VMware Server - 1.0 User Manual

Virtual Machine Guide

VMware Server 1.0

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide
Revision: 20060706
Item: SVR-ENG-Q206-227

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation at:

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs

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© 2006 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,397,242,
6,496,847, 6,704,925, 6,711,672, 6,725,289, 6,735,601, 6,785,886, 6,789,156, 6,795,966, 6,880,022,
6,961,941, 6,961,806 and 6,944,699; patents pending.

VMware, the VMware “boxes” logo and design, Virtual SMP and VMotion are registered trademarks or
trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.

All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

VMware, Inc.

3145 Porter Drive
Palo Alto, CA 94304
www.vmware.com

ii VMware, Inc.

Contents

Chapter!1!Introduction!and!System!Requirements!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!1

VMware!Server!Overview! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Features!of!VMware!Server! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Support!for!32‐bit!and!64‐bit!Guest!Operating!Systems!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!2
Two‐Way!Virtual!SMP!(Experimental!
Connect!to!VMware!GSX!Virtual!Machines!and!Hosts!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Upgrade!and!Use!GSX!Virtual!Machines! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!3
Move!Existing!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.
Compatible!with!VMware!Workstation!5.x!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Configure!Virtual!Hardware!Devices!to!be!Automatically!Detected!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!3
Take!and!Revert!to!Snapshots!in!the!Background!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Support!for!VMware!Virtual!Machine!Importer! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 3

Support!for!VirtualCenter!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
APIs!Included!with!VMware!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Host!System!Requirements! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Server!Host!Hardware!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!4

Windows!Host!Operating!System!Requirements! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Linux!Host!Operating!System!Requirements!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 7

Remote!Client!Requirements!!.!.!.!.!
Virtual!Machine!Specifications! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Supported!Guest!Operating!Systems!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Hardware!Requirements!for!64‐bit!Guest!Operating!Systems!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!15

Hardware!Requirements!for!32‐bit!Guest
Technical!Support!Resources!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Self‐Service!Support!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!20

Online!and!Telephone!Support!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Support!Offerings!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Reporting!Problems! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!20

Log!Files!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!1
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!Operating!Systems!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!16

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!19

!.!.!.!.!.!.!20

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!20

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!21

Chapter!2!Creating!a!New!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!25

Setting!Up!a!New!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

VMware, Inc. iii

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!25

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

What’s!in!a!Virtual!Machine?! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 25

Creating!a!New!Virtual!
Installing!a!Guest!Operating!System! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 37

Example:!Installing!Windows!Server!2003!as!a!Guest!OS!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!37

Chapter!3!Using!VMware!Tools!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!39

About!VMware!Tools! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Installing!VMware!Tools!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Installing!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 41

Installing!VMware!Tools!in!a!Linux!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!50

Installing!VMware!Tools!in!a!NetWare!Virtual!
Executing!Scripts!When!the!Virtual!Machine’s!Power!State!Changes!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!55
Configuring!VMware!Tools!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Configuring!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Configuring!VMware!Tools!in!a!Linux,!FreeBSD,!or!Solaris!Virtual!Machine! 60

Configuring!VMware!Tools!in!a!NetWare!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 64
About!the!VMware!Tools!Service! .!.!.!.!.

Synchronizing!the!Time!in!the!Guest!OS!with!the!Host!OS!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 69

Executing!Commands!After!You!Power!Off!or!Reset!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!70

Passing!a!String!from!the!Host!OS!to!the!Guest!OS!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Passing!Information!Between!the!Guest!OS!and!a!VMware!API!Script!!.!.!.!.!.! 73

Machine!with!the!Virtual!Machine!Wizard! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!27

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Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 53

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.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!70

Chapter!4!Running!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 75

Overview!of!the!VMware!Server!Console!Window!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Using!the!Home!Tab!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Using!Tabs!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Configuring!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Using!the!Virtual!Machine!Inventory! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Displaying!Hints!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Checking!the!Status!of!VMware!Tools!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!80

Creating!a!Screen!Shot!
Connecting!to!Virtual!Machines!and!VMware!Server!Hosts! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!Windows!Host!or!Client!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!82

Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!Linux!Host!or!Client! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!the!VMware!Management!Interface! .!85

Connecting!to!a!Different!VMware!Server!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!85

Connecting!to!VMware!GSX!Server
Changing!the!Power!State!of!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!88

iv VMware, Inc.

of!a!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!81

!and!Older!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!86

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!78

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!75

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!77

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!79

!.!.!.!79

!.!.!.!.!.!.!80

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Contents

Using!Power!Options!for!Virtual!Machines!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 88

Suspending!and!Resuming!Virtual!Machines! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Shutting!Down!a!Virtual!Machine!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!92

Powering!Virtual!Machines!On!and!Off!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!92
Controlling!the!Virtual

Using!Full!Screen!Mode!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!95

Using!Quick!Switch!Mode!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Taking!Advantage!of!Multiple!Monitors!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Fitting!the!VMware!Server!Console!Window!to!the!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.! 97

Fitting!a!Windows!Guest!OS!Display!to!the!Console!Window!.!.!.!.!.!

