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→Virtual Machine Memory and CPU Settings
[[Image:vmware_server_2.0_vm_cpu_memory.jpg|Configuring Virtual Machine Memory and CPU settings]]
== Hard Disk Configuration ==
Most guest operating systems will require that the virtual machine contain a virtual hard disk on which to store both the operating system itself and applications and user data. In a VMWare Server virtual environment, the hard disks assigned to virtual machines are actually disk image files (with the filename extension ''.vmdk'') that reside on the filesystem of the host much like any other data file. As such, a hard disk can be assigned to a virtual machine either by requesting that a new disk image file be created, or by re-using a disk image file created for another virtual machine (though it is important to ensure that the disk is currently in use by the other guest).
When creating a new disk image for the virtual machine, it is first necessary to define the size of the disk. Any size may be specified up to a maximum of 950GB. The second step is to specify whether the entire disk image should be created now as a single file, or whether the disk should be created at a minimal size, then enlarged as more space is needed. Splitting the disk up has the advantage that not all of the disk space is taken form the host until it is needed and the creation process is faster (creating a large pre-allocated disk can take a considerable amount of time). The downside of using a so called ''growable'' disk is that write operations may be slower at the point that the disk needs to be enlarged. In addition, it is also possible to have the disk created as multiple 2GB files instead of as one large contiguous data file. This can be useful on older operating systems where file sizes greater than 2GB are not supported.
In addition, the more advance ''Disk Mode'' setting needs to be configured. If the disk is
