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GarthDK
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ESXi 4 and Thin Disks (again:-)

I know this has been well discussed (try Googling esxi thin disk) and it seems that this is possible but I'm having no luck. First, I know thin is not the "preferred" format but we're "space challanged" on this server (Dell 2950 with dual Quad Core Xeons, 16GB RAM, but only 1.2TB available disk space) and thin disks would be a big help. Second, I've just rebuilt the server from W2K3 and VMWare Server 2.0 to ESXi 4.0 latest version with vSphere and have used Converter 4.01 along with vmkfstools to try and accomplish growable disks but no luck.

All VMs on Server 2.0 were thin and mostly empty. First I tried using Converter with the "Thin" option but the disks all grew to their max size, according to "ls -ls" on the console (both local and remote vis ssh). Second I used scp to copy the 2.0 VMDK files over to the ESXi box after creating a new VM on the server that matched the characteristics from the 2.0 VM. Tried bringing up the VM directly but that didn't work so I used vmksftools -i -d thin to create a new vmdk from the copied file but it grew to the max as well. I've seen a few other approaches to try but they seem a little risky so I've not tried them as yet.

Interestingly enough, while ls -ls shows a thick file, if I try and attach the file in vSphere, it only shows up as being the same size as the original 2.0 thin disk. Which one of these is correct? Am I doing the right thing and just looking at the wrong numbers? And what's with the new XXXX-flat.vmdk file that gets created? I've done a fair bit of reading of the docs but never found them referenced.

I know the trick for creating a new VM with a thin disk for ESXi 4 but I don't want to start over on all 12 or so VMs, most of which have valuable test data that would take days to replicate.

Is this doable or am I wasting my time?

Lastly, this is my first post to the VMWare forums so if I'm in the wrong place with the wrong question, my apologies.

Thanx,

Garth

Message was edited by: GarthDK

Still a bit confused. "ls -ls" from the console shows the expected thick file size but browsing the datastore from within the vSphere client shows the expected thin file size along with the option to inflate the file. Which is correct and is there any way to verify this from the console?

Thanx,

Garth

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GarthDK
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Let's ignore this question since, on further searching, it has been addressed but left mostly unanswered previously.

So, please ignore this post.

Thanx,

Garth

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DSTAVERT
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The big problem is that there are so many gotcha's. Since you are space challenged start rethinking how you store your files. NAS devices can work well for file storage.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator
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vmroyale
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Hello.

Interestingly enough, while ls -ls shows a thick file, if I try and attach the file in vSphere, it only shows up as being the same size as the original 2.0 thin disk. Which one of these is correct?

What you are seeing in the Virtual Infrastructure Client is correct. Using the datastore browser and getting the context menu for a specific VMDK and the option to inflate it confirms that it is thin. On the command line, use the command du -sh instead of the ls -ls command to see how much space the VMDK is actually using.

Am I doing the right thing and just looking at the wrong numbers? And what's with the new XXXX-flat.vmdk file that gets created? I've done a fair bit of reading of the docs but never found them referenced.

It appears that you are doing the right thing, but that the ls -ls command simply is not validating your results. When you use vmkfstools -i -d to create a clone of the original disk, the new XXXX-flat vmdk file will be the thin cloned version of the source disk. Again, use the du -sh command to view the different sizes used for the VMDKs in that directory and you will see different values for the thick source and thin clone. You will also need to re-name the cloned VMDK or edit the VMX file to point to the newly cloned disk as well.

Good Luck!

Brian Atkinson | vExpert | VMTN Moderator | Author of "VCP5-DCV VMware Certified Professional-Data Center Virtualization on vSphere 5.5 Study Guide: VCP-550" | @vmroyale | http://vmroyale.com
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RDPetruska
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Thread moved to ESXi 4 forum.

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