VMFS system files

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VMFS (Virtual Machine File System) is a clustered file system used by VMware vSphere for storing virtual machine files, such as virtual machine disk files (VMDKs), snapshots, templates, and other files. In addition to the files associated with virtual machines, there are several system files that are stored on VMFS.

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1 The VMFS system files Heading Specifics
2 These system files include:

The VMFS system files Heading Specifics

  • Any VMFS drive has hidden files in the root that begin with a dot and end with the extension .sf
  • A newly built VMFS datastore lacks some free space. Solution
  • These system files, which serve as descriptions and indexes for the files on the VMFS filesystem, are immutable.
  • If your block size is small, they could require additional room (more addresses).
  • If you have a large block size, they might take up less space (less addresses).
  • They are metadata files that are produced during the initial setup of the volume.
  • They cannot be altered or eliminated.
  • They could develop gradually but not noticeably.

These system files include:

  1. .locker – This file is used to store the state of file locks on the VMFS volume.
  2. .sdd.sf – This file is used by the vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration (VAAI) to track information about the storage device.
  3. .dcui.sf – This file is used by the Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) to store configuration information.
  4. .fba.sf – This file is used by the VAAI Full File Clone primitive to track information about the source file.
  5. .dvsData – This directory contains configuration data for distributed virtual switches.
  6. .dvsData.v10 – This directory contains configuration data for distributed virtual switches in vSphere 5.0 and later.
  7. .dvsDatastoreConfig – This directory contains configuration data for distributed virtual switch datastore clusters.
  8. .dvsDatastoreConfig.v10 – This directory contains configuration data for distributed virtual switch datastore clusters in vSphere 5.0 and later.
  9. .dvsState – This directory contains runtime data for distributed virtual switches.
  10. .dvsState.v10 – This directory contains runtime data for distributed virtual switches in vSphere 5.0 and later.
  11. .pbm – This directory contains data for the vSphere Storage Policy-Based Management (SPBM) feature.
  12. .pbm.v10 – This directory contains data for the vSphere Storage Policy-Based Management (SPBM) feature in vSphere 5.0 and later.

These system files and directories are essential for proper functioning of vSphere and should not be modified or deleted manually.

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