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OPERATIONAL DEFECT DATABASE
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Cannot create a snapshot manually Creating a snapshot from a backup software fails Cannot delete a snapshot vCenter Server reports the error:Failed to lock the file when creating a snapshot Running the touch command indicates locked files[root@test-esx1 testvm]# touch *touch: cannot touch `testvm-000002-delta.vmdk': Device or resource busytouch: cannot touch `testvm-000003-delta.vmdk': Device or resource busytouch: cannot touch `testvm-000004-delta.vmdk': Device or resource busytouch: cannot touch `testvm-000005-delta.vmdk': Device or resource busytouch: cannot touch `testvm-000006-delta.vmdk': Device or resource busytouch: cannot touch `testvm-000008-delta.vmdk': Device or resource busyIn this sample, you can see that not all files are locked and there are other snapshot files, such as testvm-000001-delta.vmdk, testvm-000007-delta.vmdk, and testvm-000009-delta.vmdk, that are not lockedThe lock file (on the host on which the virtual machine is registered) indicates a process lock with the mac address (in red) for the host on which the lock resides:[root@test-esx1 testvm]# vmkfstools -D test-000008-delta.vmdkLock [type 10c00001 offset 45842432 v 33232, hb offset 4116480gen 2397, mode 2, owner 00000000-00000000-0000-000000000000 mtime 5436998] <-------------- MAC address of lock ownerRO Owner[0] HB offset 3293184 4f284470-4991d61b-4b28-001a64c335dc <------------------------------ MAC address of read-only lock owner*Addr <4, 80, 160>, gen 33179, links 1, type reg, flags 0, uid 0, gid 0, mode 100600len 738242560, nb 353 tbz 0, cow 0, zla 3, bs 2097152Note: * = This field was added in versions of ESX/ESXi equal or greater than 4.0 U3, 4.1 U1. In earlier versions of ESX/ESXi you will not see this line.For further information on identifying the type of lock see:Unable to perform operations on a virtual machine with a locked disk (1003397) This is not a consistent behavior and does not occur on the same virtual machine each time a snapshot is created or removed
This issue is resolved in ESXi 5.0 Update 1 and ESXi 4.1 Update 3.For more information on these releases and for download and installation information, see:ESXi 5.0 Update 1 Release NotesESXi 4.1 Update 3 Release Notes To work around this issue in ESX or earlier ESXi releases, Use the vmkfstools -D command to identify the MAC address of the machine locking the file, then reboot or power off the machine that owns that MAC address to release the lock.Notes: If the vmkfstools -D test-000008-delta.vmdk command does not return a a valid MAC address in the top field (returns all zeros), review the RO Owner line below it to see which MAC address owns the read only/multi writer lock on the file. In some cases, it may be a Service Console-based lock, an NFS lock, or a lock generated by another system or product that can use or read the VMFS file systems. The file is locked by a VMkernel child or cartel world and the offending host running the process/world must be rebooted to clear it. After you have identified the host or backup tool (machine that owns the MAC) locking the file, power it off or stop the responsible service and then restart the management agents on the host running the virtual machine to release the lock.
For more information, see Unable to delete the virtual machine snapshot due to locked files (2017072). Investigating virtual machine file locks on ESX/ESXi (10051).Unable to perform operations on a virtual machine with a locked diskInvestigating virtual machine file locks on ESXiUnable to delete the virtual machine snapshots