Simplifying!the!Screen!Display!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Running!Virtual!Machines!from!DVDs!or!CD‐ROM!Discs!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 98
Using!PXE!with!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Installing!Software!in!a!Virtual!Machine!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Cutting,!Copying,!and!Pasting!Text! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!102
Using!Devices!in!a!Virtual!Machine!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!102

Adding,!Configuring,!and!Removing!

Connecting!and!Disconnecting!Removable!Devices!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!104
Command!Reference!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Startup!Options!on!a!Linux!Host!.!.!.!.!.!.

Startup!Options!on!a!Windows!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!106

Using!Keyboard!Shortcuts!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

!Machine!Display!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!95

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Devices!in!a!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.! 103

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.!98

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Chapter!5!Preserving!the!State!of!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 109

Suspending!and!Resuming!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!109

Setting!the!Suspended!State!File!
Taking!Snapshots!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!112

What!Is!Captured!by!a!Snapshot?! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Ways!of!Using!Snapshots!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Snapshots!and!a!Virtual!Machine’s!Hard!Disks!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Snapshots!and!Other!Activity!in!the!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!115

Settings!for!Snapshots! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Snapshot!Actions!as!Background!Activity! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!116

Removing!the!Snapshot!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Snapshots!and!Legacy!Disk!Modes! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Snapshots!and!Legacy!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!117

VMware, Inc. v

Directory!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!110

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VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

Chapter!6!Using!Disks!in!a!Virtual!Machine!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 119

Configuring!Hard!Disk!Storage!in!a!Virtual!Machine!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Disk!Types:!Virtual!and!Physical! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!120

Additional!Information!about!Disk,!Redo‐Log,!

Defragmenting!and!Shrinking!Virtual!Disks! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!125
Configuring!Optical!and!Floppy!Drives!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Configuring!Virtual!DVD/CD‐ROM!Drives!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Configuring!Virtual!Floppy!Drives! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 130
Adding!Drives!

Adding!Virtual!Disks!to!a!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!

Adding!Physical!Disks!to!a!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 134

Adding!DVD/CD‐ROM!Drives!to!a!Virtual!Machine!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!137

Adding!Floppy!Drives!to!a!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.
Using!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 139

Running!the!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager!Utility!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 140

Shrinking!Virtual!Disks!with!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager!!.!.!.!

Examples!Using!the!VMware!Virtual!Disk!Manager! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!144
Installing!an!Operating!System!onto!a!Physical!Partition!!.!.!.!.!.!.

Configuring!a!Windows!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Configuring!a!Linux!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!149
Disk!Performance!in!Windows!NT!Guests!on!Multiprocessor!Hosts! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!150

Improving!Performance!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

!.!119

Snapshot,!and!Lock!Files! .!.!122

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!128

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to!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!131

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Chapter!7!Networking!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!153

Components!of!the!Virtual!Network
Common!Networking!Configurations!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!155

Bridged!Networking!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Network!Address!Translation!(NAT)! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Host‐Only!Networking! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Custom!Networking!Configurations! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!159
Changing!the!

Adding!and!Modifying!Virtual!Network!Adapters! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 162

Configuring!Bridged!Networking!Options!on!a!Windows!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!164

Enabling,!Disabling,!Adding,!and!Removing!Host!Virtual!Adapters! .!.!.!.!.!.! 168
Advanced!Networking!Topics!!.!.!.!

Selecting!IP!Addresses!on!a!Host‐Only!Network!or!NAT!Configuration!.!

Avoiding!IP!Packet!Leakage!in!a!Host‐Only!Network!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!174

Maintaining!and!Changing!the!MAC!Address!of!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.! 176

vi VMware, Inc.

Networking!Configuration!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 162

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Contents

Controlling!Routing!for!a!Host‐Only!Network!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 177

Issues!with!Host‐Only!Networking!on!a!Linux!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Setting!Up!a!Second!Bridged!Network!Interface!on!a!Linux!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 179

Configuring!Bridged!Networking!When!Using!Teamed!Network!Interface!

Cards!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Setting!Up!Two!Separate!Host‐Only!Networks!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Routing!Between!Two!Host‐Only!Networks! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Using!Virtual!Ethernet!Adapters!in!Promiscuous!Mode!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!189

Understanding!NAT!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Using!NAT!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
The!Host!Computer!and!the!NAT!Network!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!191
DHCP!on!the!NAT!Network!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
DNS!on!the!NAT!Network! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!191
External
Advanced!NAT!Configuration!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Custom!NAT!and!DHCP!Configuration!on!a!Windows!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!196
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Sample!Linux!vmnetnat.conf!File!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Using!Samba!for!File!Sharing!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 201

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Using!Parallel!Ports!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

About!Parallel!Ports! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Adding!a!Parallel!Port!in!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.
Configuring!a!Parallel!Port!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!213
Special!Notes!for!the!Iomega!Zip!Drive!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!216

Using!Serial!

