Guide to Installing VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit

Beyond the fundamental functionalities, the VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit (VMDK) offers a plethora of advanced features that can significantly boost your virtual development experience. This article aims to delve deeper into some of these advanced features and provide you with a more comprehensive understanding.

Thin Provisioning

Thin provisioning is a storage management technique where virtual disks are allocated only the amount of space they actually use, rather than the full capacity at creation. This can lead to more efficient use of storage resources and improved performance. To enable thin provisioning when creating a new VMDK:

1. Follow steps 1-4 as mentioned in the ‘Creating a New VMDK’ section above.
2. On the ‘Ready to Create the New Virtual Machine’ page, select ‘Edit Virtual Hard Disk’.



3. Choose ‘Thin Provisioning’ from the options provided.
4. Set your desired size and location, then click ‘Finish’.

Virtual SCSI Disks

In addition to virtual hard disks, VMDK also supports virtual SCSI disks. These can be useful when you need to create a more complex storage configuration for your virtual machine. To create a new virtual SCSI disk:

5. Follow steps 1-3 as mentioned in the ‘Creating a New VMDK’ section above.
6. On the ‘Ready to Create the New Virtual Machine’ page, select ‘Edit Virtual Hard Disk’.
7. Choose ‘Create a new virtual disk’, then select ‘SCSI’ from the options provided.
8. Set your desired size and location, then click ‘Finish’.

Cloning VMDKs

Cloning a VMDK allows you to create an exact copy of an existing virtual disk. This can be useful for creating multiple identical environments or for backing up your virtual machines. To clone a VMDK:

9. Navigate to the location where your VMDK file is stored.
10. Right-click the VMDK file, then select ‘Copy’.
11. Paste the copied file in a new location, then rename it if desired.
12. Launch VMware Workstation Player or Fusion and create a new virtual machine using the cloned VMDK file as described earlier.

Sparse Disks

Sparse disks are another advanced feature of VMDK that allows you to create large virtual disks without consuming the full amount of space upfront. This can be particularly useful when dealing with large datasets or when testing applications that require a lot of storage. To create a sparse disk:

13. Follow steps 1-3 as mentioned in the ‘Creating a New VMDK’ section above.
14. On the ‘Ready to Create the New Virtual Machine’ page, select ‘Edit Virtual Hard Disk’.
15. Choose ‘Sparse’ from the options provided.
16. Set your desired size and location, then click ‘Finish’.

In Summary

The VMware Virtual Disk Development Kit is a versatile tool that offers a wide array of features to optimize your virtual development process. From creating and managing virtual disks, to advanced storage management techniques like thin provisioning, cloning, and sparse disks, VMDK is an indispensable asset for any developer’s toolkit.