VM Drives

8 min

Add a Drive to a VM

From the Top Menu, click Virtual Machines -> List

Select the desired VM

From the left menu, click View

From the left menu, click Drives

From the left menu, click New

Set Name to the desired name

When Name is not specified, the system will automatically name drives in the order they are created (e.g. drive_x) where x is an integer starting at 0. For drives that will be used as a "Golden Image", it's recommended to give the drive a name for easier selection when creating non-persistent drives.

The Read Only option can be useful for a drive that should not be modified, such as on a VM restore that is used to recovery data.

Select Media type

Disk (default) - empty disk; emulates typical SSD/HDD device.

CD-ROM - emulates CD-ROM device; read-only; associated *.iso file simulates inserted CD media; typically used for installing OS or other software.

Clone Disk - create a duplicate of an existing disk from the same cluster.

EFI Disk - this drive type is auto-generated and handled by the system; there should never be a need to manually create a drive of this type.

Import Disk - allows selection of a standard format disk file (e.g. raw, vmdk, qcow, vhd(x), etc.).

Non-Persistent - allows for a drive that does not maintain changes between boots; each time the VM is started, the non-persistent drive reverts back to the *.raw file image (an existing disk drive in the cluster) to which it is referenced.

A typical use for the non-persistent drive would be maintaining a "golden image" OS install where all updates and modifications can be made centrally; this is particularly useful for solutions, such as VDI, where a consistent installation needs to be maintained for many virtual machines.

Select Interface

Virtio-SCSI (recommended) - Provides a para-virtualized SCSI device; with high performance, while still maintaining standard command set, device passthrough, and device naming within guest OS. There is built-in support in most Linux distros, but not standard in default Windows installations.

Virtio (Legacy) - It can be used for good I/O performance with the tradeoff being that some native SCSI features, such as TRIM are not supported.

Virtio-SCSI (Dedicated Controller) - Provides a para-virtualized SCSI device with its own controller. This option is not typically needed due to KorGrid's 100% NVMe architecture.

LSI * - LSI, native VMware options provided for compatibility, where needed.

SATA (AHCI) - Option only applies to VMs with a Q35 Machine Type.

IDE - Option only applies to VMs with a PC (i440FX) Machine Type.

Set Disk Size

ℹ️ This option only applies when Media type is Disk.

Select Media File

ℹ️ This option only applies when Media type is CD-ROM, Clone Disk, Import Disk, or Non-Persistent

For CD-ROM - Select ISO file from the dropdown list.

For Clone Disk - Select RAW file from the dropdown list.

For Import Disk - Select disk image from the dropdown list. Supported file types are raw, qcow, qcow2, vhd, vhdx, and vmdk.

For Non-Persistent Disk - Select RAW file from the dropdown list displaying all existing KorGrid drives in the cluster.

See Media Images for instructions on uploading ISO files and/or disk images to the vSAN.

Set Description

ℹ️ Optional, but recommended when there will be more than one drive.

The Asset field can be used to define a unique identifier for the drive (e.g. OS, Data Drive, etc.)

The Discard option is enabled by default, and is typically recommended to keep enabled, as it allows storage space to be recovered from deleted files.

Select Optimize For

General Usage (default) - 64 KB chunks, with read-ahead.

Large Files (recommended) - up to 1 MB chunks.

Click Submit

Remove a Drive from a VM

A drive must be offline before it can be deleted. Drives can be taken offline by powering off the virtual machine or using hotplug (when enabled).

Hotplug Method

Power Off Method

From the Top Menu, click Virtual Machines -> VM Drives

Select the desired drive

From the left menu, click Hotplug

Click Yes to confirm

Select the desired drive

From the left menu, click Delete

Click Yes to confirm

Modify a VM Drive

Once a drive has been created, the Media type can't be modified.

Drives can't be reduced in size, only increased.

Modifications involving the drives size or interface type will likely require corresponding modifications within the guest OS.

From the Top Menu, click Virtual Machines -> VM Drives

Select the desired drive

From the left menu, click Edit

Modify fields as desired

Click Submit

Erase Data on a Drive

Caution should be used when erasing a drive. Erasing a crucial drive can render a VM unusable. Take special care to ensure an erase operation is being applied to the intended drive on the intended VM. A temporary VM snapshot should be taken prior to erasing the drive, to allow a fallback if needed.

The virtual machine must be powered off before a drive can be erased.

From the Top Menu, click Virtual Machines -> VM Drives

Select the desired drive

From the left menu, click Erase

Click Yes to confirm