1vdiskadm(1M) System Administration Commands vdiskadm(1M)
2
6 vdiskadm - create and manage virtual disks
7
9 vdiskadm create -s size [-t type[:opt],[opt]
10 [-c comment] vdname
11 vdiskadm destroy [-r] vdname|snapshot
14 vdiskadm snapshot vdname@snapname
17 vdiskadm rollback [-r] snapshot
20 vdiskadm clone [-c comment] vdname|snapshot clone_vdname
23 vdiskadm move vdname dir
26 vdiskadm rename vdname|snapshot vdname|snapshot
29 vdiskadm list [-fp]vdname
32 vdiskadm verify vdname
35 vdiskadm prop-get [-l] -p property vdname
38 vdiskadm prop-set -p property=value vdname
41 vdiskadm prop-add -p property=value vdname
44 vdiskadm prop-del -p property vdname
47 vdiskadm import [-fnpqm] [-x type] -d file|zvol|dsk
50 [-t type[:opt]] vdname
51 vdiskadm export -x type[:opt] -d file|zvol|dsk vdname
54 vdiskadm convert [-t type[:opt]] vdname
57 vdiskadm translate [-i type[:opt]] -I input_file -x type[:opt]
60 -d output_file
61 vdiskadm help [command]
64
67 The vdiskadm command manages virtual disks within dom0. In the SYNOPSIS
68 above, vdname is the pathname of the virtual disk; it has a maximum
69 length of MAXPATHLEN (1024 bytes).
70 vdiskadm is implemented as a set of subcommands, many with their own
73 options and operands. These subcommands are described under "Subcom‐
74 mands," below.
75 The following subsections describe concepts related to virtual disks.
78 Snapshots
80 A snapshot is a read-only copy of a virtual disk. Snapshots can be cre‐
81 ated extremely quickly and initially consume little space. As data
82 within the active virtual disk changes, the snapshot consumes more data
83 than would otherwise be shared with the active virtual disk.
84 Clones
86 A clone is a writable copy of a virtual disk. The default type of clone
87 is a merged (that is, coalesced) copy of the original virtual disk. An
88 example of a merged clone occurs when a virtual disk is comprised of
89 several snapshots; a subsequent clone operation results in a new vir‐
90 tual disk containing no snapshots. A clone will be of the same type as
91 the original virtual disk (that is, vmdk:fixed). When a merged clone is
92 created there is no linkage back to the original virtual disk or to any
93 of its snapshots. This lack of linkage allows the merged clone to be
94 moved to another physical machine.
95 Numeric Values
97 The values of numeric properties can be specified using human-readable
98 suffixes, such as k, KB, M, Gb, and so forth, up to Z for zettabyte).
99 The following are all valid (and equal) specifications:
100 1536M 1.5g 1.50GB
102 Types of Virtual Disks
106 The following types and options of virtual disks are supported:
107 o vmdk:fixed
109 o vmdk:sparse
111 o vdi:fixed
113 o vdi:sparse
115 o vhd:fixed
117 o vhd:sparse
119 o raw:fixed
121 where vmdk is the native VMware format, vdi is the native VirtualBox
124 format, vhd is the native Microsoft format, and raw describes a file
125 that looks like a raw disk. A raw disk is always in fixed format so
126 that option can be explicitly set or implicitly understood.
127 If the type is not specified, the default value is vmdk. If the option
130 is not specified, the default value is fixed for type raw and sparse
131 for types vmdk, vdi, and vhd.
132 Native and User-defined Properties
134 Properties are divided into two types, native and user defined. Native
135 properties either export internal statistics or control vdiskadm behav‐
136 ior. In addition, native properties are either editable or read-only.
137 User-defined properties are arbitrary strings that have no effect on
138 vdiskadm behavior. You can use them to annotate virtual disks in a way
139 that is meaningful in your environment. User-defined property names
140 must contain a colon (:) character, to distinguish them from native
141 properties.
142 Properties are associated only with the virtual disk and not with indi‐
145 vidual snapshots.
146 Every virtual disk has a set of native properties that export statis‐
149 tics about the virtual disk, as well as control various behaviors.
150 The following are the native properties for a virtual disk:
153 cdrom
155 Boolean property that is true if the virtual disk is a CDROM.
157 removable
160 Boolean property that is true if the virtual disk is a removable
162 media.