Using!a!Serial!Port!on!the!Host!Computer! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!217
Using!a!File!on!the!Host!Computer! .!.!.!
Connecting!an!Application!on!the!Host!to!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Connecting!Two!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!221
Special!Configuration!Options!for!Advanced!Users!!.
Examples:!Debugging!over!a!Virtual!Serial!Port! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Keyboard!Mapping!on!a!Linux!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!226

Keyboard!Mapping!for!a!Remote!Server!!.!
Keyboard!Mapping!Support!for!the!PC!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
V‐Scan!Code!Table! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 229

Using!USB!Devices!in!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

VMware, Inc. vii

Ports!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!216

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!211

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!211

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!212

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!218

.!.!.!.!220

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!223

!224

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!226

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!227

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!232

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

Notes!on!USB!Support!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!233
Adding!a!USB!Controller!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!233
Connecting!USB!Devices!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!234
Using!USB!with!a!Windows!Host!!
Replacing!USB!2.0!Drivers!on!a!Windows!2000!Host!.!.!.!.!.!
Using!USB!with!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 235
USB!Device!Control! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
USB!Devices!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Disconnecting!USB!Devices!from!a!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 237

Connecting!to!a!Generic!SCSI!Device

Device!Support!in!Guest!Operating!Systems! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Adding!a!Generic!SCSI!Device!to!a!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 239
Generic!SCSI!
Generic!SCSI!on!a!Linux!Host!Operating!System! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Using!Two‐Way!Virtual!Symmetric!Multiprocessing!(Experimental)! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!244

Chapter!9!Video!and!Sound!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!247

Setting!Screen!Color!Depth!in!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.

Changing!Screen!Color!Depth!on!the!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Changing!Screen!Color!Depth!in!the!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!248

Using!Full!Screen!Mode!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Configuring!Sound! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Installing!Sound!Drivers!in!a!Windows!Server!2003!Guest!OS!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Installing!Sound!Drivers!in!Windows!9x!and!NT!Guest!OS! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 249

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!235

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!235

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!236

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!237

!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 237

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!238

on!a!Windows!Host!Operating!System!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!240

.!.!.!.!.!.!243

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!247

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!248

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!248

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!249

249

Chapter!10!Performance!Tuning!for!Virtual!Machines! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 251

Allocating!Memory!to!a!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!251

Configuring!Virtual!

Improving!Performance!for!Guest!Operating!Systems!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Windows!2000,!Windows!XP!and!Windows!Server!2003!Guest!OS!Performance!

Tips!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Windows!95!and!Windows!98!Guest!Operating!System!Performance!Tips! .! 254
Linux!Guest!Operating!System!Performance!Tips!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Machine!Memory!from!a!Console!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!252

253

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!253

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!256

Glossary!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!257

Index!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 265

viii VMware, Inc.

CHAPTER 1 Introduction and System

Requirements

This!chapter!introduces!you!to!VMware!Server!and!covers!the!following!topics:

! “VMware!Server!Overview”!on!page 1

! “Features!of!VMware!Server”!on!page 2

! “Host!System!Requirements”!on!page 5

! “Virtual!Machine!Specifications”!on!page 12

! “Supported!Guest!Operating!Systems”!on!page 15

! “Technical!Support!Resources”!on!page 20

VMware Server Overview

VMware!Server!is!a!free!virtualization!product!for!Microsoft!Windows!and!Linux!
servers.!It!enables!users!to!quickly!provision!new!server!capacity!by!partitioning!a!
physical!server!into!multiple!virtual!machines.!You!can!use!VMware!Server!to!
provision!a!wide!variety!of!plug‐and‐play!virtual!appliances!for!commonly!used!
infrastructure.

!

VMware!Server!supports:

! Any!standard!x86!hardware.

! A!wide!variety!of!Linux,!NetWare,!Solaris,!and!Windows!operating!systems,!

including!64‐bit!operating!systems.!For!information!about!specific!hardware!
requirements,!see!VMware!Knowledge!Base!article!1901!or!“Hardware!

Requirements!for!64‐bit!Guest!Operating!Systems”!on!page 15.

! Two‐way!Virtual!SMP!(experimental!support).

! Intel!Virtualization!Technology!(experimental!support).

With!VMware!Server,!you!can:!

! Provision!a!new!server!without!investing!in!more!hardware!by!locating!multiple!

virtual!machines!on!the!same!host.

VMware, Inc. 1

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

! Run!Windows!and!Linux!operating!systems!and!applications!without!software!

conflicts!because!virtual!machines!are!completely!isolated!from!one!another!and!
from!the!physical!host.

! Move!virtual!machines!from!one!physical!host!to!another!without!having!to!

reconfigure.

! Shorten!the!time!for!provisioning!a!new!server!by!creating!and!deploying!custom!

virtual!machines!with!the!VMware!Server!Virtual!Machine!Wizard.

! Move!virtual!machines!to!different!physical!hosts!as!conditions!change.

For!more!information,!see!“Features!of!VMware!Server”!on!page 2.

Features of VMware Server

This!section!provides!information!about!key!features!of!VMware!Server.

Support for 32-bit and 64-bit Guest Operating Systems

VMware!Server!provides!full!and!experimental!support!for!virtual!machines!running!
32‐bit!and!64‐bit!guest!operating!systems.!For!more!information,!see!“Supported!Guest!

Operating!Systems”!on!page 15.!The!host!machine—the!server!on!which!you!install!

