---
title: "Datastores. Space Usage Heatmap"
description: "This report analyzes the amount of space consumed by files of virtual machines on datastores and shows how VM files have grown across a time range. The Datastores. Space Usage Heatmap report helps identify VMs with rapidly growing VM files."
canonical: "https://helpcenter.veeam.com/docs/mp/reports/datastores_space_usage_heatmap_vmware.html"
breadcrumb: "Veeam MP Report Knowledge > Veeam VMware Analysis Reports > Datastores. Space Usage Heatmap"
dateModified: "2026-09-10"
---

# Datastores. Space Usage Heatmap

This report analyzes the amount of space consumed by files of virtual machines on datastores and shows how VM files have grown across a time range.

## Description

The **Datastores. Space Usage Heatmap** report helps identify VMs with rapidly growing VM files.

::: note

The report may display incorrect data if there is no performance data collected by the end of the reporting period (for example, the amount of free space may be shown as '0' for an empty datastore).

:::

## Parameters

Date/time Selection: defines the time period to analyze in the report.

Scope: defines a list of Groups or Objects that will be analyzed in the report (by default, the **VMware Datastores** group is selected). The **Add Group** option returns a Group and all objects that a group contains (with all performance counter instances). The **Add Object** option returns only the selected object.

Growth Threshold: defines the threshold for the amount of datastore space consumed by VM files during the reporting period (by default, 10% is selected).

Growth Threshold Unit: defines growth threshold measurement unit — GB or Percent.

Cell Capacity (GB): defines the capacity of a single Heat Map cell in the report output.

## Sample Usage

Detect VMs that have grown by over 15 GB during this week. Report on the amount of space consumed by all VMs on selected datastores.

### Instructions

1. Open the Datastores. Space Usage Heatmap report.
2. From the **From** list, select *This Week* > *Monday*. From the **To** list, select *This Week* > *Friday*.
3. In the **Scope** section, include the necessary datastores in the report.

   Click **Add Object**. In the **Add Object** window, click **Options**. In the **Options** window, click **Add**. In the **Class Name** search box, enter *datastore* and click **Search**. Select the *VMware Datastores* class in the list of search results, click **Add** and click **OK**. In the **Options** windows, click **OK** to apply the filter. In the **Add Object** window, click **Search**. The search will return a list of objects that belong to the *VMware Datastores* class. Select the necessary datastores in the list, click **Add** and click **OK**.

4. In the **Growth Threshold** field, enter *15*.
5. From the **Growth Threshold Unit** list, select *GB*.
6. In the **Cell Capacity (GB)** field, enter *10*.
7. Click **Run** to view the report.

### Report Output

The report will draw the Heat Map that illustrates how much space each VM consumes on a datastore. The amount of space consumed by a VM is presented as a colored bar. The bar is comprised of cells in which each cell indicates 10 GB of consumed datastore space.

The bar color depends on the VM growth rate:

- Green: For the reporting period, a VM has grown by less than 15 GB (that is, consumed less datastore space than defined by the **Growth Threshold**). 
- Red: For the reporting period a VM has grown by over 15 GB (that is, consumed more datastore space than defined by the **Growth Threshold**)
- Yellow: All virtual machines whose files consume less than 5 GB (half of a Heat Map cell) are grouped together and do not have individual cells. They are represented with a single yellow bar at the end of the Heat Map.
- White: The amount of unconsumed datastore space is presented as empty cells on the Heat Map.
- Gray: Amount of space consumed by unknown files on the datastore. Unknown files are represented with a single gray bar at the end of the Heat Map.

::: note

The report will show a separate bar for a VM if the size of the VM files exceeds half of the specified cell capacity (5 GB). For example, for a VM whose files consume 16 GB, the report will show a bar comprised of two cells. If you want to obtain more accurate data, the report should show bars for VMs of a smaller size. In this case, you will need to decrease the **Cell Capacity** value.

:::

The report table lists all VMs whose files reside on a datastore and shows the following metrics for every VM:

- Amount of space consumed by VM files on the datastore
- Amount of space that the VM consumed during this week (reporting period), both in GB and percent.

You can click a VM name, a datastore name or a cell on the Heat Map to drill down to the [Veeam Performance Details Report](veeam_performance_details_report.md).