Remove VMFS Datastores

You can delete any type of VMFS datastore, including copies that you have mounted without resignaturing. When you delete a datastore, it is destroyed and disappears from all hosts that have access to the datastore.

Note: The delete operation for the datastore permanently deletes all files associated with virtual machines on the datastore. Although you can delete the datastore without unmounting, it is preferable that you unmount the datastore first.

Prerequisites

• Remove or migrate all virtual machines from the datastore.
• Unmount the datastore from all hosts.
• Disable Storage DRS for the datastore. For more information, see Activate and Deactivate Storage DRS.
• Disable Storage I/O Control for the datastore. For more information, see Enable Storage I/O Control.
• Make sure that the datastore is not used for vSphere HA heartbeating. For more information, see Configure Heartbeat Datastores.

Procedure

1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to the datastore.
2. Right-click the datastore to remove, and select Delete Datastore.
3. Confirm that you want to remove the datastore.