VM.

Although there is now a proper API which will can help enable new Automation use cases, one thing that was still lacking was an easy way to enable the Multiwriter VMDK flag using the UI. In vSphere 6.0 Update 1, we have now introduced a new UI dropdown option called "sharing" in the vSphere Web Client for configuring the Multiwriter VMDK flag which can be found in the Virtual Disk section when editing a VM as shown in the screenshot below.

Screen Shot 2015-10-16 at 10.19.05 AM
Note: The new Sharing property is only available in the vSphere Web Client UI and is not available in the vSphere C# Client. If you need to configure the Multiwriter VMDK flag and do not have access to the vSphere Web Client, you can use the vSphere API to help automate this configuration change.

UPDATE (06/27/16) - Created two scripts which now cover scenarios where VM is online and/or offline.

For those interested in Automating the Multiwriter VMDK flag, I have created two PowerCLI scripts called: configureMultiwriterVMDK.ps1 (offline VM configuration) and addMultiwriterVMDK.ps1 (online VM configuration) which demonstrates this new vSphere API.

The first script configureMultiwriterVMDK.ps1 allows you enable the Multiwriter Flag for an existing VMDK that has already been added to a VM. This operation must be done while the VM is powered off and to use the script you will need to specify the name of the VM as well as the label of the VMDK in which you wish to enable the Multiwriter VMDK flag (e.g. Hard disk 2). Below is an example of running the script.

Screen Shot 2015-10-16 at 8.24.46 PM
The second script addMultiwriterVMDK.ps1 allows you to hot-add a new VMDK and enables the Multiwriter Flag to a VM. This operation is done while the VM is powered on which is a common workflow for customers needing to hot-add storage to an existing Cluster solution such as Oracle RAC for example all while the system is running. To use the script, there are a few variables you will need to edit:

  • vmName - The name of the VM you wish to perform th operation on
  • vmdkFileNamePath - This is the full datastore path to the name of the underlying VMDK. See the script for more information but the syntax will look like "[datastore-name] vm-home-dir/vmdk-name.vmdk"
  • diskSizeGB - The capacity of the VMDK to add (GB)
  • diskControllerNumber - The SCSI controller number (0-3)
  • diskUnitNumber - The Unit number (0-16)

Erasing existing disk partitions now available in the vSphere Web Client (vSphere 6.0 Update 1)

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One of the primary challenges when trying re-purpose existing storage devices is ensuring that all data and existing partitions have been completely removed. Often times, customers end up resorting to third-party tools like GParted which requires you to boot your server into the LiveCD before you can remove the existing partitions. This is less than ideal, especially if you need to perform this operation across multiple systems.

For customers who wish to re-purpose their existing storage devices for other use, including VSAN, there is now a new UI option in the vSphere Web Client introduced in vSphere 6.0 Update 1 to help assist with this procedure. I had not seen anyone talk about this feature yet and figure I would share some details as this is something I have heard customers ask for in the past. You can find this new option (icon with disk and eraser) by clicking onto a specific ESXi host and then selecting the Manage->Storage Adapters and then highlighting the specific storage device you wish to erase as seen in the screenshot below.

erase-disk-partition-in-vsphere-web-client-0
Once the erase partition icon or action is selected, you will then be presented with a summary of the existing partitions on the disk and then prompted to confirm that you wish to delete ALL partitions on the disk.

erase-disk-partition-in-vsphere-web-client-1
After the operation has successfully completed, you can now re-purpose the storage device for other use like VSAN!

For those of you who are interested from an Automation standpoint, this UI operation actually makes use of an existing vSphere API that has been for quite some time called updateDiskPartitions() under the StorageSystem manager of an ESXi host. To erase all partitions, you simply pass in an empty spec to the API method.

In addition, I also want to quickly mention that you will also have the ability to edit and erase existing disk partitions using the ESXi Embedded Host Client Fling which will be available in a future update. Below is a quick screenshot on what that would look like. 

erase-disk-partition-in-vsphere-web-client-2

Quick Tip - Fix for CIP no longer functioning in vSphere Web Client after Chrome 45 update

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For those of you who recently updated to Chrome 45, which apparently I did as well or more likely it automatically did it for me. You may have noticed that the Client Integration Plugin (CIP) for the vSphere Web Client no longer function when you try to upload an OVA or trying to use the Windows Session Authentication feature. The latest release of Chrome has now completely disabled NPAPI support, but luckily there is a simple fix.

You simply just need to download and install the following new version of the CIP package for either Windows or Mac OS X and you will be able to restore the functionality that you once had which no longer relies on NPAPI. This fix applies to both a vSphere 6.0 and vSphere 6.0 Update 1 environment which I was able to test myself as I have both deployed. If you are still having issues after installing the update, make sure you clear your browser cache as the old plugin may still be cached. Some folks had to perform a reboot, especially if you have more than one user on the system which could still have existing running processes.

UPDATE (10/27/15) - For customers running vSphere 5.5.x, the NPAPI fix has just been released as part vCenter Server 5.5 Update 3a. The fix includes both a server side and client side component. This means to apply the fix, you MUST update BOTH the vCenter Server as well as the updated CIP which is provided when logging into the vSphere Web Client. For vSphere 5.0/5.1 customers, the only work around is by following this VMware KB 2114800.

I want to give a big shoutout to my buddy Blair who shared this KB with me as I was having issues after the Chrome update.

Client Integration Plugin for Windows:

Client Integration Plugin for Mac OS X

You can also find more details noted in this VMware KB 2130672. For vSphere 5.5 customers, a back port is currently being worked on but there is currently not an ETA. When is it released, the KB will be updated and you can subscribe to it for the announcement.