VCP-DCV Configure and Manage vSphere Storage Practice Question
A company uses vSphere 7.0 with two ESXi hosts in a cluster. All virtual machines (VMs) are stored on a VMFS6 datastore backed by a single LUN from a mid-range SAN. The LUN is presented to both hosts and both hosts have identical multipathing configuration. Recently, an administrator noticed that one host shows the datastore as "Inactive" while the other host can access it normally. The administrator verifies that both hosts have connectivity to the SAN, the LUN is visible to both hosts, and the storage array reports the LUN as online. The administrator wants to restore access to the datastore on the affected host without disrupting VMs running on the other host. Which action should the administrator take?
⚠ Common exam trap
It's easy for candidates to assume an 'Inactive' datastore requires a disruptive action like a reboot or unmount, when in fact a simple storage rescan is the standard VMware-recommended first step to re-establish path connectivity without affecting running VMs.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Perform a storage rescan on the affected host.
The datastore showing as 'Inactive' on one host while remaining accessible on the other indicates a path failure or a transient storage connectivity issue at the host level, not a permanent problem with the LUN or array. Performing a storage rescan on the affected host forces the ESXi host to re-evaluate all storage paths and re-register the datastore, restoring access without impacting VMs on the other host. This is the safest and least disruptive action because it does not require a reboot, multipathing policy change, or unmounting the datastore.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Perform a storage rescan on the affected host.
Why this is correct
Rescanning refreshes the list of paths and resolves transient path issues.
- ✗
Reboot the affected ESXi host.
Why it's wrong here
Rebooting is unnecessary and disruptive.
- ✗
Change the multipathing policy on the affected host to Round Robin.
Why it's wrong here
The issue is path availability, not policy.
- ✗
Unmount the datastore from the affected host and then remount it.
Why it's wrong here
Unmounting may cause issues with VMs on that host and is not needed.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
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