VMDK File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
File Extension .vmdk
Primary Association Virtual Machine Disk File
Developed By VMware Inc.
MIME Type application/x-vmdk
File Format Type Binary
Usage Stores virtual machine disk contents
File Specification Open format, with specifications provided by VMware
Compression Supported, depending on the specific type of VMDK file
Maximum File Size Depends on the host file system
Partition Style Supports both MBR and GPT
Snapshot Support Yes
Disk Types Flat, Sparse, Split, Stream-Optimized
Hardware Versions Supports multiple hardware versions, influencing features
Encryption Supported with VMware vSphere
Clone Types Full clone and Linked clone
Maximum Number of Disks Depending on the VMware product and version
Portability Can be used across different VMware products
File Sharing Can be shared among multiple virtual machines
Disk Resizing Supported with limitations depending on the virtual machine configuration
File Locking Implemented to prevent simultaneous write access
Backing Store Types Supports both host file system and raw disk access