VMware!Server—must!have!one!of!the!processors!that!VMware!Server!supports.!You!
can!use

!a!remote!console!running!on!a!32‐bit!machine!to!connect!to!a!64‐bit!host!

machine!running!64‐bit!guest!operating!systems.!For!more!information,!see!“Hardware!

Requirements!for!64‐bit!Guest!Operating!Systems”!on!page 15.

Tw o-Way Virtual SMP (Experimental Support)

Experimental!support!for!two‐way!Virtual!Symmetric!Multiprocessing!(Virtual!SMP)!
lets!you!assign!two!virtual!processors!to!a!virtual!machine!on!any!host!machine!that!has!
at!least!two!logical!processors.!VMware!Server!does!not!support!guests!with!more!than!
two!virtual!processors.!You!can,!however,!power!on!and!run!multiple
virtual!machines.!For!more!information,!see!“Using!Two‐Way!Virtual!Symmetric!

Multiprocessing!(Experimental)”!on!page 244.

!dual‐processor!

Connect to VMware GSX Virtual Machines and Hosts

You!can!connect!to!hosts!running!VMware!GSX!Server!3!from!the!VMware!Server!
Console!and!run!virtual!machines!in!VMware!Server!created!under!VMware!GSX!
Server!3!as!legacy!machines.!For!information,!see!“Connecting!to!VMware!GSX!Server!

and!Older!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 86.

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Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

Upgrade and Use GSX Virtual Machines

You!can!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware!of!virtual!machines!created!under!both!VMware!
GSX!Server!2!and!3.!You!must!upgrade!hardware!of!virtual!machines!created!under!
GSX!2!to!run!them!under!VMware!Server.!For!more!information,!see!“Upgrading!the!

Virtual!Hardware!on!a!Legacy!Virtual!Machine”!in!the!VMware

Guide.

!Server!Administration!

Move Existing Virtual Machines

You!can!move!virtual!machines!from!one!VMware!Server!host!to!another!and!from!a!
VMware!GSX!Server!or!VMware!Workstation!host!to!a!host!running!VMware!Server.!
For!more!information,!see!“Moving!and!Sharing!Virtual!Machines”!in!the!VMware!
Server!Administration!Guide.

Compatible with VMware Workstation 5.x Virtual Machines

You!can!run!virtual!machines!created!using!VMware!Workstation!5.x.!However,!you!
cannot!connect!from!a!host!running!VMware!Server!to!a!host!running!VMware!
Workstation.

Configure Virtual Hardware Devices to be Automatically Detected

You!can!configure!a!number!of!virtual!devices,!including!serial!and!parallel!ports,!
DVD/CD‐ROM!drives,!floppy!drives,!and!sound!drivers!(Linux!only)!to!be!
automatically!detected.!The!benefit!of!auto‐detect!devices!is!that!you!can!move!them!
between!virtual!machines!running!different!guest!operating!systems,!such!as!Windows!
and

!Linux,!without!having!to!reconfigure!the!devices.!For!more!information,!see“Using!

Devices!in!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 102.

Take and Revert to Snapshots in the Background

You!can!configure!any!virtual!machine!to!take!and!revert!to!snapshots!in!the!
background.!When!you!take!a!snapshot,!you!preserve!the!state!of!the!virtual!machine,!
including!the!state!of!the!data!on!all!the!virtual!machine!disks!and!whether!the!virtual!
machine!was!powered!on,!powered!off,!or

“Snapshot!Actions!as!Background!Activity”!on!page 116.

!suspended.!For!more!information,!see!!

Support for VMware Virtual Machine Importer

VMware!Server!includes!support!for!the!VMware!Virtual!Machine!Importer!version!

1.5,!which!lets!you!import!virtual!machines!from!Microsoft!Virtual!Server!and!Virtual!
PC!as!well!as!Symantec!LiveState!Recovery!system!images.!

VMware, Inc. 3

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

To!access!the!VMware!Virtual!Machine!Importer!from!the!VMware!Server!Console,!
choose!File!>!Import!or!File!>!Open.!The!Wizard!to!import!a!virtual!machine!or!system!
image!opens.!You!can!access!the!VMware!Virtual!Machine!Importer!only!from!a!
Windows!host!machine.

For!more!detailed!information!about!how
Importer,!see!the!VMware!Virtual!Machine!Importer!User’s!Manual.!

!to!use!the!VMware!Virtual!Machine!

Support for VirtualCenter

VMware!Server!includes!support!for!using!VirtualCenter!version!1.4!to!manage!virtual!
machines!running!on!VMware!Server.

APIs Included with VMware Server

VMware!Server!supports!the!VMware!scripting!APIs,!which!include!the!VmPerl!API!
and!the!VmCOM!API,!and!the!Programming!API.!All!of!the!APIs!are!installed!on!a!
Windows!host!when!you!perform!a!complete!installation!using!the!VMware!Server!
Windows!Installer.!The!Programming!API!and!VmPerl!API!are!installed!when
install!the!VMware!Server!software.!You!can!also!install!any!of!the!APIs!on!a!client!
machine.

