How to run VAAI UNMAP and return capacity to Element
Applies to
Element Software:
- All versions
ESX:
- ESXi 5.5
- ESXI 6.0
- ESXi 6.5
VMFS:
- VMFS 5
- (ESXi 6.5 with VMFS 6 runs this automatically, unmap is not available)
(Optional) Element Plugin for vCenter (VCP):
- VCP 4.3
- VCP 4.2.3
- VCP 4.1
- VCP 4.0
Description
UNMAP is an ESXi primitive that allows the ESXi host to inform the storage array that files or VMs have been moved or deleted from a Thin-Provisioned VMFS datastore. This allows Element to correctly release unused blockspace and reclaim capacity.
UNMAP is beneficial to use when vCenter is reporting less used data than Element is using.