ESXi

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  • 1.  Windows VM swap file needed ?

    Posted Mar 24, 2011 04:52 AM

    Hi,

    Suppose you install VMware tools already in your Windows VM, do you still need to have Windows swapfile for all of the Windows edition (XP or Server) VM ?



  • 2.  RE: Windows VM swap file needed ?

    Posted Mar 24, 2011 09:33 AM

    since it's part of OS i would advise doing it, although we have vmware swap, OS swap will be the final staged to b used



  • 3.  RE: Windows VM swap file needed ?

    Posted Mar 28, 2011 12:59 PM

    ah ok, so I was wondering if using Guest OS swap file could potentially slowing it down, perhaps if it is WIndows Server it would be better to just disabling the swap file at all and then increasing the "paging size"



  • 4.  RE: Windows VM swap file needed ?

    Posted Mar 28, 2011 01:32 PM

    Hello,

    This post can be helpfull

    http://communities.vmware.com/message/56138



  • 5.  RE: Windows VM swap file needed ?
    Best Answer

    Posted Mar 28, 2011 01:36 PM

    Yes, you do.

    The OS swap file is for managing memory from an OS level.

    The VMtools simply use the ballon driver for managing the amount of physical memory allocated to a VM.

    so, if your VM has 2 GB of ram allocated and is using 1.8 - at an OS level, Windows will want to free up memory - to allow more RAM to be availabvlke for further transactions. If the ESX host is not constrained at this point - there is no need for it to use the balloon driver.

    In the same way, if your ESX host is constrained and the VM is only using 1GB of RAM, but the host needs to meet reservation requiremtns of other VMs, it may choose to 'manage' the OS physical memory allocated.

    the way in which Swap and the VMtools work is totally different and for different reasons, so I would continue to use MS swapfiles.



  • 6.  RE: Windows VM swap file needed ?

    Posted Mar 28, 2011 01:43 PM

    hm.. ok, that does make sense to me then.

    thanks for all of your suggestion mate.