PowerFlex : VM Pause when performing VMware Snapshot
Summary: Virtual Machine Pause when performing VMware Snapshot
This article applies to
This article does not apply to
This article is not tied to any specific product.
Not all product versions are identified in this article.
Symptoms
When performing a Virtual Machine(VM) snapshot with memory state on ESXi, the VM pauses for 8+ seconds when located on VxFlex OS Volume Datastore. The pause time could increase up to 30 s which cause the application to crash.
/var/log/hostd on the ESXi node shows that the VM pause for 17 seconds. 2019-03-26T12:10:04.344Z info hostd[CEC6B70] [Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/5c408943-10c050f2-50e3-48df370a53e8/TESTVM4/TESTVM4.vmx] State Transition (VM_STATE_CREATE_SNAPSHOT -> VM_STATE_ON) 2019-03-26T12:10:21.481Z info hostd[C281B70] [Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/5c408943-10c050f2-50e3-48df370a53e8/TESTVM4/TESTVM4.vmx] State Transition (VM_STATE_REMOVEALL_SNAPSHOT -> VM_STATE_ON
Cause
When running a snapshot with VM virtual memory, the VM needs to pause for a few seconds to dump the VM virtual memory current state.
The snapshot with memory state is a single thread operation which is not optimized for our SDC.
The VxFlex OS SDC is optimized for multi-thread operations and when running single thread operation, the operation is limited to single device performance.
The operation had to dump the VM virtual memory to the datastore and if the dump was running, the VM paused.
The devices used are read-intensive which has low write performance thus VM virtual memory dump takes a long time to write which cause long pause.
The snapshot with memory state is a single thread operation which is not optimized for our SDC.
The VxFlex OS SDC is optimized for multi-thread operations and when running single thread operation, the operation is limited to single device performance.
The operation had to dump the VM virtual memory to the datastore and if the dump was running, the VM paused.
The devices used are read-intensive which has low write performance thus VM virtual memory dump takes a long time to write which cause long pause.
Resolution
The product is working as designed.
Workaround: Using mixed or write intensive devices which would increase write performance and the virtual machine's virtual memory dump will be quicker which would let the VM pause for less time.
Workaround: Using mixed or write intensive devices which would increase write performance and the virtual machine's virtual memory dump will be quicker which would let the VM pause for less time.
Affected Products
PowerFlex SoftwareProducts
PowerFlex Software, VxFlex Product Family, VxFlex Ready NodeArticle Properties
Article Number: 000055600
Article Type: Solution
Last Modified: 21 Nov 2025
Version: 4
Find answers to your questions from other Dell users
Support Services
Check if your device is covered by Support Services.