163 readonly
166 Boolean property that is true if the virtual disk is read-only.
168 This property is read-only.
169 sectors
172 Numeric property containing the number of disk sectors in the given
174 virtual disk. This property is read-only.
175 name
178 String property that is the name of the virtual disk. This property
180 is read-only.
181 max-size
184 Numeric property containing the maximum size of the virtual disk in
186 bytes. This property is read-only.
187 effective-size
190 Numeric property containing the effective size of the virtual disk,
192 in bytes. The effective size includes the size of the data file
193 and all snapshots. The effective size can exceed the maximum size.
194 This property is read-only.
195 creation-time
198 String property containing the date and time that the virtual disk
200 was created. This property is read-only.
201 creation-time-epoch
204 Numeric property describing the creation-time property in seconds
206 since the epoch (seconds since 00:00:00 UTC, Jan. 1, 1970). This
207 property is read-only.
208 modification-time
211 String property containing the date and time of last modification
213 to virtual disk. This property is read-only.
214 modification-time-epoch
217 Numeric property describing the modification-time property in sec‐
219 onds since the epoch (seconds since 00:00:00 UTC, Jan. 1, 1970).
220 This property is read-only.
221 description
224 String property that contains the comment given when the virtual
226 disk was created or cloned. This property is read-only.
227 type
230 String property that contains the type of virtual disk: vmdk, vhd,
232 vdi, or raw. This property is read-only.
233 sparse
236 Boolean property that is true if the virtual disk is in sparse for‐
238 mat. This property is read-only.
239 owner
242 String property that contains the user name of the owner of the
244 virtual disk. This property is editable.
245
248 The vdiskadm subcommands and their arguments are described in the fol‐
249 lowing subsections.
250 vdiskadm create
252 vdiskadm create -s size [-t type[:opt],[opt]]
253 [-c comment] vdname
254 Creates a new virtual disk of the specified size and at the location
259 specified by vdname. If vdname includes a path to the virtual disk, the
260 directories that follow from that path will be created during creation
261 of the virtual disk. This subcommand has the options listed below.
262 -t type[:opt],[opt]]
264 Specifies the type of virtual disk to be created. The default type
266 is vmdk. For vmdk and vdi types the default option is sparse. For
267 type raw the default option is fixed.
268 -c comment
271 Comment that can be attached to virtual disk.
273 vdiskadm destroy
276 vdiskadm destroy [-r] vdname|snapshot
277 Destroys the specified virtual disk or snapshot. By default, the
282 destroy operation fails if the specified virtual disk contains snap‐
283 shots. This subcommand has the option listed below.
284 -r
286 Recursively destroys the virtual disk, including all snapshots
288 associated with the virtual disk.
289 vdiskadm snapshot
292 vdiskadm snapshot vdname@snapname
293 Creates a snapshot of the virtual disk with the specified snapname.
298 This subcommand has no options.
299 vdiskadm rollback
301 vdiskadm rollback [-r] snapshot
302 Roll back the virtual disk to a previous snapshot. When a virtual disk
307 is rolled back, all data that has changed since the snapshot is dis‐
308 carded, and the virtual disk reverts to the state at the time of the
309 snapshot. By default, the command refuses to roll back to a snapshot
310 other than the most recent one. In order to roll back further, all
311 intermediate snapshots must be destroyed by specifying the -r option.
312 This subcommand has the option listed below.
313 -r
315 Recursively destroy any snapshots more recent than the one speci‐
317 fied.
318 vdiskadm clone
321 vdiskadm [-c comment] vdname|snapshot clone_vdname
322 Creates a clone of the specified snapshot or virtual disk. The clone is
327 created with the type and option and the size of the virtual disk being
328 cloned. If clone_vdname includes a path the directories that flow from
329 that path will be created during creation of the cloned virtual disk.
330 By default, a merged clone image is created. This subcommand has the
331 option listed below.
332 -c comment
334 Comment that can be attached to cloned virtual disk.
336 vdiskadm move
339 vdiskadm move vdname dir
340 Moves a specified virtual disk into the specified directory. The vir‐
345 tual disk maintains the same name. The new directory must exist. This
346 subcommand has no options.
347 vdiskadm rename
349 vdiskadm rename vdname|snapshot vdname|snapshot
350 Renames a virtual disk or snapshot. This subcommand has no options.
355 vdiskadm list
357 vdiskadm list [-fp]vdname
358 Lists a specified virtual disk and its snapshots. This subcommand has
363 the options listed below.
