Do you know that you can create very large VMDKs with Linux sparse files ?
The result is a vmdk-format that can be used in a VM while it does not use the VMware standard vmdk format and so is easy to manipulate with dd for example.
Works on Linux hosts ...
Create descriptorfile like this:
# Disk DescriptorFile
version=1
encoding="UTF-8"
CID=12345678
parentCID=ffffffff
createType="monolithicFlat"
# Extent description
RW 17179869184 FLAT "8tb-flat.vmdk" 0
# The Disk Data Base
#DDB
ddb.adapterType = "lsilogic"
Create flat.vmdk like this:
dd if=/dev/zero bs=512 count=1 seek=17179869184 conv=notrunc of=8tb-flat.vmdk
Done
A vmdk like that uses very little diskspace after creation - way way less than a regular vmdk.
Dont know if they are longterm stable - I use them often and dont need them longer than a few days ...
Advantage: super easy to partition / or format without the need of a VM - just use
gdisk 8tb-flat.vmdk
Ulli
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Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...