esx.problem.vmfs.journal.createfailed

Summary

Host is unable to create space for the VMFS filesystem journal.

Causes

The highest probability is that the VMFS datastore is full, therefore there is no free space to create/update the metadata journal.

There are various possible causes for the datastore being full, including:

  • Too many virtual machines provisioned
  • Snapshots growing and consuming space
  • Older journal data not being released. This can be caused with failure or dirty shutdown of ESX hosts

Resolutions

Rebooting the host may restore access to the volume.

Apart from a reboot, there is no solution as such to this issue and you are strongly advised to consult VMware support.

You may be able to open the volume to recover data, using the vCenter OpenWithoutJournal option.

Refer to this VMware KB article for more information.

External

Refer to the VMware Online Documentation, especially the vSphere Troubleshooting Guide, for more information on vCenter event messages and possible solutions.