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Setting Up a New Virtual Machine
The New Virtual Machine Wizard guides you through the key steps for setting up a
new virtual machine, helping you set various options and parameters. You can then
use the Virtual Machine Control Panel (Edit > Virtual Machine Settings) if you need to
make any changes to your virtual machine's setup.
What's in a Virtual Machine?
The virtual machine typically is stored on the host computer in a set of files, all of
which are in a directory set aside for that particular virtual machine. In these examples,
<vmname> is the name of your virtual machine. The key files are:
•
<vmname>.vmx — the configuration file, which stores settings chosen in the
New Virtual Machine Wizard or Virtual Machine Control Panel. If you created the
virtual machine under an earlier version of VMware Workstation on a Linux host,
this file may have a .cfg extension.
•
nvram — the file that stores the state of the virtual machine's BIOS.
•
<vmname>.vmdk — the virtual disk file, which stores the contents of the
virtual machine's hard disk drive.
A virtual disk is made up of one or more .vmdk files. If you have specified that
the virtual disk should be split into 2GB chunks, the number of .vmdk files
depends on the size of the virtual disk. As data is added to a virtual disk, the
.vmdk files grow in size, to a maximum of 2GB each. (If you specify that all space
should be allocated when you create the disk, these files start at the maximum
size and do not grow.) Almost all of a .vmdk file's content is the virtual
machine's data, with a small portion allotted to virtual machine overhead.
If the virtual machine is connected directly to a physical disk, rather than to a
virtual disk, the .vmdk file stores information about the partitions the virtual
machine is allowed to access.
Note: Earlier VMware products used the extension .dsk for virtual disk files.
•
<vmname>.log or vmware.log — the file that keeps a log of key VMware
Workstation activity. This file can be useful in troubleshooting if you encounter
problems. This file is stored in the directory that holds the configuration (.vmx
or .cfg) file of the virtual machine.
•
<vmname>.vmdk.REDO_xxxxxx — a redo-log file, created automatically
when a virtual machine has a snapshot. This file stores changes made to a virtual
disk while the virtual machine is running. There may be more than one such file.
C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine
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