VMware ESXi and vSphere Cluster Management

Delete a VMFS Datastore in VMware vSphere

Learn how to safely delete a VMFS datastore in the vSphere Web Client, protect required data, distinguish deletion from unmounting, and verify the result.

Deleting a VMFS datastore is a destructive storage operation. Before you continue, confirm that every virtual machine, file, host service, and ESXi host that can access the datastore is ready for its removal.

What a VMFS Datastore Is

VMFS (VMware Virtual Machine File System) is the clustered filesystem that ESXi uses to store virtual machine files on block storage. A VMFS datastore is the vSphere storage container created on that device. It may be local to one ESXi host or shared by multiple hosts.

The vSphere Web Client is the browser-based management interface connected to vCenter Server, VMware's centralized platform for managing ESXi hosts, virtual machines, and datastores. The datastore inventory lists storage resources available to hosts and virtual machines.

What Deleting a VMFS Datastore Does

Deleting a VMFS datastore removes the datastore from vSphere and makes the files stored on that VMFS volume unavailable to every ESXi host with access to it. These files can include virtual machine configuration files, virtual disks, snapshots, logs, templates, ISO images, and metadata.

Treat the operation as destructive and effectively irreversible from the vSphere administration perspective. Any data that must be retained must be backed up, copied, or migrated before the deletion is confirmed. Do not assume that removing the datastore from inventory, unmounting it, or disconnecting one host preserves the same result.

Action	Effect on VMFS data	Effect on ESXi host access	Typical use case	Risk level
Delete datastore	Removes the VMFS datastore and makes its stored files unavailable	Removes the datastore from the vSphere storage view; shared-host effects must be considered	Retiring the datastore and its data	High and destructive
Unmount datastore	Leaves the VMFS filesystem and content on the storage device	Removes access from one selected ESXi host	Removing host access while retaining the datastore	Lower, but dependencies must still be checked
Remove from inventory or refresh a view	Does not by itself erase the VMFS content	Changes how the resource is displayed or managed	Administrative cleanup or correcting a stale view	Usually lower, but not equivalent to deletion

Delete Versus Unmounting

Unmounting removes a datastore's accessibility from a specific ESXi host without deleting the VMFS filesystem itself. Use unmounting when the goal is to stop one host from using the datastore while preserving the datastore and its files for other intended hosts or for later use.

Deleting is appropriate only when the VMFS datastore and all data on it are no longer needed, or when all required data has been preserved elsewhere. A shared datastore requires special care because several ESXi hosts may continue to list or use it.

Pre-Deletion Impact Assessment

Perform the following review before opening the deletion confirmation. For a shared datastore, perform the checks across every ESXi host that has access, not only the host selected in the client.

Check	Why it matters	How to verify	Required before deletion
Virtual machines and virtual disks	Deleting the datastore can make configuration files or disks inaccessible	Review each VM's datastore and virtual disk locations; include powered-off VMs	Yes
VM power state	Active workloads can fail during removal	Confirm dependent VMs are powered off, or migrate them completely	Yes
Templates, ISO images, snapshots, and logs	These are also virtual machine files or datastore content	Inspect the datastore browser and VM/template storage settings	Yes
Shared-host access	Another host or cluster may still require the datastore	List all hosts and clusters with the datastore mounted or presented	Yes
Active operations	Interrupted tasks can leave workloads or copies incomplete	Review recent and running tasks, backup jobs, replication, Storage vMotion, and cold migrations	Yes
Mounted media and datastore activity	VMs or administrators may still be reading files from the datastore	Check mounted ISO media, datastore browser sessions, and active file operations	Yes
Host services	Removing the datastore can affect host operation or diagnostics	Check scratch, diagnostic, coredump, HA heartbeat, and other configured datastore dependencies	Yes
Permissions	The delete action may be hidden or rejected	Confirm the account has the required vCenter and datastore-management privileges	Yes

Protect Data Before Deletion

Inventory the datastore contents and identify everything that must be retained.
Back up required virtual machines and files, or copy them to another datastore.
Migrate virtual machines and virtual disks with Storage vMotion or a suitable cold migration when available.
Copy retained ISO images, templates, exports, and other files to another approved location.
Wait for all migrations, backups, replication operations, and copy jobs to complete.
Validate the results. Check backup success, test that important files or virtual machines are recoverable, and confirm migrated VMs use the destination datastore.
Perform one final datastore-browser and dependency review immediately before deletion.

Delete the VMFS Datastore in the vSphere Web Client

The exact labels can vary slightly between vSphere releases, but the workflow is generally performed from the selected host's datastore view.

