Please can you help me compare disk types for vmware server?
I know "independent nonpersistent" is slower. But what about "independent persistent" versus "dependent" (or how do you call this one?)
What about raw disks (direct access to physical disks)?
And I found I cannot change the type from independent to dependent later?
Is it possible to create a dependent raw disk when starting a new vm?
Best Answer
Hands down, "Raw Disks" is direct access to the physical disk and by far the fastest access and disk I/O. The downside is you cannot move the VM to another machine without imaging the raw disk.
----> I assume by raw disks you are talking about RDM but you should check http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/performance_char_vmfs_rdm.pdf. Most of the time, RDM are not performing better than VMDK files.