---
title: How to order an additional disk and use it in ESXi as datastore
description: This page shows how to order an additional hard disk for a Dedibox and how to use it in ESXi as datastore.
tags: esxi storage hard-disk disk
products:
  - dedibox
hero: assets/scaleway_add_disk.webp
dates:
  validation: 2025-03-27
  posted: 2020-01-21
  validation_frequency: 12
difficulty: beginner
usecase:
  - manage-share-and-store-data
ecosystem:
  - third-party
---
import image from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_customize.webp'
import image2 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_choose_storage.webp'
import image3 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_validate_order.webp'
import image4 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_vmware.webp'
import image5 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_vmware_dashboard.webp'
import image6 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_not_visible.webp'
import image7 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_connect_idrac.webp'
import image8 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_physical_disks.webp'
import image9 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_physical_disks_list.webp'
import image10 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_virtual_disk_create.webp'
import image11 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_virtual_disk_settings.webp'
import image12 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_power_cycle_system.webp'
import image13 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_virtual_disk_created.webp'
import image14 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_new_datastore.webp'
import image15 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_new_datastore_create.webp'
import image16 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_select_device.webp'
import image17 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_select_partitioning_options.webp'
import image18 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_confirm_partition.webp'
import image19 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_new_datastore.webp'
import image20 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_increase_datastore.webp'
import image21 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_select_datastore.webp'
import image22 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_select_datastore.webp'
import image23 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_increase_datastore_partitioning.webp'
import image24 from './assets/scaleway-add_disk_ready_to_extend.webp'

import Requirements from '@macros/iam/requirements.mdx'


<Message type="important">
Due to VMware's acquisition by Broadcom, the free edition of VMware vSphere Hypervisor is no longer available on the VMware website. For more details, check out [the EOL of free vSphere Hypervisor](https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article?legacyId=2107518). The following content is provided as-is, without any guarantee of functionality.
We suggest considering alternative hypervisors such as Proxmox. You can learn how to [deploy virtual machines with Proxmox on Scaleway Dedibox](/tutorials/configure-failover-proxmox/).
</Message>


With [Dedibox](https://www.scaleway.com/en/dedibox/), you have the flexibility to order [additional disks](https://www.scaleway.com/en/dedibox/storage/) to increase the storage capacity of your machine.
These disks serve as invaluable resources, particularly when used as an additional Datastore within [ESXi](https://www.vmware.com/products/esxi-and-esx.html) setups for storing virtual machines and related data.

Our offers include a diverse selection of SATA, SAS, and SSD disks, catering to various performance and storage needs.

This guide is designed to walk you through the process of ordering an additional disk via the Dedibox console and seamlessly integrating it into your local ESXi environment to function as a Datastore. Follow these steps to make the most of this resource.

<Message type="tip">
  Keep in mind, that the number of available slots for these disks may vary based on the server chassis you choose.
  Instead of adding additional disks to your server, you can also use remote storage based on our RPN-SAN service to add another storage capacity to your ESXi host.
</Message>

<Requirements />

- A Scaleway account logged into the [console](https://console.scaleway.com)
- [Owner](/iam/concepts/#owner) status or [IAM permissions](/iam/concepts/#permission) allowing you to perform actions in the intended Organization
- A [Dedibox](https://www.scaleway.com/en/dedibox/) running [VMware ESXi](/tutorials/configure-virtual-machine-esxi/#installing-esxi)
- Subscribed to the Business Service Level for the server

## Ordering an additional disk

1. Connect to the [Dedibox console](https://console.online.net/en/login).
2. Click **Server** > **Server list** to see the list of your Dedibox dedicated servers.
3. Select the Dedibox to configure from the list and click **Manage**
4. Click **Customize** in the side menu:
    <Lightbox image={image} width="200" alt="" />
5. Select either an **USB disk** or an **Internal disk** for your server.
    <Message type="important">
      The setup cost displayed is a one-time fee billed for the physical installation of the disk in the chassis.
    </Message>

    <Message type="important">
      For optimal performance, we recommend you use an internal disk as datastore.
    </Message>

    <Lightbox image={image2} width="800" alt="" />
6. Select the payment method for the installation fees and validate your order.
    <Lightbox image={image3} width="800" alt="" />

    <Message type="note">
      The disk is installed within approximately one hour from the moment you place the order.
    </Message>
8. Connect to the ESXi web interface at `https://your_scaleway_dedibox_ip/` and log in:
    <Lightbox image={image4} width="800" alt="" />

    The ESXi Dashboard displays.