Host System Requirements

You!can!install!the!VMware!Server!software!on!a!Microsoft!Windows!or!Linux!server.!
You!can!store!virtual!machines!on!the!server!host!or!locate!them!on!a!network!share.

Server Host Hardware

VMware!Server!supports!up!to!16‐way!multiprocessor!servers.!The!number!of!virtual!
machines!you!can!run!concurrently!depends!on!the!resources!they!require,!but!
VMware!recommends!you!run!no!more!than!four!virtual!machines!concurrently!per!
processor.!You!can!run!a!maximum!of!64!virtual!machines!concurrently!on!one!host.

!you!

The!server!host!hardware!includes:

! (Standard!x86‐based!server!with!up!to!16!processors!hosts!with!32‐bit!IA‐32!

processors,!and!IA‐32!processors!with!64‐bit!extensions!supported

! 733MHz!or!faster!compatible!x86!processor!that!supports!the!Pentium!instruction!

set

Compatible!processors!include:!

! Intel:!Pentium!II,!Pentium!III,!Pentium!4,!Pentium!M!Xeon,!and!EM64T.!

4 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

! AMD:!Athlon,!Athlon!MP,!Athlon!XP,!AMD!Opteron,!AMD!Athlon!64,

Tur i o n !64.

! Experimental!support!for!AMD!Sempron.

! Multiprocessor!systems!are!supported.

! Dual‐core!processors!are!supported!and!counted!as!one!processor!for!

licensing.

Processor Requirements for 64-bit Guests

Your!server!must!be!running!one!of!the!following!64‐bit!processors!to!be!able!to!
configure!a!virtual!machine!running!a!64‐bit!guest.

! AMD!Athlon!64,!revision!D!or!later

! AMD!Opteron,!revision!E!or!later

! AMD!Tur ion!64,!revision!E!or!later

! AMD!Sempron,!64‐bit‐capable!revision!D!or!later

! Intel!EM64T!VT‐capable!processors

Memory

You!need!enough!memory!to!run!the!Microsoft!Windows!or!Linux!host!operating!
system,!plus!memory!required!for!each!guest!operating!system!and!applications!on!the!
host!and!each!guest.!See!your!guest!operating!system!and!application!documentation!
for!their!memory!requirements.

Memory!requirements!include:

! Minimum:!512MB

! Maximum:!

! 64GB!for!Windows!hosts!and!Linux!hosts!that!support!large!memory!or!are!

PAE ‐enabled

! 4GB!for!non‐PAE‐enabled!Windows!hosts!or!2GB!for!Linux!hosts!with!kernels!

in!the!2.2.x!series

Display

! 16‐bit!display!adapter!or!higher

VMware, Inc. 5

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

Host Hard Disk

! 250MB!free!disk!space!on!Windows!hosts!required!for!VMware!Server,!VMware!

Management!Interface,!the!VmPerl!API,!the!VmCOM!API,!the!Programming!API,!
and!VMware!Server!Console!installation.

! 200MB!free!disk!space!on!Linux!hosts!required!for!VMware!Server,!VMware!

Management!Interface,!VmPerl!API,!Programming!API,!and!VMware!Server!
Console!installation.

! Disk!space!in!/tmp!on!Linux!hosts!should!be!equivalent!to!1.5!times!the!

amount!of!memory!on!the!host.!For!information!on!the!/tmp!directory,!read!
VMware!knowledge!base!article!844!at!

http://www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=844.

! Sufficient!free!disk!space!for!each!guest!operating!system!and!the!application!

software!used!with!it.!Using!a!default!setup,!the!actual!disk!space!needs!are!
approximately!the!same!as!those!for!installing!and!running!the!guest!operating!
system!and!applications!on!a!physical!computer.

! IDE!or!SCSI!hard!drives!and!DVD/CD‐ROM!drives!supported.!

! Guest!operating!systems!can!reside!in!virtual!disk!files!or!on!physical!(raw)!disk!

partitions.

Local Area Networking

! Any!Ethernet!controller!that!the!host!operating!system!supports.

! Non‐Ethernet!networks!are!supported!using!built‐in!network!address!translation!

(NAT)!or!using!a!combination!of!host‐only!networking!plus!routing!software!on!
the!host!operating!system.

! Static!IP!address!for!your!host!machine!(recommended).

Windows Host Operating System Requirements

You!must!use!a!Microsoft!Windows!server!operating!system.!To!use!the!VMware!
Management!Interface,!Internet!Information!Server!(IIS)!5.0!or!6.0!must!be!installed.

NOTE Operating!systems!and!service!packs!that!are!not!listed!are!not!supported!for!

use!as!a!host!operating!system!for!VMware!Server.

64‐bit!host!computers!can!run!the!following!operating!systems!for!64‐bit!extended!
systems:

! Microsoft!Windows!Server!2003!Enterprise,!Standard,!and!Web!Editions,!R2

6 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

! Microsoft!Windows!Server!2003!Enterprise,!Standard,!and!Web!Editions,!Service!

Pack!1

32‐bit!host!computers!can!run!the!following!operating!systems:

! Microsoft!Windows!Server!2003!Enterprise,!Standard,!Web,!and!Small!Business!

