Specifications
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VMware GSX Server Virtual Machine Guide
You can use the virtual disk manager with virtual disks created under VMware GSX
Server, VMware Workstation and VMware VirtualCenter (provided the virtual disk was
created on a GSX Server host managed by VirtualCenter).
You cannot use the virtual disk manager to create physical (raw) disks. Physical disks
cannot be shrunk, neither by the virtual disk manager nor by GSX Server.
The following sections provide more information about the virtual disk manager:
• Running the VMware Virtual Disk Manager Utility on page 192
• Shrinking Virtual Disks with VMware Virtual Disk Manager on page 195
• Examples Using the VMware Virtual Disk Manager on page 195
Running the VMware Virtual Disk Manager Utility
To run the VMware Virtual Disk Manager utility, open a command prompt or terminal
on the GSX Server host. For Windows hosts, change to the directory where you
installed your GSX Server software. By default, this directory is C:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware GSX Server.
The command syntax is:
vmware-vdiskmanager [options]
The options you can or must use include:
Options/Parameters Description
<diskname> Is the name of the virtual disk file. The virtual disk file must have a .vmdk
extension.
You can specify a path to where you want to locate the disk. If you
mapped network shares on your host, you can create the virtual disk there
by providing the correct path information with the disk filename.
-c Creates the virtual disk. You must use the -a, -s and -t options, and you
must specify the name of the virtual disk (<diskname>).