6.7

Table Of Contents
Swap File Location
By default, the swap file is created in the same location as the virtual machine's configuration file, which
may either be on a VMFS datastore, a vSAN datastore or a VVol datastore. On a vSAN datastore or a
VVol datastore, the swap file is created as a separate vSAN or VVol object.
The ESXi host creates a swap file when a virtual machine is powered on. If this file cannot be created, the
virtual machine cannot power on. Instead of accepting the default, you can also:
n
Use per-virtual machine configuration options to change the datastore to another shared storage
location.
n
Use host-local swap, which allows you to specify a datastore stored locally on the host. This allows
you to swap at a per-host level, saving space on the SAN. However, it can lead to a slight
degradation in performance for vSphere vMotion because pages swapped to a local swap file on the
source host must be transferred across the network to the destination host. Currently vSAN and VVol
datastores cannot be specified for host-local swap.
Enable Host-Local Swap for a DRS Cluster
Host-local swap allows you to specify a datastore stored locally on the host as the swap file location. You
can enable host-local swap for a DRS cluster.
Procedure
1 Browse to the cluster in the vSphere Client.
2 Click Configure.
3 Under Configuration, select General to view the swap file location and click Edit to change it.
4 Select the Datastore specified by host option and click OK.
5 Browse to one of the hosts in the cluster in the vSphere Client.
6 Click Configure.
7 Under Virtual Machines, select Swap file location.
8 Click Edit and select the local datastore to use and click OK.
9 Repeat Step 5 through Step 8 for each host in the cluster.
Host-local swap is now enabled for the DRS cluster.
Enable Host-Local Swap for a Standalone Host
Host-local swap allows you to specify a datastore stored locally on the host as the swap file location. You
can enable host-local swap for a standalone host.
Procedure
1 Browse to the host in the vSphere Client.
vSphere Resource Management
VMware, Inc. 38