Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware, Inc. 119
CHAPTER 6 Using Disks in a Virtual
Machine
This!chapter!describes!how!to!configure!your!virtual!machine’s!hard!disk!storage!and!
covers!the!following!topics:
! “Configuring!Hard!Disk!Storage!in!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 119
! “Configuring!Optical!and!Floppy!Drives”!on!page 128
! “A d d i n g !Drives!to!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 131
! “Using!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager!on!page 139
! “Installing!an!Operating!System!onto! a!Physical!Partition”!on!page 146
! “Disk!Performance!in!Windows!NT!Guests!on!Multiprocessor!Hosts”!on!page 150
Configuring Hard Disk Storage in a Virtual Machine
Like!a!physical!computer,!a!VMware!Server!virtual!machine!stores!its!operating!
system,!programs,!and!data!files!on!one!or!more!hard!disks.!Unlike!a!physical!
computer,!VMware!Server!gives!you!options!for!undoing!changes!to!the!virtual!
machine’s!hard!disk.
The!New!Virtual!Machine!Wizard!creates!a!virtual!machine!with!
one!disk!drive.!Use!
the!virtual!machine!settings!editor!(VM!>!Settings)!to!add!more!disk!drives!to!your!
virtual!machine,!to!remove!disk!drives!from!your!virtual!machine,!or!to!change!certain!
settings!for!the!existing!disk!drives.
The!following!sections!describe!the!choices!you!can!make!in!setting!
up!hard!disk!
storage!for!your!virtual!machine.
! “Disk!Types:!Virtual!and!Physical”!on!page 120
! “A d d i t i o n a l !Information!about!Disk,!RedoLog,!Snapshot,!and!Lock!Files”!on!
page 122
! “Defragmenting!and!Shrinking!Virtual!Disks”!on!page 125