Editions,!including!Service!Pack!1

! Microsoft!Windows!2000!Advanced!Server,!Service!Pack!3!and!Service!Pack!4

! Microsoft!Windows!2000!Server,!Service!Pack!3!and!Service!Pack!4

VmPerl!API!requires!Perl!5.005x!or!higher.

VMware!Management!Interface!requires!one!of!these!browsers:!

! Internet!Explorer!5.5!or!6.0!(6.0!highly!recommended)

! Firefox!1.x

! Mozilla!1.x

! Netscape!Navigator!7.0

NOTE VMware!tests!the!VMware!Management!Interface!for!stability!and!reliability!

with!new!browser!versions.!VMware!makes!every!effort!to!add!support!for!
new!browser!versions!in!a!timely!manner,!but!until!a!browser!is!added!to!the!
above!list,!its!use!with!the!product!is!not!supported.

Linux Host Operating System Requirements

Supported!distributions!and!kernels!are!listed!in!this!section.!VMware!Server!might!not!
run!on!systems!that!do!not!meet!these!requirements.!Platforms!that!are!not!listed!are!
not!supported.

64‐bit!host!computers!can!run!the!following!operating!systems!for!64‐bit!extended!
systems:

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!3.0!AS,!ES,!and!WS,!stock!2.4.21,!update!2.4.21‐15,!and!

updates!6!and!7

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!3.0!AS,!ES,!and!WS,!update!8!(experimental!support)

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!4.0!AS,!ES,!and!WS,!including!update!3

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!4.0!update!4!(experimental!support)

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!10!(experimental!support)

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!9,!including!SP1,!SP2,!and!SP3

! SUSE!Linux!10

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VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

! SUSE!Linux!10.1

! SUSE!Linux!9.3!

! SUSE!Linux!9.2,!including!SP1

! SUSE!Linux!9.1!stock!2.6.4‐52

! Mandriva!Linux!2006

! Ubuntu!Linux!5.04!and!5.10

! Ubuntu!Linux!6.06!(experimental!support)

32‐bit!host!computers!can!run!the!following!operating!systems:

! Mandriva!Linux!2006

! Mandrake!Linux!10.1

! Mandrake!Linux!9.0!stock!2.4.19

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!4.0!AS,!ES,!and!WS,!including!updates!1,2,!and!3

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!4.0!update!4!(experimental!support)

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!3.0,!updates!1,!2,!3,!4,!5,!6,!and!7

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!3.0!update!8!(experimental!support)

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!2.1stock!2.4.9‐e3

! Red!Hat!Linux!9.0,!stock!2.4.20‐8!and!upgrade!2.4.20‐20.9

! Red!Hat!Linux!8.0!stock!2.4.18

! Red!Hat!Linux!7.3!stock!2.4.18

! Red!Hat!Linux!7.2,!stock!2.4.7‐10!and!upgrades!2.4.9‐7,!2.4.9‐13,!2.4.9‐21,!and!

2.4.9‐31

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!10!(experimental!support)

! SUSE!LINUX!Enterprise!Server!9,!including!SP1,!SP2,!and!SP3

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!8!stock!2.4.19

! SUSE!LINUX!9.3!

! SUSE!LINUX!9.2

! SUSE!Linux!10

! SUSE!Linux!10.1

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Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

! SUSE!LINUX!9.1!stock!2.6.4‐52

! SUSE!LINUX!9.0!stock!2.4.21‐99

! SUSE!Linux!8.2!stock!2.4.20

! SUSE!Linux!7.3

! Ubuntu!Linux!5.04!and!5.10

! Ubuntu!6.06!

NOTE As!new!Linux!kernels!and!distributions!are!released,!VMware!modifies!and!

tests!its!products!for!stability!and!reliability!on!those!host!platforms.!VMware!
makes!every!effort!to!add!support!for!new!kernels!and!distributions!in!a!
timely!manner,!but!until!a!kernel!or!distribution!is!added!to!the!list,!its!use

!is!

not!supported.!Look!for!newer!prebuilt!modules!in!the!Download!section!of!
VMware!Web!site.!Go!to!http://www.vmware.com/download.!

Other!Linux!host!operating!system!requirements!include:

! Linux!kernel!2.2.14‐5.0!is!not!supported.

! Standard!Linux!server!installation!is!required!with!glibc!version!2.1!or!higher!and!

libXpm.so.

! The!inetd!process!must!be!configured!and!active!for!VMware!Server!Console!and!

VMware!Management!Interface!connections.

! Version!2.1.36!of!the!SCSI!Generic!(sg.o)!driver!is!required!to!use!generic!SCSI!

devices!in!virtual!machines.

! Perl!5.005x!or!higher!is!required!to!use!VmPerl!API.

! X!server!is!required!to!run!the!VMw are!Server!Console.

The!VMware!Management!Interface!requires!one!of!these!browsers:!

! Firefox!1.x

! Mozilla!1.x

! Netscape!Navigator!7.0

NOTE As!new!browser!versions!are!released,!VMware!tests!the!VMware!

Management!Interface!for!stability!and!reliability!with!these!versions.!
VMware!makes!every!effort!to!add!support!for!new!browser!versions!in!a!
timely!manner,!but!until!a!browser!is!added!to!the!above!list,!its!use!with!the!
product!is!not!supported.

