6.0.1

The following ways to add disks can help you plan your disk configuration. These approaches show how
you can optimize controller and virtual device nodes for different disks. For storage controller limitations,
maximums, and virtual device node behavior, see “SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions,
Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.
Add an existing hard
disk that is configured
as a boot disk during
virtual machine
creation.
To ensure that the virtual machine can boot, remove the existing disk before
you add the boot disk. After you add a new hard disk to the virtual machine,
you might need to go into the BIOS setup to ensure that the disk you were
using to boot the virtual machine is still selected as the boot disk. You can
avoid this problem by not mixing adapter types, and by using device node 0
on the first adapter as the boot disk.
Keep the default boot
disk and add a new disk
during virtual machine
creation.
The new disk is assigned to the next available virtual device node, for
example (0:1) You can add a new controller and assign the disk to a virtual
device node on that controller, for example (1:0) or (1:1).
Add multiple hard disks
to an existing virtual
machine.
If you add multiple hard disks to a virtual machine, you can assign them to
several SCSI or SATA controllers to improve performance. The controller
must be available before you can select a virtual device node. For example, if
you add controllers 1, 2, and 3, and add four hard disks, you might assign
the fourth disk to virtual device node (3:1).
n
Add a New Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine on page 118
You can add a virtual hard disk to an existing virtual machine, or you can add a hard disk when you
customize the virtual machine hardware during the virtual machine creation process. For example,
you might need to provide additional disk space for an existing virtual machine with a heavy work
load. During virtual machine creation, you might want to add a hard disk that is preconfigured as a
boot disk.
n
Add an Existing Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine on page 120
You can add an existing virtual hard disk to a virtual machine when you customize the virtual
machine hardware during the virtual machine creation process or after the virtual machine is created.
For example, you might want to add an existing hard disk that is preconfigured as a boot disk.
n
Add an RDM Disk to a Virtual Machine on page 121
You can use a raw device mapping (RDM) to store virtual machine data directly on a SAN LUN,
instead of storing it in a virtual disk file. You can add an RDM disk to an existing virtual machine, or
you can add the disk when you customize the virtual machine hardware during the virtual machine
creation process.
Add a New Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine
You can add a virtual hard disk to an existing virtual machine, or you can add a hard disk when you
customize the virtual machine hardware during the virtual machine creation process. For example, you
might need to provide additional disk space for an existing virtual machine with a heavy work load. During
virtual machine creation, you might want to add a hard disk that is preconfigured as a boot disk.
During virtual machine creation, a hard disk and a SCSI or SATA controller are added to the virtual
machine by default, based on the guest operating system that you select. If this disk does not meet your
needs, you can remove it and add a new hard disk at the end of the creation process.
If you add multiple hard disks to a virtual machine, you can assign them to several controllers to improve
performance. For controller and bus node behavior, see “SCSI and SATA Storage Controller Conditions,
Limitations, and Compatibility,” on page 125.
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration
118 VMware, Inc.