Block diagram
This page hosts a formal specification of VMWare Virtual Disk using Kaitai Struct. This specification can be automatically translated into a variety of programming languages to get a parsing library.
meta:
id: vmware_vmdk
title: VMWare Virtual Disk
file-extension: vmdk
xref:
forensicswiki: vmware_virtual_disk_format_(vmdk)
justsolve: VMDK
wikidata: Q2658179
license: CC0-1.0
endian: le
doc-ref: 'https://github.com/libyal/libvmdk/blob/main/documentation/VMWare%20Virtual%20Disk%20Format%20(VMDK).asciidoc#41-file-header'
seq:
- id: magic
contents: "KDMV"
- id: version
type: s4
- id: flags
type: header_flags
- id: size_max
type: s8
doc: Maximum number of sectors in a given image file (capacity)
- id: size_grain
type: s8
- id: start_descriptor
type: s8
doc: Embedded descriptor file start sector number (0 if not available)
- id: size_descriptor
type: s8
doc: Number of sectors that embedded descriptor file occupies
- id: num_grain_table_entries
type: s4
doc: Number of grains table entries
- id: start_secondary_grain
type: s8
doc: Secondary (backup) grain directory start sector number
- id: start_primary_grain
type: s8
doc: Primary grain directory start sector number
- id: size_metadata
type: s8
- id: is_dirty
type: u1
- id: stuff
size: 4
- id: compression_method
type: u2
enum: compression_methods
enums:
compression_methods:
0: none
1: deflate
instances:
len_sector:
value: 0x200
descriptor:
pos: start_descriptor * _root.len_sector
size: size_descriptor * _root.len_sector
grain_primary:
pos: start_primary_grain * _root.len_sector
size: size_grain * _root.len_sector
grain_secondary:
pos: start_secondary_grain * _root.len_sector
size: size_grain * _root.len_sector
types:
header_flags:
doc-ref: 'https://github.com/libyal/libvmdk/blob/main/documentation/VMWare%20Virtual%20Disk%20Format%20(VMDK).asciidoc#411-flags'
seq:
- id: reserved1
type: b5
- id: zeroed_grain_table_entry
# 0x00000004
type: b1
- id: use_secondary_grain_dir
# 0x00000002
type: b1
- id: valid_new_line_detection_test
# 0x00000001
type: b1
- id: reserved2
type: u1
- id: reserved3
type: b6
- id: has_metadata
# 0x00020000
type: b1
- id: has_compressed_grain
# 0x00010000
type: b1
- id: reserved4
type: u1