Datastores
Overview
Section titled “Overview”Evidence: Datastores
Description: ESXi Datastores for all Virtual Machines
Category: DiskFilesystem
Platform: esxi
Short Name: dstr
Is Parsed: Yes
Sent to Investigation Hub: Yes
Collect File(s): No
Background
Section titled “Background”ESXi datastores are storage containers where virtual machine files, ISOs, and templates are stored. Understanding datastore configuration is essential for tracking VM artifacts, identifying unauthorized data access, and investigating storage-based attacks or data exfiltration.
Data Collected
Section titled “Data Collected”This collector gathers structured data about datastores.
Datastores Data
Section titled “Datastores Data”| Field | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
AccessTime | Access Time | 2023-10-15 14:30:25+03:00 |
AccessCount | Access Count | 123 |
URL | URL | Example value |
Browser | Browser | Example value |
Title | Title | Example value |
VisitDuration | Visit Duration | Example value |
Referrer | Referrer | Example value |
TypedCount | Typed Count | 123 |
IsHidden | Is Hidden | true |
TransitionType | Transition Type | Example value |
VisitID | Visit ID | 123 |
TransitionQualifiers | Transition Qualifiers | Example value |
User | User | Example value |
Profile | Profile | Example value |
HistoryFilePath | History File Path | Example value |
Collection Method
Section titled “Collection Method”This collector parses the datastore information file obtained via vim-cmd vmsvc/get.datastores command. It extracts datastore name, URL, capacity, free space, accessibility status, type (VMFS, NFS, etc.), and multi-host access configuration for each datastore attached to virtual machines.
Forensic Value
Section titled “Forensic Value”Datastore metadata provides visibility into storage capacity, accessibility, and sharing configuration. This information helps investigators identify suspicious storage mounts, trace VM file locations, detect capacity anomalies that may indicate data staging, and validate storage security policies.