Sign in to the vSphere Web Client through vCenter Server.
In the vSphere inventory, select the appropriate ESXi host.
Open Related Objects, then open Datastores.
Select the intended VMFS datastore. Carefully verify its name, capacity, host association, and storage identity so that you do not select a similarly named datastore.
Choose All vCenter Actions > Delete Datastore. Depending on the client version, you may also reach this action by right-clicking the datastore.
Read the destructive confirmation prompt. Confirm only after the dependency, backup, and shared-host checks are complete.
Wait for the task to finish and review the task result for errors.

ESXi host inventory object > Related Objects > Datastores > select the VMFS datastore > All vCenter Actions > Delete Datastore

Post-Deletion Verification

Refresh the datastore inventory and confirm that the deleted datastore no longer appears for the selected host.
Check every other ESXi host that previously accessed the datastore. Confirm that it is absent or that the intended storage-access change is reflected there.
Review vCenter tasks and events for a successful completion rather than assuming that a disappeared client entry means the operation succeeded.
Check virtual machines, clusters, and host services for missing-datastore, inaccessible-file, missing-disk, scratch, diagnostic, coredump, or HA heartbeat errors.
Verify that remaining workloads can access their current virtual disks, snapshots, templates, and other required files.

If the underlying storage device will be reused, presenting the device again, changing its partitioning, or creating a new datastore is a separate storage-administration task. Do not treat datastore deletion as a complete replacement-storage workflow.

Practical Examples

Retiring an Unused Local Datastore

Confirm that no powered-on or powered-off virtual machine has configuration files, disks, snapshots, or logs on the local datastore.
Copy any retained ISO images, templates, or exports to another datastore and validate the copies.
Check that the host does not use the datastore for scratch, diagnostics, coredump, HA heartbeat, or another service.
Open the host's datastore view and delete the now-empty or retired VMFS datastore.
Refresh the inventory and verify that it no longer appears.

Removing a Shared Datastore from a Cluster

Identify every ESXi host and cluster with access to the shared VMFS datastore.
Move or power off all dependent workloads and migrate their files to approved storage.
Stop or complete backup, replication, migration, and other tasks involving the datastore.
Verify that no host-level service relies on it.
Delete it only after confirming that the storage is being retired for all hosts that can access it.
Verify the result on each host and inspect events for missed dependencies.

Preserving Data While Removing One Host's Access

If the objective is to stop one ESXi host from using a datastore while keeping the VMFS volume and its files, do not select the delete action. Use the unmount workflow for that host, then verify that the other intended hosts can still access the datastore.

Troubleshooting

The Datastore Cannot Be Deleted or the Delete Option Is Unavailable

Possible cause: Virtual machines or files still use the datastore. Resolution: Review VM storage locations, snapshots, templates, logs, and the datastore browser; migrate or remove the dependencies.
Possible cause: The datastore is mounted or in use by another ESXi host. Resolution: Identify all connected hosts and confirm that the storage is no longer required anywhere.
Possible cause: A backup, replication, storage migration, or other task is active. Resolution: Review running tasks and wait for them to complete or stop them according to your change procedure.
Possible cause: A host service depends on the datastore. Resolution: Reconfigure scratch, diagnostics, coredump, HA heartbeat, or other services before retrying.
Possible cause: The account lacks sufficient privileges. Resolution: Ask a vCenter administrator to verify datastore-management permissions.

Virtual Machines Report Inaccessible Disks or Missing Files

The datastore may have been deleted before the VM files were migrated or backed up, or a dependency may have been missed. Stop affected workloads where appropriate, recover required data from a validated backup, and correct the virtual machine storage configuration. Do not repeatedly power-cycle a VM whose required virtual disk is unavailable.

The Datastore Remains Visible on Another Host

Confirm which action was performed. An unmount or removal of host access is not the same as deleting the VMFS datastore.
If the storage is shared, refresh or rescan storage views where appropriate and review vCenter tasks and events.
Check whether the underlying device is still presented to the host. Device presentation and datastore inventory state are related but separate storage-management concerns.

Exam-Relevant Notes

Delete is destructive and concerns the VMFS datastore and its stored data.
Unmount removes access from a particular ESXi host while preserving the VMFS filesystem and its content.
A datastore shared by multiple hosts must be assessed across every host, not just the host from which the action is launched.
Powered-off virtual machines can still depend on a datastore; power state alone does not prove that storage is unused.
Backups and migrations must be validated before a destructive storage operation is confirmed.