ESX disk alignment

In order to solve the disk alignment problem with NetApp, we can do below;

From the ESX host console, log in as root
Change to the directory hosing the virtual machine -> cd /vmfs/volumes/<LUN>/<VM>
Run this command: /opt/netapp/santools/mbrscan <file name-flat.vmdk>
This will scan only that VMDK and tell you if it is aligned or not

For example, to scan the file myserver-flat.vmdk
 /opt/netapp/santools/mbrscan myserver-flat.vmdk

If they are not aligned, run the following command:
/opt/netapp/santools/mbralign < file name-flat.vmdk >
Where <name-flat.vmdk> is replaced with the name of the unaligned VMDK

The utility will copy out the VMDK to a new file and align the new file.  The old files will be appended with the name mbralign-backup When complete, you should check that the VM boots. 

If the VM doesn't boot after alignment, you can revert the changes by copying back the backed up VMDK files (the mbralign-backup files)

Please don't run this utility on a VM that has a Dynamic disk - this won't work and the VM won't boot.