Here, in this blog, you will get to know about the Basic difference between VHD and VHDX. Both of them are the file extension of Virtual Hard Drive. Before continuing, let us see what is Virtual Hard Drive? If are also confused about it, then keep reading!

disk

Virtual Hard Drive is like a container file which stores the content similar to the physical drive. As similar to Physical drive it contains the File system, Operating System, Data files, and Applications. Virtual Hard Drive is basically connected to Virtual Machines and works as a complete System. Now, you must be thinking what is Virtual Machine? The virtual machine is a kind of emulation of the Computer System or we can say a guest system. This is entirely based on the Computer architectural and provides the functionality of Physical Computer System. Virtual Hard Disk or drive can be differentiated by their filename extension

VHD and VHDX

Virtual Hard Disk or drive can be differentiate d by their filename extension

Virtual Hard Disk(VHD): Mainly used by Microsoft, Citrix, and Oracle.

VHD File

VHD file is created by Windows server, Citrix and even on Linux. Fixed size VHD, will automatically take the specific size on the host computer. This size cannot be adjusted according to the use.

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Hyper-v VHDX File

VHDX files are created by Windows server only. This is a dynamic file which can be easily expanded and used further as per the needs and requirements.

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Difference Between VHD and VHDX File Formats

table
VHD VHDX
Supported by Windows, Citrix, and Oracle Supported by Windows
Fixed Size- takes complete size in single file Variable- easy to manage and differentiate the file with size capacity
Basic format Advanced format
Limited to 2TB size 64TB storage capacity
No Data protection Protection against data corruption
Data alignment issues Improved alignment
Unable to track the metadata Metadata can be tracked easily
Does not support custom Meta-data Custom meta-data is Fully supported
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We can see from the above table that VHDX is the advanced version of VHD which is launched by Window server 2012, with improvised features and facilities. It is clear that Hyper-V VHDX file is the present and future file format of the Window users because it is designed with today’s modern hardware. It includes 4KB logical sector size that makes its performance far better than VHD files. You must be thinking about how does it happen? To be precise, VHD drives are allocated with a fixed size. Yes, but with an advance version of VHD i.e, Hyper-V VHDX the size can be expanded on writing or adding any extra data to it. Still, confuse! See it and visualize the working condition of the files.

I hope the confusion about difference between VHD and VHDX must be cleared by now. I hope above information have helped you in enhancing your knowledge with deep understanding of the both file extension and why did it come up!

Conclusion

From the given information it is clear enough that Hyper-V VHDX file is nothing else than the advanced version of VHD. It is designed and developed with many useful features which help users to work in their advanced and fast pace life.

Hope you like the article!

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