Specifications

Administration Guide
200 VMware, Inc.
Setting the Volume’s Access Mode
There!are!two!modes!for!accessing!VMFS!volumes:!public!or!shared.!
! Public!mode!–!Default!mode!for!ESX!Server.!VMware!recommends!this!mode.!
With!a!public!VMFS!version!1!(VMFS‐1)!volume,!multiple!ESX!Server!computers!
have!the!ability!to!access!the!VMware!ESX!Server!file!system,!as!long!as!the!VMFS!
volume!is!on!a!shared!storage!system!(for!example,!a
!VMFS!on!a!storage!area!
network).!Only!one!ESX!Server!can!access!the!VMFS!volume!at!a!time.!
With!a!public!VMFS!version!2!(VMFS‐2)!volume,!multiple!ESX!Server!computers!
can!access!the!VMware!ESX!Server!file!system!concurrently.!VMware!ESX!Server!
file!systems!with!a!public!mode!have!
automatic!locking!to!ensure!file!system!
consistency.!
! Shared!mode!–!Used!for!a!VMFS!volume!that!is!used!for!failover‐based!clustering!
among!virtual!machines!on!the!same!or!different!ESX!Servers.!
Changing the Maximum Size of a File Allowed by VMFS
To!create!virtual!machines!with!virtual!disks!larger!than!the!default!maximum!size!of!
144GB,!change!the!value!in!the!Max!File!Size!field.!
Spanning a VMFS volume.
You!can!span!only!VMFS‐2!volumes.!Spanning!a!volume!allows!the!volume!to!comprise!
multiple!VMFS!disk!partitions.!Each!disk!or!partition!to!which!this!volume!is!spanned!
is!called!an!extent.!This!creates!a!single!volume!that!is!larger!than!would!be!possible!
from!one!partition.!Also,!in!the
!spanned!volume!or!extent,!you!cannot!change!the!
maximum!size!of!files.!
After!you!span!a!volume,!you!cannot!remove!the!volume!if!it!is!spanned!or!if!it!spans!
other!volumes.!To!span!to!another!volume,!select!the!box!next!to!that!volume!label.!
Converting a Partition to VMFS-2
To!convert!the!partition!to!VMFS‐2,!click!the!Convert!to!VMFS‐2!link.!To!convert!the!
file!system,!you!must!deactivate!the!swap!file!if!it!exists.!See!“Configuring!a!Swap!File”!
on!page 203.
N
OTE To!change!the!accessibility!mode!for!a!VMFS!volume,!you!must!deactivate!the!swap!file!
if!it!exists.!See!“Configuring!a!Swap!File”!on!page 203.!
CAUTION Any!data!on!the!extent!is!lost!when!the!VMFS!volume!spans!to!it,!so!span!to!
newly!created!partitions.!