    <Lightbox image={image5} width="800" alt="" />
9. Click **Storage** to enter the storage section.

## Creating a virtual disk from the iDRAC interface on a hardware RAID

If your Dedibox uses a [software RAID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID#SOFTWARE), you will see the disks listed directly. If this is the case, you can skip to the next part of this tutorial.

If you find that the newly installed disk does not appear in your ESXi web interface after installation, it may be the case that your server has a hardware RAID.

<Lightbox image={image6} width="800" alt="" />

Depending on the configuration of your Dedibox, the server may come with a [hardware RAID](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disk_array_controller). On this type of server, you cannot configure the datastore directly from ESXi. Instead, you must create a virtual disk from the KVM-over-IP interface of the server before adding the disk to ESXi. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Launch an iDRAC session from the server overview in the Dedibox console:
    <Lightbox image={image7} width="800" alt="" />
2. Log into iDRAC using the credentials available from the KVM over IP page of the Dedibox console.
3. Click **Physical Disks** to verify that the disk is physically available:
    <Lightbox image={image8} width="500" alt="" />

    A list of all installed disks and their status displays at the bottom of the page.

    <Lightbox image={image9} width="800" alt="" />
4. Check that all disks are **OK**, and click **Virtual Disks** in the side-menu.

    The list of all existing virtual disks displays.
5. Click **Create** in the menu bar to create a new virtual disk.
    <Lightbox image={image10} width="300" alt="" />
6. Select the newly installed disk from the list. You can keep the default parameters for a basic configuration, or fine-tune them towards your needs.
    <Lightbox image={image11} width="800" alt="" />
7. Click **Create Virtual Disk** to schedule the creation of a new virtual disk, usable for ESXi during the next reboot.
8. Click **Overview** in the side-menu to go back to the home page of iDRAC, then click **Power Cycle System (cold boot)** to reboot the machine. The virtual disk will be configured during the boot process.
    <Lightbox image={image12} width="300" alt="" />

    <Message type="important">
      Your machine will be unavailable during the creation of the new virtual disk. We recommend you launch the reboot during the hours of low load on your machine.
    </Message>

After rebooting, the new virtual disk shows up in the list of available disks in ESXi:

<Lightbox image={image13} width="800" alt="" />

## Adding the disk as a datastore to ESXi

When you add a disk as a new datastore, it is formatted and becomes available to store virtual machine images. You can decide on which datastore of the server you want to store the machine images. This can be useful if you have both HDD and SSD storage and you need different specifications for performance or storage.

1. Click **New Datastore** on the storage dashboard of the vSphere web client:
    <Lightbox image={image14} width="800" alt="" />
2. Select the option **Create new VMFS datastore** and click **Next**:
    <Lightbox image={image15} width="500" alt="" />
3. Select the device from the list of available devices and enter a name for the new datastore. Then click **Next**:
    <Lightbox image={image16} width="500" alt="" />
4. Select the partitioning options. To use the full disk as datastore, choose **Use full disk**, then click **Next**:
    <Lightbox image={image17} width="500" alt="" />
5. A summary displays. Click **Finish** to complete the wizard.
    <Message type="important">
      All existing data on the disk will be overwritten. Make sure that you have a backup of your data before launching the last step.
    </Message>

<Lightbox image={image18} width="500" alt="" />

## Increasing the size of an existing datastore

It is also possible to increase the size of an existing datastore. In this case, the capacity of the newly installed disk will be added to the main datastore of the server which can be useful to extend storage capacity for large virtual machines.

1. Click **New Datastore** in the storage dashboard of the vSphere web client.
    <Lightbox image={image19} width="800" alt="" />
2. Select **Increase the size of an existing VMFS datastore** and click **Next**:
    <Lightbox image={image20} width="800" alt="" />
3. Select the datastore to extend from the list and confirm by clicking on **Next**:
    <Lightbox image={image21} width="800" alt="" />
4. Select the disk to add to the datastore:
    <Lightbox image={image22} width="800" alt="" />
5. Select a partitioning configuration for the disk. To use all available disk space, go with the default settings and click **Next**:
    <Lightbox image={image23} width="800" alt="" />

    The summary displays.
6. Check the summary settings and click **Finish**:
    <Lightbox image={image24} width="800" alt="" />

The disk is added to the datastore and the total storage capacity of the datastore is increased.

For more information on managing your virtual machines using the ESXi hypervisor, refer to our [dedicated documentation](/tutorials/configure-virtual-machine-esxi/).