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VM Optimizer will provide additional size reductions anywhere between 40% and 80% on your VMware vmdk files.
VMwareŽ disk types are files with the extension .vmdk (dot vmdk). Shrinking
vmdk files (shrink vmdk) can be accomplished with VMware's built-in VMware
Tools. VMware Tools has a shrink facility built-in which can be used on a
dynamically expanding disk type (disk space is not pre-allocated for this
virtual disk type and can be reclaimed). To do so go to the Windows Control
Panel, open VMware Tools then click the Shrink tab.
Shrinking is a two-step procedure.
Step 1: When you click "Prepare to shrink" the tools utility launches a
program which fills the free-space on the entire disk with zero filled files
named wiper0, wiper1, wiper2, etc, until the entire disk is filled. These
"wiper" files are then deleted at the conclusion of the process and the
free-space is reclaimed.
Step 2: At the conclusion of shrink preparation you will be presented with a
dialog which asks if you would like to shrink your disk(s). If you answer yes to
this prompt VMware Tools essentially creates a new disk with the same partition
characteristics as the existing disk and simply writes contents of the existing
disk into the new disk and at the conclusion of the process it deletes the old
disk, renames the new disk and makes it current.
VM Optimizer relies on step 2 for its final procedure but adds hundreds of
additional methods to the first step. The result is that when shrinking your
vmdk file VM Optimizer will give you the smallest possible virtual machine.
Try or Buy today.
Related terms:
shrink vmdk, shrinking vmdk, shrink vmware image, vmdk, vmdk compress
To learn more:
Using the VMwareŽ Virtual Disk Manager
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