create sparse image how to

create sparse image how to 

This post is about how to create sparse image at a faster rate.

We use "dd" command [ Data Destroyer ] to create raw images, so that Virtual Machine shall be installed from ISO and the OS files will be stored in the Image.

If working with smaller size of Image, "dd" command will create at faster rate based on your System's RAM.

If working with larger size of Image, say 100 GB, "dd" command will take more time to create. In that case, sparse Image can help us in reducing the time as well as empty Image will be created at a faster rate.

Sparse Image:

For More details about Sparse Image, the following URL shall be a good start

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sparse_file


Say I want to create a Sparse Image of size 100 GB, then I will run the following command.

dd if=/dev/zero of=file.img bs=1 count=0 seek=102400M

(Seek -> Size of the File, Since 100GB, we will denote in MB
100 GB = 100 * 1 GB
1 GB = 1024 MB
So , 100 GB represented in MB as 100 * 1024 = 102400 MB
)

This will create "file.img" of size 100 GB.