Is Thin Provisioning via vSphere instead of View Composer Possible?

[hmartin]

With View 3, we used linked clones in order to get thin provisioned disks. However, for a number of reasons, Recompose just doesn't work for us. I'm wondering if View 4, along with vSphere 4.0 Update 1, will allow me to deploy "full clones" that have thin disks (courtesy of vSphere).

I know it's possible to do this with vSphere alone, but does anyone know whether this will work (or not work) with View - either with View-based 'individual desktops' or, preferably, with automated desktop pools?

[mikebarnett]

I think if the base disk of your template was thin then the deployed

desktops would also have thin disks but I would have to check it out

to confirm.

Regards,

Mike

On Nov 21, 2009, at 11:18 PM, "hmartin" <communities-

[AndreTheGiant]

Note that thin provision is just have dynamic disk (to a max size).

Linked clone is have a golden image and build several VM from there with only the delta files.

You cannot create linked clone directly from vSphere GUI, but there are a lot of script to do it.

See, for example, lamw's script at:

Andre

[TomHowarth]

Well apart form the fact that they are completely different technoligies, vSphere uses Thinprovisioned VMDKs and Desktop Composer uses the Linked Clone technology. you are comparing apples to oranges.

That said there is no issues with doing a traditional deployment of TP based images to save space

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Tom Howarth VCP / vExpert

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Contributing author on "[VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment|http://www.amazon.co.uk/VMware-VSphere-Virtual-Infrastructure-Security/dp/0137158009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256146240&sr=1-1]&rdquo;. Currently available on roughcuts

[hmartin]

Thanks for the response. Wouldn't it be more accurate to say that Composer uses both linked clone technology and thin provisioning, whereas vSphere uses only thin provisioning? So if it is possible to use thin provisioned templates for a View 4 automated desktop pool to create thin provisioned full clones, then I just have to find out if VMware supports it.

[hmartin]

Thanks. In my case, I want to use thin provisioning while avoiding linked clones.

[TomHowarth]

Desktop Composer is just Linked Cloning and ThinProvisioning is just thin provisioning.

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Tom Howarth VCP / vExpert

VMware Communities User Moderator

Blog: www.planetvm.net

Contributing author on "[VMware vSphere and Virtual Infrastructure Security: Securing ESX and the Virtual Environment|http://www.amazon.co.uk/VMware-VSphere-Virtual-Infrastructure-Security/dp/0137158009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256146240&sr=1-1]&rdquo;. Currently available on roughcuts