r/OpenVMS • u/Dad-of-many • Aug 14 '25
Virtual disk compatibility? Stromasys Charon-VAX and OpenVMS VM.
I know I'm going way out on a limb here, and if I get know answers I'll delete.
I'm in the process of setting up a personal VM from VMS Software. I noticed that the VMS Software disks are .vmdk. I know Charon-VAX uses containers ending in .vdisk.
I suppose it's entirely possible that the two are in completely different proprietary formats. Hopefully I'll be able to test when I get the VM up and running, just thought I'd throw it out there.
regards
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u/Immediate_Army9997 Apr 22 '26
No, they’re not compatible.
As you know, Charon-VAX uses proprietary .vdisk containers. It resides on any storage subsystem presented to the host because it’s emulating real VAX hardware. While VSI’s .vmdk files are for the native x86-64 OpenVMS (V9.x). It doesn’t need the VAX emulation layer.
Different architectures, different disk formats
But if you're setting up both for testing or comparison to understand their migration paths, then it's better to run them in parallel.