Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide
140 VMware, Inc.
You!can!use!the!virtual!disk!manager!to:
! Automate!the!management!of!virtual!disks!with!scripts.
! Create!virtual!disks!that!are!not!associated!with!a!particular!virtual!machine,!to!be!
used!for!templates,!for!example.
! Switch!the!virtual!disk!type!from!preallocated!to!growable,!or!vice!versa.!When!
changing!the!disk!type!to!growable,!some!space!on!the!virtual!disk!is!reclaimed.!
You!can!shrink!the!virtual!disk!to!reclaim!even!more!disk!space.
! Expand!the!size!of!a!virtual!disk!so!it!is!larger!than!the!size!specified!when!you!
created!it.
! Defragment!virtual!disks.
! Prepare!and!shrink!virtual!disks!without!powering!on!the!virtual!machine!
(Windows!hosts!only).
! Rename!and!move!virtual!disks.
You!cannot!use!the!virtual!disk!manager!to!create!physical!(raw)!disks.!You!cannot!
shrink!physical!disks!at!all.!
The!following!sections!provide!more!information!about!the!virtual!disk!manager:
! “Running!the!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager!Utility”!on!page 140
! “Shrinking!Virtual!Disks!with!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager!on!page 143
! “Examples!Using!the!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager!on!page 144
Running the VMware Virtual Disk Manager Utility
To!run!the!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager!utility,!open!a!command!prompt!or!terminal!
on!the!VMware!Server!host.!For!Windows!hosts,!change!to!the!directory!where!you!
installed!your!VMware!Server!software.!By!default,!this!directory!is!C:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware Server.
The!command!syntax!is:
vmware-vdiskmanager [options]
The!options!you!can!or!must!use!are
!outlined!in!Table!61.