RecoverPoint for VMs: VMware VAAI commands not supported

RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines does not support VMware vSphere APIs Array Integration (VAAI). When a RP4VMs Protected Virtual Machine (VM) issues VAAI commands, the commands are rejected and are re-sent as standard I/Os. These rejections are mostly seen when VAAI UNMAP commands are performed which reclaim storage capacity in bulk.  

When VAAI commands are issued and then rejected, the event is logged in the RecoverPoint for Virtual Machines Splitter log and the ESXi host's vmkernel.log. If the Protected VM/s issue a large quantity of VAAI commands, the rejection prints can clutter the ESXi host logs impeding investigation.

Example from Splitter logs:

krnl:[09:00:10.349] 0/0 #2 - EsxSplitterVolume_startIo: VAAI command 42 to protected volume guid 0xa363e557492f1039. reject with VMK_NOT_SUPPORTED

Example from ESXi vmkernel.log:

2024-07-30T09:00:10.350Z cpu57:2576492)esx_splitter: KL_INFO:862: #2 - EsxSplitterVolume_startIo: VAAI command 42 to protected volume guid 0xa363e557492f1039. reject with VMK_NOT_SUPPORTED

Workaround:
VAAI can be disabled on the VM or ESXi host levels. Due to the minor impact of these log prints, it is recommended to disable VAAI in as limited a capacity as possible.
To disable VAAI at the ESXi level, follow Broadcom KB https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/318224/disabling-the-vaai-functionality-in-esxi.html .

Changes can also be made in the Guest OS of a protected VM, Dell Technologies cannot provide the exact instructions to disable for all cases.

Example Windows Server command to disable VAAI Trim and UNMAP:

fsutil behavior set disableDeleteNotify NTFS 1