Resize a .vmdk virtual disk file

Resize a .vmdk virtual disk file at the ESX Service Console with the following command:

vmkfstools -X 50G mydisk.vmdk

The numerical value represent the new size of the disk, not the relative change in size. Size can be specified in G,M, or K (guess what these mean?). In ESX 2.x, disks could be increased and decreased in size, however, as of ESX3 and beyond, disks can only be increased in size.
See http://bit.ly/X5Hoa
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New in VMware vSphere 4.1

What's New in VMware vSphere 4.1

vStorage APIs for Data Protection (VADP) Enhancements - VADP now offers VSS quiescing support for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 servers. This enables application-consistent backup and restore operations for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 applications.
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Advanced Configuration

NetApp & EMC NFS VMkernel Advanced Configuration Best Practices

NFS.HeartbeatDelta - 12 (default 5)
ESX checks for reachable storage every 12 seconds
NFS.HeartbeatTimeout - 5 (default 5)
Number of seconds before a heartbeat times out & another is sent
NFS.HeartbeatMaxFailures - 10 (default 3)
Number of consecutive heartbeat failures required to mark datastore as unavailable
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ESX snapshots

ESX snapshots by default are created in the virtual machine directory, even if the virtual machine directory & virtual disks are located on different datastores.

To change the location of the snapshot, add (or edit) the following line to the .vmx file of the VM:
workingDir="[new_path_location]"

Force a re-read of the virtual machine configuration by issuing the command:
vimsh -ne "vmsvc/reload [VmId]" see also May 13th
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Load averages in ESXTOP

Load averages in ESXTOP are 6-second sample calculations based on the total number of cores in the host in the last 1, 5, and 15 minutes. For example, values of .50, .50, .50 would mean 50% host utilization evenly in the last 15 minutes. A reading of 1.00, .50, 0.03 would indicate an idle host 15 minutes ago and a fully utilized host as of 1 minute ago.
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Decrease VM evacuation times

Decrease VM evacuation times by increasing concurrent vMotion migrations per host (get VMware support approval first):
-On vCenter server, edit c:\docs & settings\all users\application data\vmware\vmware virtualcenter\vpdx.cfg
-Insert the following lines between the [vpdx] XML tags:
[ResourceManager]
[maxCostPerHost]24[/maxCostPerHost]
[/ResourceManager]
Cold Migration has a cost of 1. Hot Migration has a cost of 4.
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Storage alternatives

Use cheaper/slower/less redundant storage alternatives (sometimes referred to as "cheap and deep storage") for your templates, .iso files, and, potentially, snapshots or VMkernel swap. Save the higher performing and more expensive storage for your running VMs.
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