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June 20, 2025

Reclaiming Disk Space on Virtual Machines Using the ‑M Option

You can use the vdmadmin command with the -M option to mark an instant-clone virtual machine for disk space reclamation. Omnissa Horizon directs the ESXi host to reclaim disk space on the instant-clone OS disk without waiting for the unused space on the OS disk to reach the minimum threshold that is specified in Omnissa Horizon Console.

Syntax


vdmadmin -M [-b authentication_arguments] -d desktop -m machine -markForSpaceReclamation

Usage Notes

With this option, you can initiate disk space reclamation on a particular virtual machine for demonstration or troubleshooting purposes.

Space reclamation does not take place if you run this command when a blackout period is in effect.

Before using this option, see "Reclaim Disk Space on Instant Clones" in the Windows Desktops and Applications in Horizon document. This option is only applicable to non-vSAN datastores prior to vSphere 6.7 where space reclamation operation is performed by Horizon.

Options

Options for Reclaiming Disk Space on Virtual Machines
OptionDescription
-d desktopSpecifies the name of the desktop pool.
-m machineSpecifies the name of the virtual machine.
-MarkForSpaceReclamationMarks the virtual machine for disk space reclamation.

Example

Marks the virtual machine machine3 in the desktop pool pool1 for disk space reclamation.

vdmadmin -M -d pool1 -m machine3 -markForSpaceReclamation

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