VMWare need to overcome 2Tb VMDK limit?
We have a DR solution whereby we are replicating a physical server to a virtual server.
The physical server incorporates alot of storage and is forcasted to exceed 2Tb within the next few months. The virtual server will then have a problem in that the vmdk will exceed the 2Tb limit.
The Vmware server comprises a DL server with a scsi attached storage array (no iscsi device).
Is there a way to replicate a physical server exceeding 2Tb to a vmware virtual (I know that if we had an iscsi device we could split the OS to VMFS and the data to NTFS) using a VMware scsi storage solution?
The physical server incorporates alot of storage and is forcasted to exceed 2Tb within the next few months. The virtual server will then have a problem in that the vmdk will exceed the 2Tb limit.
The Vmware server comprises a DL server with a scsi attached storage array (no iscsi device).
Is there a way to replicate a physical server exceeding 2Tb to a vmware virtual (I know that if we had an iscsi device we could split the OS to VMFS and the data to NTFS) using a VMware scsi storage solution?
Last Comment
Sorry - I misled you (as I was typing my original answer, it didn't seem right).
Your ESX host can have a VMFS greater than 2tb's via VMFS Extents.
Your virtual machine has a 2tb limit per disk.
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_config_max.pdf
One way around the problem would be to use mount points for your file server to spread the load across different disks to get you over the 2tb limit but retaining the original directory structure.
Your ESX host can have a VMFS greater than 2tb's via VMFS Extents.
Your virtual machine has a 2tb limit per disk.
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_config_max.pdf
One way around the problem would be to use mount points for your file server to spread the load across different disks to get you over the 2tb limit but retaining the original directory structure.
ASKER
Jake,
Thanks for your reply however does this get around the 2Tb vmdk limit? I can see how it applies to the storage but not the vmdk. However I am not 100% sure in this statement.
Thanks for your reply however does this get around the 2Tb vmdk limit? I can see how it applies to the storage but not the vmdk. However I am not 100% sure in this statement.
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Jake,
That looks like a possible solution do you have any links to config doc on this? Is it a supported solution?
That looks like a possible solution do you have any links to config doc on this? Is it a supported solution?
What you will need to do is builld your VMFS datastore using Extents.
Because the maximum VMFS size is 2TB - 512 bytes, so you have to join datastores together to store the VMDK.
You will have to make sure also that the datastores are formatted with a
• 8MB block size – 2048GB maximum file size
and then to increase the VMDK size, which has a 2TB limit also, you will need to create seperate individual 2TB disks in the virtual machine, and then use the virtual machine Dynamic Disk to Expand across virrtual disks.
OR a sinlge 8TB (for example) disk from a SAN via iSCSI.
Because the maximum VMFS size is 2TB - 512 bytes, so you have to join datastores together to store the VMDK.
You will have to make sure also that the datastores are formatted with a
• 8MB block size – 2048GB maximum file size
and then to increase the VMDK size, which has a 2TB limit also, you will need to create seperate individual 2TB disks in the virtual machine, and then use the virtual machine Dynamic Disk to Expand across virrtual disks.
OR a sinlge 8TB (for example) disk from a SAN via iSCSI.
VMFS extents are supported by VMware - as per the links further up.
Not seen anything about the VMDK side of things. IMO - it's a valid solution as all you are doing it creating in a virtual space, exactly what you would do in a physical space.
Not seen anything about the VMDK side of things. IMO - it's a valid solution as all you are doing it creating in a virtual space, exactly what you would do in a physical space.
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Split points because both are valid solutions
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VMware, a software company founded in 1998, was one of the first commercially successful companies to offer x86 virtualization. The storage company EMC purchased VMware in 1994. Dell Technologies acquired EMC in 2016. VMware’s parent company is now Dell Technologies. VMware has many software products that run on desktops, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, which allows the virtualizing of the x86 architecture. Its enterprise software hypervisor for servers, VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the server hardware and does not require an additional underlying operating system.
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