vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-55-storage-guide

vSphere StorageProcedure1 In the vSphere Web Client, browse to the virtual machine.2 Double-click the virtual machine and click the Summary tab.3 Review the storage usage information in the upper right area of the Summary tab.Determine the Disk Format of a Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web ClientYou can determine whether your virtual disk is in thick or thin format.Procedure1 In the vSphere Web Client, browse to the virtual machine.2 Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.3 Click the Virtual Hardware tab.4 Click the Hard Disk triangle to expand the hard disk options.The Type text box shows the format of your virtual disk.What to do nextIf your virtual disk is in the thin format, you can inflate it to its full size.Inflate Thin Virtual Disks in the vSphere Web ClientIf you created a virtual disk in the thin format, you can convert the thin disk to a virtual disk in thickprovision format.Procedure1 In the vSphere Web Client, browse to the virtual machine.2 Double-click the virtual machine.3 Click the Related Objects tab and click Datastores.The datastore that stores the virtual machine files is listed.4 Click the datastore link to open the datastore management panel.5 Click the Manage tab and click Files.6 Open the virtual machine folder and browse to the virtual disk file that you want to convert.The file has the .vmdk extension and is marked with the virtual disk () icon.7 Right-click the virtual disk file and select Inflate.The inflated virtual disk occupies the entire datastore space originally provisioned to it.Handling Datastore Over-SubscriptionBecause the provisioned space for thin disks can be greater than the committed space, a datastore oversubscriptioncan occur, which results in the total provisioned space for the virtual machine disks on thedatastore being greater than the actual capacity.Over-subscription can be possible because usually not all virtual machines with thin disks need the entireprovisioned datastore space simultaneously. However, if you want to avoid over-subscribing the datastore,you can set up an alarm that notifies you when the provisioned space reaches a certain threshold.For information on setting alarms, see the vCenter Server and Host Management documentation.248 VMware, Inc.