Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
13.
A virtual hard disk is coni gured automatically when you create a new virtual machine.
If you need to add a new virtual hard disk, select the New Device drop-down box at the
bottom of the screen, as shown in Figure 9.11.
Figure 9.11
A virtual disk is
confi gured auto-
matically when you
create a new virtual
machine. You can
also add additional
virtual disks by
using the New
device option.
You are presented with the following options for adding a virtual disk to your VM.
The New Hard Disk option allows the user to create a new virtual disk (a VMDK
i le) that will house the guest OS's i les and data. Since a virtual hard disk is already
added by default when a new virtual machine is created, using this option is useful if
the virtual machine needs two disks (such as when an operating system drive and a
data drive are required).
◆
The Existing Hard Disk option allows a VM to be created using a virtual disk that
is already coni gured with a guest OS or other data and that resides in an available
datastore.
◆
The RDM Disk option allows a VM to have raw SAN LUN access. Raw device map-
pings (RDMs) are discussed in a bit more detail in Chapter 6.
◆
Since a virtual hard disk is already coni gured by default, we'll use it to install our guest
OS and we won't need to add another virtual disk.
Adding Existing Disks
h e existing virtual disk doesn't have to contain an instance of the guest OS; it can contain data
that perhaps will serve as a secondary drive inside the VM. h e ability to add existing disks with
data makes virtual hard drives extremely portable, generally allowing users to move them from
VM to VM without repercussions. You will obviously need to address any guest OS-specifi c issues
such as partitions, fi le system type, or permissions.
14.
When either adding a new virtual hard disk or using the one provided by default, options
are available for the creation of the new virtual disk. Select New Hard Disk to expand
the selection area and access these options, as shown in Figure 9.12. First, coni gure the
desired disk size for the VM hard drive. The maximum size will be determined by the
format of the datastore on which the virtual disk is stored. Next, select the appropriate
Disk Provisioning option:
