How To Identify Virtual Machines Having RDM Disks in VMware?

This story explores identifying Virtual Machines with RDM and understanding VMware RDM.

VMware RDM

VMware RDM is a mapping file in a separate VMFS volume, serving as a proxy for raw physical storage, enabling direct access and use by virtual machines.

Locate VMware RDMs through the vSphere Client

Step 1. You can establish a connection to vCenter Server or a host by utilizing the vSphere Client.

Step 2. Select a Virtual Machine.

Step 3. To access the virtual machine's settings, simply right-click on it, select the "Action" button, and then choose "Edit Settings."

Step 4. Choose hard disks in the Virtual Hardware list with mapped raw LUNs, and you'll find the RDM virtual disk mapping file path and the associated SCSI device name starting with vml.xxxxxxx.

Identify VMware RDMs using the ESXCLI

Step 1. SSH to the ESXi host on which the virtual is hosted.

Step 2. Run the following commands

Get-VM | Get-HardDisk -DiskType "RawPhysical","RawVirtual" | Select Parent,Name,DiskType,ScsiCanonicalName,DeviceName | ft

Step 3. You'll receive a list of virtual machines with RDM disks hosted on the identical ESXi host.

Get-VmRdm | ft

Additional commands at your disposal include:

You should run this on the VMs for RDM disk checks, but it might not always work. ESXiCLI is the best choice for checking RDM disks in VMware VMs.

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