VMKFStools, Cloning, Alignment

[vmthunder]

Hi guys. This may be a noob question - actually I'm sure it is, but I've been reading pdf after pdf and still am not clear. I just want to be able to use a sysprep'd vmdk image multiple times on multiple esx servers....

1. If I build an ESX server and copy .. say a 6Gb disk image vmdk to the storage (SAN or local) using SSH

2. Use vmkfstools to clone the disk image, then resize (extend)

3. Create a new VM with the VI3 client using the newly cloned image

Are my partitions automatically aligned? Or should I be doing this another way? (I think this could be done by creating a template?)

Second part: Let's say my "template" is 6GB. After clone-ation (new word , how are you guys extending it if it is a boot partition? I know one way to to attach it to another VM as a D drive and use diskpart - then detach. Is that the preferred method?

[kix1979 · Accepted solution]

If you use vmfstools to clone the image and deploy it, it WILL have the same alignment already from within the guest OS. This is the same thing that happens with VC when you clone a VM or deploy a template. As for extending boot, I use a PE CD like the Ultimate Boot Disk CD or you could use an inside the guest tool like partition magic, but PE = Free in most cases and it is easy to use diskpart.