File Extension

VMDK File Format

Virtual Machine Disk file for VMware virtual machines

The VMDK file extension is associated with the Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) format specification used with VMware virtual machine files. 

Non-virtualized computers load and execute hundreds or thousands of individual files, including operating-system kernel files, device drivers, application components and data files. Virtualization abstracts the software from the underlying hardware and puts all the constituent data for a given virtual machine (VM) in a single disk file. The disk file is essentially a complete and independent virtual machine. 

A disk file with the VMDK extension is a virtual machine using VMware virtualization products or other platforms that support VMDK files such as Sun XVM, QEMU, or VirtualBox.

The VMDK file format competes with the Microsoft Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format used with Virtual Server and Hyper-V hypervisors.

 

Learn more about VMDK files:

Stephen J. Bigelow discusses the VMDK file format in this tip. 

See questions and answers about virtual machines.

SearchVMware.com offers news, learning resources and expert advice about server and desktop virtualization.

This was last updated in September 2010
Editorial Director Margaret Rouse
PREVIOUS: VMDK
NEXT: VMDK

VMDK: Learn More About File Extensions

Definitions

  • Five Steps to Incident Management in a Virtualized Environment

    - Incident management (IM) is a necessary part of a security program. When effective, it mitigates business impact, identifies weaknesses in controls, and helps fine-tune response processes. Traditio...

  • VMware snapshot

    - A VMware snapshot is a copy of the virtual machine's disk file (VMDK) at a given point in time.

  • VMDK file (virtual machine disk file)

    - The VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk) file format is the disk-format specification originally developed by VMware for its virtual machine (VM) files, but is now an open format.

Dig Deeper

Fast References

People Who Read This Also Read...

Ask a Question. Find an Answer.Powered by ITKnowledgeExchange.com

Ask An IT Question

Get answers from your peers on your most technical challenges

Ask Question

Tech TalkComment

What made you want to look up VMDK Virtual Machine Disk file for VMware virtual machines? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

Share
Comments

    Results

    Contribute to the conversation

    All fields are required. Comments will appear at the bottom of the article.
    Back to top