364 -f
366 Gives a list of all files associated with the virtual disk. This
368 list includes the store file and the extents.
369 -p
372 Lists the files in an easily parsable format, prefixing the files
374 with a label of file:, snapshot:, or store.
375 vdiskadm verify
378 vdiskadm verify vdname
379 Returns an error if the virtual disk cannot be recognized or opened by
384 Solaris xVM. This subcommand has no options.
385 vdiskadm prop-get
387 vdiskadm prop-get [-l] -p property vdname
388 Returns the value of the property for the specified virtual disk. A
393 property value of all displays all native and user-defined properties
394 for the virtual disk. This subcommand has the options listed below.
395 -l
397 Gives additional property information, such as the writeable status
399 of property.
400 -p property
403 Specifies the property being queried and displays the value of the
405 property. For the property all, the name of the property, a colon,
406 and a space are displayed before the value of the property.
407 vdiskadm prop-set
410 vdiskadm prop-set -p property=value vdname
411 Sets the value of the specified property for the specified virtual
416 disk. property can be a native or a user-defined property, but must be
417 writable. Can be used to change the value of a property added with the
418 prop-add subcommand. This subcommand has the option listed below.
419 -p property=value
421 Specifies the property being set.
423 vdiskadm prop-add
426 vdiskadm -p property=value vdname
427 Adds the user-defined property with the specified value to the speci‐
432 fied virtual disk. Returns an error if the property already exists. The
433 user-defined property name must contain a colon character (:). This
434 subcommand has the option listed below.
435 -p property=value
437 Specifies the property being added.
439 vdiskadm prop-del
442 vdiskadm prop-del -p property vdname
443 Deletes a user-defined property from the specified virtual disk. This
448 subcommand has the option listed below.
449 -p property
451 Specifies the property being deleted.
453 vdiskadm import
456 vdiskadm import [-fnpqm] [-x type] -d file|zvol|dsk \
457 [-t type[:opt]] vdname
458 Creates a new virtual disk using data from a file or block device. The
463 file may be in vdi, vhd, vmdk, or raw format. A block device is always
464 assumed to be in raw format. This subcommand has the following options.
465 -f
467 Returns a list of files that will be used in the import process.
469 -n
472 Show output from import without actually running the import.
474 -p
477 Displays files in an easily parsable format.
479 -q
482 Run in quiet mode giving no output.
484 -m
487 Move the imported file to virtual disk without copying the data.
489 -x type
492 Specifies the type of virtual disk data being imported. If vdiskadm
494 is unable to detect the imported file type, -x must be specified.
495 -d file|zvol|dsk
498 File or block device containing data to be imported.
500 -t type[:opt]
503 Specifies the type of virtual disk to be created on import. The
505 default type is vmdk. For vmdk, vdi, and vhd types the default opt
506 is sparse. For type raw the default opt is fixed.
507 vdiskadm export
510 vdiskadm export -x type[:opt] -d file|zvol|dsk vdname
511 Exports data from a virtual disk to a file or block device. This sub‐
516 command has the following options.
517 -x type[:opt]
519 Specifies the type of virtual disk data being exported.
521 -d file|zvol|dsk
524 File or block device receiving data being exported.
526 vdiskadm convert
529 vdiskadm convert [-t type[:opt]] vdname
530 Converts a virtual disk into a different type virtual disk. This sub‐
535 command has the following option.
536 -t type[:opt]
538 Specifies the type of virtual disk to be created upon conversion.
540 The default type is vmdk. For vmdk, vdi, and vhd types the default
541 opt is sparse. For type raw the default opt is fixed.
542 vdiskadm translate
545 vdiskadm translate [-i type[:opt]] -I input_file \
546 -x type[:opt] -d output_file
547 Translate data from one virtual disk data type to another without cre‐
552 ating a virtual disk. This subcommand has the following options.
553 -i type[:opt]
555 Specifies the input type of virtual disk data being translated. If
557 vdiskadm is unable to detect the input file type, -i must be speci‐
558 fied.
559 -I input_file
562 File or block device containing data being translated.
564 -x type[:opt]
567 Specifies the output type of virtual disk data being translated.
569 For vmdk, vdi, and vhd types the default opt is sparse. For type
570 raw the default opt is fixed.
