In VMware virtualization, a is one of the two files that make up a raw format virtual disk . It contains the actual raw data written by the virtual machine (VM), stored as a single, contiguous file without metadata or snapshot deltas.
: The "flat" file is the massive binary file that matches the size of your virtual disk. It is the raw storage container where all guest OS data resides. what is flat vmdk file in vmware
In a VMware vSphere environment, a virtual machine's disk is not a single file, but a pair of files working together. The file is the virtual equivalent of a physical hard drive, containing the actual raw data of the virtual machine, including the operating system, applications, and user files. In VMware virtualization, a is one of the
Flat VMDK files offer several advantages, including: It is the raw storage container where all
| Feature | Description | |---------|-------------| | | -flat.vmdk | | Content | Raw binary data of the virtual hard disk (sectors 0 to N) | | Format | Monolithic flat – not split into smaller extents | | Metadata | None; metadata is stored separately in a companion .vmdk (small descriptor file) | | Performance | Very high (no extra translation or overhead) | | Sparse support | No – always pre-allocated full size | | Snapshots | Not directly used for snapshot differencing disks |
A VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) file is a container file that stores the virtual disk of a VMware VM. It contains the VM's operating system, programs, and data.
When you create a virtual disk in VMware, you typically see a (e.g., myVM.vmdk ). That’s actually a descriptor file – a small text file that points to the real data file, which is named myVM-flat.vmdk .