1
Diagnostic step 1
Collect synchronized logs: ESXi vmkernel and hostd logs during a controlled consolidation attempt, plus storage appliance syslog and NFS debug logs to identify exact moment of file handle invalidation.
FULL AI ANALYSIS
ESXi VM fails to resume from snapshot consolidation on NFS datastore after upgrading multipath driver
Generated Oct 12, 2026, 10:57:59 PM
Analysis summary
Snapshot consolidation involves writing new VMDK data while the NFS server maintains file handles. The storage multipath driver update appears to change path identifiers or trigger server-side file handle invalidation during consolidation, causing ESXi to lose reference to the consolidated VMDK. This leads to stale file handle errors and failure to reopen disks. The fact other VMs are unaffected suggests the issue triggers under specific timing/IO patterns (consolidation writes) for certain files.
Possible causes
Storage multipath driver update on the NFS server invalidates or rotates file handles during path revalidation, breaking ESXi's open file descriptors mid-consolidation.
95%Race condition in consolidation I/O pattern that exposes bug in NFS server multipath or ESXi NFS client handling of file handle changes.
80%NFS server implementation incompatibility with ESXi build after driver update (e.g., changes to export fsid or inode handling).
35%Edge-case where VMDK file layout or snapshot chain causes large metadata updates that the new driver handles differently, invalidating handles.
25%Suggested fixes
2
Diagnostic step 2
Reproduce on a non-production VM: create a similar snapshot chain and perform consolidation while tracing NFS file handle lifecycle to confirm reproducible behavior.
3
Diagnostic step 3
Temporarily avoid consolidating VMs during peak activity and schedule maintenance window to test fixes. Do not force-fail or delete files without backups.
4
Diagnostic step 4
If reproduction confirmed, either roll back storage multipath driver to previous known-good version (controlled change with backups) or apply vendor-provided patch. Engage storage vendor support with captured logs and timestamps for expedited root-cause analysis.
5
Diagnostic step 5
If immediate recovery needed, restore affected VM from backup to alternate datastore or migrate VM to another datastore where consolidation does not trigger handle invalidation; escalate to platform vendor if driver rollback is not possible.