Extending a Virtual Disk

After you create a virtual machine, you can use the vmkfstools command to extend the size of a disk allocated to the virtual machine.

-X|--extendvirtualdisk newSize[bBsSkKmMgGtT]

Specify the newSize parameter adding an appropriate unit suffix. The unit type is not case-sensitive. vmkfstools interprets either k or K to mean kilobytes. If you do not specify the unit type, vmkfstools defaults to kilobytes.

The newSize parameter defines the entire new size, not just the increment you add to the disk.

For example, to extend a 4-g virtual disk by 1 g, enter: vmkfstools -X 5g disk name.

You can extend the virtual disk to the eagerzeroedthick format by using the -d eagerzeroedthick option.

When you use the -X option, the following considerations apply:

• Do not extend the base disk of a virtual machine that has snapshots associated with it. If you do, you can no longer commit the snapshot or revert the base disk to its original size.
• After you extend the disk, you might need to update the file system on the disk. As a result, the guest operating system recognizes the new size of the disk and can use it.