Oracle's VirtualBox can often read and write to VMDK files, making them a versatile choice for cross-platform lab environments.
If you browse your files through the VMware vSphere Client datastore browser, VMware purposefully hides the -flat.vmdk file to simplify the view. It merges the descriptor and the data file into a single logical "Virtual Disk" icon. However, if you access the ESXi host via or a Command Line Interface (CLI) and run an ls command, both files will be visible. Key Characteristics of vmdk-flat vmdk-flat
The -flat.vmdk file is the data constituent of a VMware virtual disk. Oracle's VirtualBox can often read and write to
If the descriptor .vmdk is lost but -flat.vmdk remains, you can recreate the descriptor: you can recreate the descriptor: