This article explains how to enable and disable LUN paths and to change the multipathing policy information for an ESXi host.

Symptoms:

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.5
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.0
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Embedded
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.0
VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESXi 3.5.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware VirtualCenter 2.5.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 6.0
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware vSphere 7.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vSphere 6.7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable

You can use two methods to change multipathing policy and to enable or disable paths on an ESXi host:

• ESXi command line – Use the command line to modify the multipathing information when performing troubleshooting procedures.
• vSphere Client – Use this option when you are performing system maintenance.

VMware ESXi 6.x and later:

Change multipathing policy

1. Log in to the ESXi host.
2. Run this command:
   
   esxcli storage nmp device set --device naa_id --psp path_policy
   
   Where:
   
   naa_id is the NAA ID of the device
   path_policy is one of the PSP options listed in Multipathing policies in ESXi/ESX (1011340).
   
   For example, to change the above device path policy to Round Robin:
   
   esxcli storage nmp device set --device naa.6006016010202a0080b3b8a4cc56e011 --psp VMW_PSP_RR

To change multipathing settings for your storage in the vSphere Client

1. Select an ESXi host you want to modify. Click the Configuration tab.
2. Click Storage Devices.
3. Select a mapped LUN or datastore from the list.
4. Click Properties, In the Properties dialog, select the desired extent, if necessary.
5. Scroll down to Multipathing Policies, click on Edit Multipathing.
   
   
    
6. Under the Policy section, select the desired multipathing policy from the dropdown. 
   
   
    
7. Click Ok to confirm the change in path policy.

or more information on multipathing options, see Multipathing policies in ESXi/ESX (1011340).

Enable or disable a path

To enable or disable a path from the ESXi host command line:

1. Log in to the ESXi host.
2. Run the command:
   
   esxcli storage core path set --state=state -p path
   
   Where:
   
   path is the particular path to be enabled/disabled
   device is the NAA ID of the device
   state is active or off
   
   For example, to disable path fc.2000001b32865b73:2100001b32865b73-fc.50060160c6e018eb:5006016646e018eb-naa.6006016095101200d2ca9f57c8c2de11, which has a Runtime Name of vmhba3:C0:T1:L0, for device naa.6006016010202a0080b3b8a4cc56e011:
   
   esxcli storage core path set --state=off -p fc.2000001b32865b73:2100001b32865b73-fc.50060160c6e018eb:5006016646e018eb-naa.6006016095101200d2ca9f57c8c2de11

Change a path

To change (or set) the path for a LUN from the ESXi host command line:

1. Log in to the ESXi host.
2. Run the command:
   
   esxcli storage nmp psp fixed deviceconfig set -d naa_id --path path
   
   Where:
   
   path is the particular path to be set for a LUN
   device is the NAA ID of the device
   path is the Runtime Name of the path to use
   
   For example, to set a new path of vmhba32:C0:T18:L for naa.6006016010202a0080b3b8a4cc56e011:
   
   esxcli storage nmp psp fixed deviceconfig set -d naa.6006016010202a0080b3b8a4cc56e011 --path vmhba32:C0:T18:L0 

To enable or disable a path for your storage in the vSphere Client

1. Click the ESXi host you want to modify. Click the Configuration tab.
2. Click Storage Devices.
3. Click a mapped LUN or datastore from the list.
4. Click Paths.
5. In the Paths dialog, select the desired path and click Disable or Enable. If the currently active path is disabled, it forces a path failover.

 

For more information on multipathing options, see Multipathing policies in ESXi/ESX (1011340).

Also, see Changing a LUN to use a different Path Selection Policy (PSP) (1036189).