If you need very large vmdks ...

[continuum]

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

[a_p_]

In case you need sparse files in Windows.

Create a zero byte file, set it to sparse format, then resize it to the desired size.

fsutil file createnew sparse-flat.vmdk 0

fsutil sparse setflag sparse-flat.vmdk

fsutil file setEOF sparse-flat.vmdk 1099511627776

Check file type, size, etc.

fsutil file layout sparse-flat.vmdk

You can also see the file size, and disk space usage in the file's properties in the Windows Explorer.

André