Exam 2V0-33.22 topic 1 question 40 discussion

When a VM has an active snapshot, you are not writing to the base .vmdk file, but to a delta disk, and the state of the VM is "frozen" in time. In this context, there are at least two files involved: The .vmsn file → saves the state of the VM at the moment the snapshot was taken (RAM, CPU state, etc.) The delta .vmdk file (e.g., vmname-000001.vmdk) → records all changes made to the disk after the snapshot So, the file that physically prevents the expansion of the base .vmdk disk is actually the .vmdk file itself, because it cannot be modified as long as there are delta files associated with the snapshot.

The .vmsn file

D. The .vmsn file Explanation: The .vmsn file is associated with VM snapshots. If there are active snapshots, it can prevent certain operations, including increasing the disk size. Snapshots create a point-in-time state of the VM's disk, and modifying the disk size while snapshots are present can lead to inconsistencies.

"A .vmsn file is created each time you take a snapshot, regardless of the memory selection. A .vmsn file without memory is much smaller than one with memory." https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-38F4D574-ADE7-4B80-AEAB-7EC502A379F4.html

ChatGPT: A. The .nvram file Explanation: The .nvram file is a file associated with the VM's BIOS or EFI firmware settings. It stores the state of the VM's BIOS or EFI settings, including things like boot order and hardware configurations. If the VM is powered on or has a snapshot, changing certain settings like disk size may be prevented due to the VM's state being locked by the .nvram file.

.vmsn indicates there are snapshots, and you cannot expand the storage of a VM w/ snapshots. Clear answer is D.

Ensure that the virtual machine is not running on snapshots, as this prevents the VMDK from being extended

The presence of a .vmsn file means the machine had a snapshop. This will prevent the disk being expanded: Increasing virtual disks with snapshots would require to reorganize the snapshot files. In addition to the metadata size, the VM's state (e.g. the .vmsn files) that gets captured at snapshot creation would likely need to be modified, which is close to impossible, because it could contain data that is related to given data blocks in the virtual disk file.

C. The .vmdk file The .vmdk file represents the VM's disk. If there are any snapshots associated with the VM, the disk size cannot be changed until those snapshots are consolidated or deleted. The .vmsn file is associated with snapshots, but it's the .vmdk file (and its associated snapshot files) that would directly prevent the resizing of the virtual disk.

You can not extend a virtual disk with a snapshot. D.

Doubling down on D:) https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1004071 - "Also, ensure that the virtual machine is not running on snapshots, as this prevents the VMDK from being extended."

I am suggesting C. .VMDK file The .vmdk file is the virtual disk file that stores the contents of a virtual machine's hard disk drive. It is likely preventing the cloud administrator from increasing the disk size of the virtual machine in this scenario. A. The .nvram file: This file contains the non-volatile RAM of the virtual machine, which stores the BIOS settings and boot order. It does not typically prevent disk resizing. B. The .vmtx file: This file is a configuration file that describes the virtual machine's hardware configuration and settings, but it does not contain any virtual disk data. It also does not typically prevent disk resizing. D. The .vmsn file: This file is used for virtual machine snapshot data and metadata. While taking or managing snapshots can affect disk space, it does not usually prevent disk resizing.

If it was a template(VMTX) you would not be able to resize it unless you converted to a VM, did the resizing and then converted back to a template. But if that VM has a large active snapshot, it could prevent the vmdk from being resized? So D maybe ?

I think C is correct