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Cluster validation showing "Not Applicable" on Storage Category

Fernando Jasso 0 Reputation points
2026-04-01T16:01:10.5833333+00:00

The issue was noticed while attempting to resolve a problem after a failed SBE update. I downloaded the latest SBE from Dell, initialized it in the cluster, and then attempted the update. A validation report, Get-SolutionUpdateEnvironment, and healthy readiness showed that all was good to continue. Midway through the update process, the install failed, leaving us with a disk locked in maintenance mode. I had to target the disk using Get-PhysicalDisk | Where-Object SerialNumber -eq "serialnumber" | Disable-StorageMaintenanceMode.

I noticed two things:

  1. NIC driver mismatch because the update affected the first node out of three
  2. Storage intent failed to provision

I removed the storage intent, re-added it, and completed the update successfully to resolve the driver mismatch.

During the troubleshooting, I ran the  'test-cluster' command as part of the remediation, I noticed that the storage section showed “not applicable.” Before the SBE update, the storage category showed a green checkmark and said 'success'. After the failed update, it said not applicable  

I want to understand why it shows up like this now.

Azure Local

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  1. Ankit Yadav 13,600 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2026-04-01T16:27:56.47+00:00

    Hello @Fernando Jasso,

    In Azure Local, this behavior is expected and by design. The generic “Storage” tests in Test-Cluster / Invoke-ClusterValidation apply only to classic shared cluster disks (for example, traditional SAN LUNs). Azure Local deployments that use Storage Spaces Direct (S2D) or supported external storage integrations (such as Dell PowerFlex) do not expose classic shared disks to the cluster.

    When no classic shared disks are detected, the generic Storage tests are skipped and reported as “Not Applicable.” This does not indicate a storage issue or regression, and it is independent of the SBE update outcome.

    For Azure Local, Microsoft supports validating storage using S2D‑specific or platform‑specific validation, not the generic Storage category.

    Recommended validation:

    Invoke-ClusterValidation -Include StorageSpacesDirect,Inventory,Network,SystemConfiguration

    As long as S2D (or external storage) validation passes and storage pools/volumes report healthy, the system is considered valid—even if the generic Storage category shows Not Applicable.

    References:

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