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VMware: Using vmkfstools to import/export VMDK files
Problem:
VMDK files are usually larger than 2 Gbytes and can be difficult to transfer
 
Solution:
To export a VMDK virtual disk to media-independent format:

vmkfstools -e /path/to/temp/Tempfile.vmdk /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/Hostname/Hostname.vmdk

The exported file will consist of a tiny descriptor file plus a set of sparse files up to 2 Gbytes each.


To import the VMDK back into VMFS so it can be used by a virtual machine:

vmkfstools -i /path/to/temp/Tempfile.vmdk /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/Hostname/Hostname.vmdk

The descriptor file will be used to combine the sparse files back into the original monolithic VMDK file.

 
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