About This Book

The VMware® Virtual Disk Programming Guide introduces the Virtual Disk Development Kit (VDDK) and the vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection (VADP). For VDDK it describes how to develop software using a virtual disk library that provides a set of system-call style interfaces for managing virtual disks. For VADP it describes how to write backup and restore software for vSphere.

To view this version or previous versions of this book and other public VMware API and SDK documentation, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/sdk_pubs.html.

Revision History

Revision History summarizes the significant changes in each version of this guide.

Revision History

Revision	Description
2012-12-21	Bug fix version of the vSphere 5.1 manual: numeric change ID policy, mount restrictions.
2012-10-05	Final version of this manual for the vSphere 5.1 release.
2011-11-18	Bug fix version for 4Q 2011 refresh of the VMware vSphere Documentation Center.
2011-08-22	Final version for the VDDK 5.0 release, subsuming Designing Backup Solutions technical note.
2010-10-12	Bug fix revision for the VDDK 1.2.1 release
2010-08-05	Version for vSphere 4.1 and the VDDK 1.2 public release.
2009-05-29	Final version for the VDDK 1.1 public release.
2008-04-11	Updated version for release 1.0 of the Virtual Disk Development Kit.
2008-01-31	Initial version of the Virtual Disk Development Kit for partner release.

Intended Audience

This guide is intended for developers who are creating applications that manage virtual storage. It assumes knowledge of C and C++ programming. For VADP development, it assumes knowledge of Java.

Supported Platform Products

You can develop VDDK programs using either Linux or Windows, and test them using VMware Workstation. To develop and test VADP programs, you need an ESXi host, preferably with shared SAN storage.

Document Feedback

VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our developer documentation. Send your feedback to docfeedback@vmware.com.

VMware Technical Publications

VMware Technical Publications provides a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar to you. For definitions of terms as they are used in VMware technical documentation go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

To access the current versions of VMware manuals, go to http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp.

Technical Support and Education Resources

The following sections describe the technical support resources available to you.

Online and Telephone Support

To use online support to submit technical support requests, view your product and contract information, and register your products, go to http://www.vmware.com/support.

Support Offerings

To find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business needs, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/services.

VMware Professional Services

VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference tools. Courses are available onsite, in the classroom, and live online. For onsite pilot programs and implementation best practices, VMware Consulting Services provides offerings to help you assess, plan, build, and manage your virtual environment. To access information about education classes, certification programs, and consulting services, go to http://www.vmware.com/services.