aligning disks

[#1]

is it necessary to align a windows 2008 template vm? I heard windows 2008 is already aligned.

where can i get the align tools to realign existing vms? Also can i use it for emc datastores?

[#2]

Hi,

Windows 2008 should be aligned from the start.

Have a look at this TR for more details, tools, etc.:

http://www.netapp.com/us/library/technical-reports/tr-3747.html

Regards,
Radek

[#3]

Not sure of EMC but NetApp endorses the use of many industry-leading third-party tools like Vizioncor vOptimizer Pro that can correct misaligned vmdks.

You can also check Paragon Alignment Tool 3.0 for ESX. All GUI tools though not free

If your existing VMs have misaligned partitions, is best correcting the partitions in your templates as the first corrective action to ensure any newly created VM is properly aligned.

[#4]

Youdon't need to align a default install of Windows 2008 VM unless it has been deliberately misaligned as part of some batch process.

In case you are looking for a heterogenous alignment tool, VMware vcenterConverter 5.0 is a great tool. Its a GUI based tool and allows you to do most of the alignment online with deferred reboots.

For alignment of VMs on NetApp storage you could use MBRalign which is part ofVirtual Storage Console and VMware Host Utility Kit (HUK) available on NetApp NOW site.

Hope this Helps.

[#5]

how do I run the mbralign tools? I downloaded them from the vsc. copy them to the esxi?

[#6]

ok i got it now. thanks

[#7]

i had a lot of p2v servers that after converting were not realigned. most are 2003 servers.

[#8]

another question, can i run the mbrtools from the vma?

[#9]

Since esxi4.1 does nto have a console you will need to run mbralign from some sort of linux machine. vma will work. make sure you mount the datastores accordingly.

Example perhaps you can do soemthing like this:

create a NFS datastore and call it 'alignNFS' for example. storagemotion your machine into that datastore to perform the align (its not necessary but gives you an area to perform this so you can keep things organized. after the alignment process is done (the machine will need to be off when you perform it. ppower it on test the storage motion machine back. then go to your 'alignNFS' datastore and delete the backup files the alignment process created.

to check if the machine requires an alignment you simply type: (from the linux or vma machine)

mbrscan machineame.vmdk

you will get a result of either aligned 'Yes' or "No"

to align the machine

simply type:

mbralign --sparse machinename-flat.vmdk

if it has more than one virtual disk then you will see something like

mbralign --sparse machinename-flat_1.vmdk

the scan can be performed while it is on but the alignment process the machine needs to be off

this has been asked many times but I will put it here in all caps as I am not yelling or trying to be rude  but just as a note..

*** MS OPERATING SYSTEMS OLDER THAN WIN2K8 and WIN7 NEED TO BE ALIGNED ***

If your create a win2k3 template with one drive and have it aligned then later add another drive to it when its a virtual machine then that drive will also need to be aligned.

anyhow hope that helps