571 -d output_file
574 File or block device receiving data being translated. output_file
576 must not exist. The file will be created during translation.
577 vdiskadm help
580 vdiskadm help [command]
581 Displays a general or command-specific help message. This subcommand
586 has only the command name optional argument.
587
589 Example 1 Creating a vmdk Sparse File
590 The following command creates a virtual disk named disk1 of size 8 GB
593 in the directory /guests/disks.
594 # vdiskadm create -s 8g -t vmdk:sparse /guests/disks/disk1
597 Example 2 Creating a Snapshot
601 The following command creates a snapshot of the virtual disk located at
604 /guests/disks/disk1. The snapshot is named install.
605 # vdiskadm snapshot /guests/disks/disk1@install
608 Example 3 Creating and Destroying Snapshots
612 The following commands create two snapshots, named install and bfu, of
615 the virtual disk located at /guests/disks/disk1. The third command
616 destroys the newly created snapshot install.
617 # vdiskadm snapshot /guests/disks/disk1@install
620 # vdiskadm snapshot /guests/disks/disk1@bfu
621 # vdiskadm destroy /guests/disks/disk1@install
622 Example 4 Rolling Back a Virtual Disk
626 The following command reverts the contents of the virtual disk to the
629 snapshot named install, deleting all intermediate snapshots.
630 # vdiskadm rollback -r /guests/disks/disk1@install
633 Example 5 Listing a Virtual Disk and Snapshots
637 The following command lists all of the images associated with the vir‐
640 tual disk /guests/disks/disk1.
641 # vdiskadm list /guests/disks/disk1
644 disk1@install
645 disk1@bfu
646 disk1
647 Example 6 Creating a Clone
651 The following command creates a new virtual disk that is a coalesced
654 copy of the virtual disk /guests/disks/disk1. The clone is created in
655 the same format (that is, vmdk:sparse) as the original virtual disk.
656 # vdiskadm clone /guests/disks/disk1 /guests/clone/clone_disk1
659 Example 7 Adding a User-defined Property
663 The following command adds a user-defined property to the virtual disk
666 and assigns it the specified value. This property name was chosen to
667 represent the source and requirements of this virtual disk data using
668 the required colon to delineate the fields.
669 # vdiskadm prop-add -p com.sun:required-nic=2 /guests/disks/disk1
672 Example 8 Importing Existing vmdk Format File
676 The following command takes an existing vmdk format file and imports it
679 to a virtual disk.
680 # vdiskadm import -d /downloads/appliance.vmdk /guests/import/disk1
683 Example 9 Importing vmdk File and Converting to vhd
687 The following command takes an existing vmdk format file and, upon
690 import, converts it to a vhd-type virtual disk.
691 # vdiskadm import -d /downloads/appliance.vmdk -t vhd \
694 /guests/import/disk1
695 Example 10 Importing Data from zvol
699 The following command imports virtual disk data from a zvol and, upon
702 import, converts it to a vmdk:fixed type virtual disk.
703 # vdiskadm import -d /dev/zvol/dsk/pool1/disk1 -t vmdk:fixed \
706 /guests/import/disk1
707 Example 11 Exporting Data to Block Device
711 The following command takes an existing virtual disk and, upon export,
714 converts it to a disk slice, of raw type.
715 # vdiskadm export -d /dev/dsk/c0t1d0s3 -x raw /guests/disks/disk1
718 Example 12 Converting Virtual Disk Type
722 The following command takes an existing virtual disk and converts it
725 (in place) to a different format type.
726 # vdiskadm convert -t vdi:fixed /guests/disks/disk1
729 Example 13 Translating Data from One Type to Another
733 The following command translates data from a virtual disk format file
736 to raw data written to a zvol without creating a virtual disk.
737 # vdiskadm translate -I /downloads/appliance.vmdk -x raw \
740 -d /dev/zvol/dsk/pool1/disk1
741
745 See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following attributes:
746 ┌─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┐
751 │ ATTRIBUTE TYPE │ ATTRIBUTE VALUE │
752 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
753 │Availability │SUNWvdisk │
754 ├─────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┤
755 │Interface Stability │Uncommitted │
756 └─────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────┘
757
759 virsh(1M), virt-install(1M), attributes(5), xVM(5)
760SunOS 5.11 2 Apr 2009 vdiskadm(1M)