Performing Planned Storage Device Removal

When a storage device is malfunctioning, you can avoid permanent device loss (PDL) conditions or all paths down (APD) conditions. Perform a planned removal and reconnection of a storage device.

Planned device removal is an intentional disconnection of a storage device. You might also plan to remove a device for such reasons as upgrading your hardware or reconfiguring your storage devices. When you perform an orderly removal and reconnection of a storage device, you complete a number of tasks.

Task	Description
Migrate virtual machines from the device you plan to detach.	vCenter Server and Host Management
Unmount the datastore deployed on the device.	See Unmount Datastores.
Detach the storage device.	See Detach Storage Devices.
For an iSCSI device with a single LUN per target, delete the static target entry from each iSCSI HBA that has a path to the storage device.	See Remove Dynamic or Static iSCSI Targets.
Perform any necessary reconfiguration of the storage device by using the array console.	See your vendor documentation.
Reattach the storage device.	See Attach Storage Devices.
Mount the datastore and restart the virtual machines.	See Mount Datastores.