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Running VMware Server on Some SUSE Linux Hosts

Keep!in!mind!the!following!when!you!run!VMware!Server!on!these!SUSE!Linux!hosts.

! SLES!8!—!Install!gcc!on!your!SLES!8!host!before!installing!VMware!Server.

! SLES!7!—To!upgrade!the!kernel,!deselect!any!Samba!components!when!you!apply!

the!update!patch!because!the!patch!incorrectly!updates!Samba!on!your!host.!
Running!the!update!with!the!Samba!packages!selected!can!result!in!serious!issues!
on!your!host!such!as!system!hangs!or!segmentation!faults.

VmPerl and VmCOM APIs

The!VmPerl!API!includes!the!vmware-cmd!utility.!The!VmCOM!API!works!only!on!
Windows!Server!2003,!Windows!XP,!Windows!2000,!and!Windows!NT!clients.!For!
more!information,!go!to!the!VMware!Web!site!at!

http://www.vmware.com/support/developer.

Programming API

VMware!Server!includes!support!for!the!Programming!API!(previously!called!C!API).!
For!more!information,!go!to!the!VMware!Web!Site!at!

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/server_pubs

Remote Client Requirements

The!remote!client!is!a!Microsoft!Windows!or!Linux!system!from!which!you!launch!the!
VMware!Server!Console!or!use!VMware!Scripting!APIs!to!remotely!manage!virtual!
machines!on!the!VMware!Server!host.!You!access!the!VMware!Management!Interface!
to!manage!virtual!machines!on!the!host!using!a!Web!browser.!

Hardware Requirements

! Standard!x86‐based!computer.

! 266MHz!or!faster!processor.!

! 64MB!RAM!minimum.

! 30MB!(for!Windows!hosts)!or!60MB!(for!Linux!hosts)!of!free!disk!space!is!required!

for!installation!of!the!VMware!Server!Console.

! 17MB!free!disk!space!is!required!for!VMware!Scripting!APIs!(VmCOM!and!VmPerl!

APIs)!installation!on!Windows!remote!clients.!14MB!is!required!for!VmPerl!API!on!
Linux!remote!clients.

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Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

Software Requirements – Windows Remote Client

! Windows!Server!2003!x64!Edition,!Windows!Server!2003!Standard! Edition,!

Windows!Server!2003!Enterprise!Edition,!and!Windows!Server!2003!Web!Edition

! Windows!XP!Professional!and!Windows!XP!Home!Edition!

Service!Pack!1!and!Service!Pack!2

! Windows!2000!Professional,!Server!and!Advanced!Server,!Service!Pack!1,!Service!

Pack!2,!Service!Pack!3!and!Service!Pack!4

! Windows!NT!4.0!Workstation!and!Server,!Service!Pack!6a,!with!Internet!Explorer!

6.0!installed

! The!VMware!Management!Interface!requires!one!of!these!browsers:!

! Internet!Explorer!5.5!or!6.0!(6.0!highly!recommended)

! Firefox!1.x

! Mozilla!1.x

! Netscape!Navigator!7.0

NOTE As!new!browser!versions!are!released,!VMware!tests!the!VMware!

Management!Interface!for!stability!and!reliability!with!these!versions.!
VMware!makes!every!effort!to!add!support!for!new!browser!versions!in!
a!timely!manner,!but!until!a!browser!is!added!to!the!above!list,!its!use!
with!the!product!is!not!supported.!

Software Requirements – Linux Remote Client

! Standard!Linux!installation!is!required!with!glibc!version!2.1!or!higher!and!one!of!

the!following!kernels:

! For!single‐processor!systems:!kernel!2.0.32!or!higher!in!the!2.0.x!series,!or!

kernel!in!the!2.2.x,!2.4.x!or!2.6.x!series.

! For!SMP!systems:!kernel!in!the!2.2.x,!2.4.x!or!2.6.x!series

NOTE Linux!kernel!2.2.14‐5.0!is!not!supported.!

! Perl!5.005x!or!higher!is!required!to!use!VmPerl!API.

! X!server!is!required!to!run!the!VMw are!Server!Console!on!the!client.

! The!VMware!Management!Interface!requires!one!of!these!browsers:!

! Firefox!1.x

! Mozilla!1.x

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! Netscape!Navigator!7.0

NOTE As!new!browser!versions!are!released,!VMware!tests!the!VMware!

Management!Interface!for!stability!and!reliability!with!these!versions.!
VMware!makes!every!effort!to!add!support!for!new!browser!versions!in!
a!timely!manner,!but!until!a!browser!is!added!to!the!above!list,!its!use!
with!the!product!is!not!supported.

VmPerl and VmCOM APIs

The!VmPerl!API!includes!the!vmware-cmd!utility.!The!VmCOM!API!works!on!Windows!
Server!2003,!Windows!XP,!Windows!2000,!and!Windows!NT!clients!only.!For!more!
information,!go!to!the!VMware!Web!site!at!

http://www.vmware.com/support/developer.

Programming API

VMware!Server!includes!support!for!the!Programming!API.!For!more!information,!go!
to!the!VMware!Web!site!at!http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/server_pubs.

