WIth ESX you don't have too much to do with the free local space. I would suggest creating additional datastore(s) on them.
The VMFS can handle any type of file, but, of course, it is designed for large files like the VMDK ones. As it have a very big block size, you will waste space by keeping small unusual files on it. Besides VMDK's, I store ISO files on it to attach to VMs.
If you give a VM 50GB of disk space, have in ming you have some variables:
- If you have 2GB of ram on the VM, and no memory reservation, ESX will create a 2GB swap file with the VM
- If take a snapshot of the VM, it will be created a delta file, which is the changelog for your disk. This file will grow until you delete the snapshot.
Wish you the best luck with your new ESX servers.
Marcelo Soares
VMWare Certified Professional 310/410
Technical Support Engineer
Globant Argentina
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Marcelo Soares