// Module included in the following assemblies
//
// * storage/persistent_storage/persistent-storage-vsphere.adoc

:_mod-docs-content-type: REFERENCE
[id="vsphere-formatting-volumes_{context}"]
= Formatting VMware vSphere volumes

[role="_abstract"]
You can use unformatted vSphere volumes as PVs because {product-title} formats them before the first use.

Before {product-title} mounts the volume and passes it to a container, it checks that the volume contains a file system that is specified by the `fsType` parameter value in the `PersistentVolume` (PV) definition. If the device is not formatted with the file system, all data from the device is erased, and the device is automatically formatted with the specified file system.
