How to Fix Storage VMotion "ThinProvisioned" Problems

How to Fix Storage VMotion "ThinProvisioned" Problems

If you are using VMware ESX 3.5 Storage VMotion you might have heard about the infamous "ThinProvisioned" bug or maybe even ran into it. The bug has two parts that cause this. One seems to be server side and has been fixed with a patch. After applying the patch to an ESX host you can do storage VMotion from the RemoteCLI, but not from one of the (unsupported) plugins or GUI tools. This is caused by the second part of the problem. The VM VMDK file carries the following entry:
ddb.thinProvisioned = "1"

Remove this entry and save the file again. This can be easily done with WinSCP or any other editor/client type of software. Once that entry is removed, do a normal VMotion. Once that is completed you can use your favorite GUI or plugin for Storage VMotion (svmotion) and the VMs should move with no further issues.

I personally have tried several of the plugins, but found this Storage VMotion Plugin the best. Once installed you can just right-click on a VM and initate the storage vmotion from there (drag and drop). Now you just wonder why VMware was not able to program this into the existing release code (3.5)?!

Warning: This trick as well as the current breed of free GUIs or plugins are not supported by VMWare. Do it at your own risk and preferrably test this in a non-production environment.