Скачать или смотреть Understanding the Export of Thin Provisioned VMs in vSphere

Discover the truth behind exporting `Thin Provisioned` virtual machines in vSphere. Learn how their actual size differs from what's displayed, enabling efficient storage management.
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This video is based on the question https://stackoverflow.com/q/62749836/ asked by the user 'user13875125' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/13875125/ ) and on the answer https://stackoverflow.com/a/62784009/ provided by the user 'Kyle Ruddy' ( https://stackoverflow.com/u/8279879/ ) at 'Stack Overflow' website. Thanks to these great users and Stackexchange community for their contributions.

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Exporting ESX Thin Provisioned VMs: What You Need to Know

When managing virtual machines in a vSphere environment, you might wonder about the process of exporting a VM, especially if it's configured to use Thin Provisioning. This can lead to some confusion regarding the actual size of the exported files. In this guide, we'll clarify this by answering a common question: Does a thin provisioned VM export at the same size as shown in vSphere?

The Problem: Confusion Over VM Size

A user recently posed a question about the size of a thin provisioned virtual machine (VM) when exporting it. The vSphere client indicated that the VM was utilizing approximately 2TB of storage. However, they heard that the actual size upon export would be significantly smaller because of the thin provisioning settings.

The Solution: Understanding Thin Provisioning in Exports

What is Thin Provisioning?

Before diving into the export specifics, let’s clarify what thin provisioning means:

Thin Provisioning is a storage allocation method where physical storage is allocated only when data is written, rather than reserving the entire designated size upfront.

This helps optimize storage use and reduces waste and costs since only the actual required storage is utilized.

Exporting Thin Provisioned VMs

So, how does this relate to exporting your VM? Here’s the key takeaway:

When you export a thin provisioned VM as an OVF (Open Virtualization Format), it exports only the data that is actually stored on the disk.

In contrast, the vSphere Client may display the provisioned size (e.g., 2TB), which includes unallocated space that hasn’t been used yet.

Key Benefits of Exporting Thin Provisioned VMs

Reduced Export Size: The exported OVF file will be smaller compared to the provisioned disk size shown in vSphere, saving time and bandwidth.

Efficient Storage Management: By exporting only the utilized data, you can manage your resources more effectively, especially in environments with limited storage capacity.

The Export Process

Here’s a simplified outline of the steps to export a thin provisioned VM:

Open the vSphere Client and navigate to your VM.

Right-click on the VM and select “Export OVF Template”.

Follow the prompts to select the format and destination for the exported file.

Review the size of the exported files – note how it will be smaller than the VM size displayed in the client.

Conclusion

In conclusion, if you have a thin provisioned VM that appears to be consuming a large amount of storage, rest assured that upon export, its actual size will reflect only the used space, making it much smaller than displayed in the vSphere client interface. This functionality is one of the key advantages of thin provisioning, helping you optimize resources and manage storage effectively.

If you have any further questions or need clarification on virtual machine management, feel free to reach out!