Files that make up a VMware Virtual Machine: A virtual machine is a software computer that, like a physical computer, runs an operating system and applications. The virtual machine is comprised of a set of specification and configuration files and is backed by the physical resources of a host. Every virtual machine has virtual devices that provide the same functionality as physical hardware, and have additional benefits in terms of portability, manageability, and security.
A virtual machine consists of several types of files that you store on a supported storage device. The key files that make up a virtual machine are the configuration file, virtual disk file, NVRAM setting file, and the log file. You configure virtual machine settings through the vSphere Client and should not need to touch these files.
The following are the files that make up a VMware Virtual Machine:
- .vmx Virtual machine configuration
- .nvram VM BIOS
- .vmdk Virtual disk
- .vmsd Dictionary for snapshots and associated disk
- .vmss Virtual machine suspend file
- -Snapshot#.vmsn Virtual machine configuration of a snapshot
- -flat-vmdk Disk that contains the data
- -f001.vmdk First extend of pre-allocated disk split into 2gb files
- -s001.vmdk First extend of grow able disk split into 2gb files
- -delta.vmdk Snapshot differences file
When a virtual machine is created and not powered on, these are its files:
When a virtual machine is powered on, these are its files:
When a virtual machine is powered on and has a snapshot, these are its files:
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