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VMDK file (virtual machine disk file)

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VMDK file (virtual machine disk file)

The VMDK (VMware Virtual Machine Disk File) is a disk-format specification originally developed by VMware for its virtual machine (VM) files. A file with a .VMDK file extension is essentially a complete and independent virtual machine.

VMDK, which is now an open file format, competes with the Microsoft Virtual Hard Drive (VHD) disk format and the two are not directly compatible. Third-party tools, such as the VMDK to VHD Converter, exist to aid in the conversion process.

Related glossary terms: virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI), virtual server farm, VMware Tools, VSMP (virtual symmetric multiprocessing), shared nothing live migration, golden image, virtual machine lifecycle management (VMLM), VMware memory overcommit

Contributor(s): Julia Anderson

This was last updated in December 2012

Posted by: Margaret Rouse

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