Technote (FAQ)
Question
What VMware configuration attribute information does Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments Version 6.3 preserve in the .vmx file?
Cause
Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments / Data Protection for VMware does not directly access, modify, or back up the .vmx file. Instead, Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments uses the sanctioned VMware method to preserve the information contained within the .vmx file during backups. The main objective of Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments Version 6.3 is to recover the virtual machine to a usable (or startable) state.
This table identifies the VMware configuration attributes that are preserved by Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments. These values appear in the .vmx file associated with a VMware guest virtual machine. VMware ESXi and Virtual Center create and maintain this file. Because VMware requires unique values for some attributes, VMware occasionally assigns a new value when a value already exists. Other known exceptions are identified in the Special Behavior column. If a configuration attribute is not supported by Tivoli Storage Manager for Virtual Environments, it is left blank or contains the VMware default value after the guest virtual machine is restored. In many cases, when a default value is set, VMware does not write that attribute name to the .vmx file.
An "X" value in an attribute name represents a possible numerical value. For example, ethernetX.addressType might appear in the .vmx file as ethernet0.addressType.
| VMware .vmx file attribute name | VMware ESX and ESXi 4.1 | VMware ESXi 5 | Special Behavior |
| config.version | YES | YES | |
| deploymentPlatform | YES | YES | |
| disk.EnableUUID | YES | YES | |
| DisplayName | YES | YES | |
| ehci.present | YES | YES | |
| ethernetX.address | YES | YES | VMware requires this value be unique. If it is not already in use, it is restored. Otherwise, VMware will assign a new value. |
| ethernetX.addressType | YES | YES | |
| ethernetX.generatedAddress | YES | YES | VMware requires this value be unique. If it is not already in use, it is restored. Otherwise, VMware will assign a new value. |
| ethernetX.networkName | YES | YES | |
| ethernetX.pciSlotNumber | YES | YES | |
| ethernetX.present | YES | YES | |
| ethernetX.startConnected | YES | YES | |
| ethernetX.virtualDev | YES | YES | |
| evcCompatibilityMode | YES | YES | |
| Firmware | NO | YES | This is only set if the guest VM is configured to use EFI. Otherwise the default value is BIOS and it is not set in the ,vmx file. |
| floppyX.clientDevice | YES | YES | If the client device is a Virtual Floppy backed by an .iso disk image, this value is not preserved. VMware does not allow a guest to be created with this setting. |
| floppyX.fileName | YES | YES | If the client device is a Virtual Floppy backed by an .iso disk image, this value is not preserved. VMware does not allow a guest to be created with this setting. |
| floppyX.present | YES | YES | If the client device is a Virtual Floppy backed by an .iso disk image, this value is not preserved. VMware does not allow a guest to be created with this setting. |
| guestCPUID.0 | YES | YES | |
| guestCPUID.1 | YES | YES | |
| guestCPUID.80000001 | YES | YES | |
| guestOS | YES | YES | |
| hostCPUID.0 | YES | YES | |
| hostCPUID.1 | YES | YES | |
| hostCPUID.80000001 | YES | YES | |
| hpet0.present | YES | YES | |
| ideX:X.clientDevice | YES | YES | If the client device is a Virtual CD-ROM backed by an .iso disk image, this value is not be preserved. This is because VMware does not allow a guest to be created with this setting. |
| ideX:X.deviceType | YES | YES | If the client device is a Virtual CD-ROM backed by an .iso disk image, this value is not be preserved. This is because VMware does not allow a guest to be created with this setting. |
| ideX:X.present | YES | YES | If the client device is a Virtual CD-ROM backed by an .iso disk image, this value is not be preserved. This is because VMware does not allow a guest to be created with this setting. |
| memsize | YES | YES | |
| migrate.hostLogState | YES | YES | |
| migrate.migrationId | YES | YES | |
| numvcpus | YES | YES | |
| nvram | YES | YES | |
| pciBridgeX.pciSlotNumber | YES | YES | |
| pciBridgeX.present | YES | YES | |
| pciBridgeX.functions | YES | YES | |
| pciBridgeX.virtualDev | YES | YES | |
| replay.filename | YES | YES | |
| replay.supported | YES | YES | |
| sched.mem.min | YES | YES | |
| sched.scsiX:X.throughputCap | YES | YES | |
| sched.swap.derivedName | YES | YES | |
| scsiX:X.deviceType | YES | YES | |
| scsiX:X.fileName | YES | YES | |
| scsiX:X.present | YES | YES | |
| scsiX:X.redo | YES | YES | |
| scsiX.pciSlotNumber | YES | YES | |
| scsiX.present | YES | YES | |
| scsiX.sharedBus | YES | YES | |
| scsiX.virtualDev | YES | YES | |
| snapshot.action | YES | YES | |
| svga.vramSize | YES | YES | |
| tools.remindInstall | YES | YES | |
| unity.customColor | YES | YES | |
| unity.wasCapable | YES | YES | |
| usb.present | YES | YES | |
| usb_xhci.present | NO | YES | |
| userCPUID.0 | YES | YES | |
| userCPUID.1 | YES | YES | |
| userCPUID.80000001 | YES | YES | |
| uuid.bios | YES | YES | VMware requires this value be unique. If it is not already in use, it is restored. Otherwise, VMware will assign a new value. |
| vc.uuid | YES | YES | VMware requires this value be unique. If it is not already in use, it is restored. Otherwise, VMware will assign a new value. |
| virtualHW.productCompatibility | YES | YES | |
| vmci0.pciSlotNumber | YES | YES | |
| vmci0.present | YES | YES | |
| vmotion.checkpointFBSize | YES | YES | |
| vmware.tools.installstate | YES | YES | |
| vmware.tools.internalversion | YES | YES | |
| vmware.tools.lastInstallStatus | YES | YES | |
| vmware.tools.requiredversion | YES | YES |
Answer
VMware does not currently document the following .vmx file information:
- The contents of the .vmx file.
- The relationship between a virtual machine configuration attribute and an entry in the .vmx file.
Related information
VMware vSphere API Reference Documentation
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