Configuring Virtual Disks

Select: Edit > Virtual Machine Settings > Virtual Disk

You can configure settings for a virtual disk when its virtual machine is powered off. By default, virtual disks created with GSX Server have the following properties:

All changes made are immediately written to the disk (just like what typically happens with a physical computer's hard disk).
When you take a snapshot of the virtual machine, the data on the disk is saved as part of the snapshot.

You can also specify different modes for the disk other than the default, for example that the disk is independent of snapshots and that changes are not saved to the disk. See Advanced Disk Configuration: Setting the Virtual Device Node and Mode.

Under Disk file you can change the path and filename for the file used to store the virtual disk. Type in the full path to the file or click Browse to navigate to the file.

The Capacity section displays the following information:

Current size — The amount of space the virtual disk currently occupies on the host computer's hard disk.
Maximum size — The maximum possible size for the virtual disk. You set this size when you create the virtual disk. It cannot be changed later.
System free — The amount of disk space left on the host computer partition where the virtual disk is stored.

The Disk information section displays the following information:

Split disk into 2GB chunks — A check in this box indicates the virtual disk is split among files none of which is larger than 2GB. If it is not checked, the virtual disk is stored in a single large file.
Access rights— Indicates how the disk may be accessed. This applies to physical (raw) disks and for virtual disks this field is marked Not available.

Settings displayed in the Disk information section are specified at the time you create the virtual disk cannot be changed later.

Defragmenting a Virtual Disk

Click Defragment to defragment the virtual disk. This rearranges the data on the virtual disk so that the individual blocks that make up the specific files on the virtual disk are contiguous.

Using the defragment feature improves the performance of your virtual disk, but it does not reduce the amount of storage space the virtual disk consumes on your host operating system. Defragmenting the disk can be a time-consuming process.

Configuring Physical Disks

Select: Edit > Virtual Machine Settings > Virtual Disk

You can add a physical (sometimes called raw) disk to your virtual machine. The virtual machine should be powered off before you begin. If it is not, shut down the guest operating system normally, then click Power Off on the console toolbar.

Caution: Physical disks are an advanced feature and should be configured only by expert users.

A physical disk directly accesses an existing local disk or partition. You can use physical disks if you want GSX Server to run one or more guest operating systems from existing disk partitions. Physical disks may be set up on both IDE and SCSI devices. At this time, however, booting from an operating system already set up on an existing SCSI disk or partition is not supported.

The most common use of a physical disk is for converting a dual-boot or multiple- boot machine so one or more of the existing operating systems can be run inside a virtual machine.

Under Disk file you can choose a different physical disk. Type in the full path to the file or click Browse to navigate to the file.

The Disk info section displays the following information, depending upon whether you are using a disk partition or the entire physical disk:

When using the whole physical disk — The device name and the capacity of the physical disk are displayed.
When using partitions — The device name, the capacity of the physical disk and information about each partition are displayed.

Settings displayed in the Disk info section are specified at the time you create the virtual disk cannot be changed.

Caution: If you run an operating system natively on the host computer, then switch to running it inside a virtual machine, the change is like pulling the hard drive out of one computer and installing it in a second computer with a different motherboard and other hardware. You need to prepare carefully for such a switch. The specific steps you need to take depend on the operating system you want to use inside the virtual machine. For details, see Configuring a Dual-Boot Computer for Use with a Virtual Machine on the VMware Web site www.vmware.com/support/gsx3/doc/ disks_dualboot_gsx.html.

Note: After you create a physical disk using one or more partitions on a physical disk, you should never modify the partition tables by running fdisk or a similar utility in the guest operating system.

Note: If you use fdisk or a similar utility on the host operating system to modify the partition table of the physical disk, you must recreate the virtual machine's physical disk. All files that were on the physical disk are lost when you modify the partition table.

Changing the Disk Mode or Disk Node

Click Advanced if you want to specify the virtual machine SCSI or IDE device node to which this disk is connected or to select a disk mode. For more information, see Advanced Disk Configuration: Setting the Virtual Device Node and Mode.