Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide
124 VMware, Inc.
The!redolog!file!for!a!virtual!disk!vm!is!named!vm.vmdk.REDO.!If!the!virtual!disk!is!split!
into!2GB!files,!the!disk!files!are!named!vm.vmdk,!vm-02.vmdk,!vm-03.vmdk!and!so!on;!its!
redolog!files!are!named!vm.vmdk.REDO,!vm-02.vmdk.REDO,!vm-03.vmdk.REDO!and!so!on.
You!can!choose!the!location
!where!the!redolog!files!are!stored.!By!default,!the!files!are!
stored!in!the!same!directory!as!the!virtual!disk!(.vmdk)!file.!By!default,!redolog!files!for!
physical!disks!are!located!in!the!same!directory!as!the!virtual!machine!configuration!file!
(.vmx).!You!can!change!the!
location!of!the!redolog!files!in!the!virtual!machine!settings!
editor.!With!the!virtual!machine!powered!off,!choose!VM!>!Settings.!Click!the!Options!
tab,!select!General.!Under!Working!directory,!enter!the!name!or!browse!to!the!folder!
in!which!the!redolog!file!should!be!stored.
You!can
!store!these!files!in!a!different!directory!to!increase!available!space!or!improve!
performance.!For!best!performance,!the!log!files!for!a!virtual!machine!should!be!on!a!
local!hard!drive!on!the!host!computer.!
Snapshot Files
When!you!take!a!snapshot!of!a!virtual!machine!named!vm,!VMware!Server!stores!the!
snapshot!in!a!file!named!vm.vmsn.!VMware!Server!stores!snapshot!information!in!files!
named!vmSnapshotX.vmsn!and!in!vmxxxxxx.vmdk.!For!more!information!about!
snapshots,!see!“Taking!Snapshots”!on!page 112.
You!can!choose!the!location!
where!the!snapshot!files!are!stored.!By!default,!the!files!are!
stored!in!the!same!directory!as!the!virtual!disk!(.vmdk)!file.!You!can!change!the!location!
of!the!snapshot!files!in!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor.!With!the!virtual!machine!
powered!off,!choose!VM!>!Settings.!Click!the!
Options!tab,!select!General.!Under!
Working!directory,!enter!the!name!or!browse!to!the!folder!in!which!the!snapshot!file!
should!be!stored.
You!can!store!these!files!in!a!different!directory!to!increase!available!space!or!improve!
performance.!For!best!performance,!the!log!files!for!a!virtual!machine!should!
be!on!a!
local!hard!drive!on!the!host!computer.!
Lock Files
A!running!virtual!machine!creates!lock!files!to!prevent!consistency!problems!on!virtual!
disks.!If!the!virtual!machine!did!not!use!locks,!multiple!virtual!machines!might!read!
and!write!to!the!disk,!causing!data!corruption.
Lock!files!are!always!created!in!the!same!directory!as!the!.vmdk!file.!
The!locking!methods!
used!by!VMware!Server!on!Microsoft!Windows!and!Linux!hosts!
are!different,!so!files!shared!between!them!are!not!fully!protected.!If!you!use!a!common!
file!repository!that!provides!files!to!users!on!both!Windows!and!Linux!hosts,!be!sure!
that!each!virtual!machine!is!run!by!only!one!user
!at!a!time.