Virtual Machine Specifications

Each!virtual!machine!created!with!VMware!Server!provides!a!platform!that!includes!
the!following!devices!that!your!guest!operating!system!can!see.

Virtual Processor

! Intel!Pentium!II!or!later,!or!AMD!Athlon!or!later,!depending!on!host!processor;!

Intel!EMT64VT!(experimental!support).

! Single!and!multiprocessor!per!virtual!machine!on!symmetric!multiprocessor!

(SMP)!systems.!

Virtual Chipset

! Intel!440BX‐based!motherboard!with!NS338!SIO!chip!and!82093AA!IOAPIC!

Virtu al BIOS

! PhoenixBIOS!4.0!Release!6!with!VESA!BIOS

! DMI/SMBIOS‐compliant!for!system!management!agent!support!

12 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

Virtual Memory

! Up!to!3600MB!of!memory!per!virtual!machine,!depending!upon!the!host!system’s!

configuration,!the!types!of!applications!running!on!the!host,!and!the!amount!of!
memory!on!the!host.

Virtual Graphics

! VGA!and!SVGA!support!

Virtual IDE Drives

! Up!to!four!devices:!disks,!CD‐ROM!or!DVD!(DVD!drives!can!be!used!to!read!data!

DVD!discs).!DVD!video!is!not!supported.

! Hard!disks!can!be!virtual!disks!or!physical!disks.

! IDE!virtual!disks!up!to!950GB.

! CD‐ROM!can!be!a!physical!device!or!an!ISO!image!file.

Virtual SCSI Devices

! Up!to!60!devices!on!up!to!four!virtual!SCSI!controllers.

! SCSI!virtual!disks!up!to!950GB.

! Hard!disks!can!be!virtual!disks!or!physical!disks.

! Generic!SCSI!support!allows!scanners,!CD‐ROM,!DVD‐ROM,!tape!drives,!and!

other!SCSI!devices!to!be!used!without!requiring!drivers!in!the!host!operating!
system.

! Mylex!(BusLogic)!BT‐958!compatible!host!bus!adapter.

! LSI!Logic!Ultra160!LSI53C10xx!SCSI!controller.

Virtual PCI Slots

! Six!virtual!PCI!slots,!to!be!divided!among!the!virtual!SCSI!controllers,!virtual!

Ethernet!cards,!virtual!display!adapter,!and!virtual!sound!adapter.

Virtual Floppy Drives

! Up!to!two!1.44MB!floppy!devices.!

! Physical!drives!or!floppy!image!files.

Virtual Serial (COM) Ports

! Up!to!four!serial!(COM)!ports.!

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! Output!to!serial!ports,!Windows!files,!Linux!files,!or!named!pipes.

Virtual Parallel (LPT) Ports

! Up!to!three!bidirectional!parallel!(LPT)!ports.

! Output!to!parallel!ports!or!host!operating!system!files.!

Virtual USB ports

! Two‐port!USB!1.1!UHCI!controller.

! Supported!devices!include!USB!printers,!scanners,!PDAs,!hard!disk!drives,!

memory!card!readers,!and!still!digital!cameras.

Virtual Keyboard

! 104‐key!Windows!95/98!enhanced!

Virtual Mouse and Drawing Tablets

! PS/2!mouse

! Serial!tablet!support

Virtual Ethernet Card

! Up!to!four!virtual!Ethernet!cards

! AMD!PCnet‐PCI!II!compatible

! Wireless!networking!support!with!bridged!and!NAT!networking

! PXE!ROM!version!2.0

Virtual Networking

! Nine!virtual!Ethernet!switches!(three!configured!by!default!for!bridged,!host‐only!

and!NAT!networking).

! Virtual!networking!supports!most!Ethernet‐based!protocols,!including!TCP/IP,!

NetBEUI,!Microsoft!Networking,!Samba,!Novell!NetWare,!and!Netw ork!File!
System.

! Built‐in!NAT!supports!client!software!using!TCP/IP,!FTP,!DNS,!HTTP,!and!Telnet.

Virtual Sound Adapter

! Sound!output!and!input.

14 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

! Creative!Labs!Sound!Blaster!AudioPCI!emulation.!MIDI!input,!game!controllers,!

and!joysticks!are!not!supported.

Supported Guest Operating Systems

The!operating!systems!listed!here!have!been!tested!in!VMware!Server!virtual!machines!
and!are!officially!supported.!For!notes!on!installing!guest!operating!systems,!see!the!
VMware!Guest!Operating!System!Installation!Guide!which!is!available!from!the!VMware!
Web!site.

VMware!Server!supports!all!guest!operating!systems!supported!by!VMware!
Workstation!
VMware!Server!virtual!machine.

Hardware Requirements for 64-bit Guest Operating Systems

VMware!Server!supports!virtual!machines!with!64‐bit!guest!operating!systems!only!on!
host!machines!that!have!one!of!the!following!64‐bit!processors.

! AMD!Athlon!64,!revision!D!or!later

! AMD!Opteron,!revision!E!or!later

! AMD!Tur ion!64,!revision!E!or!later

! AMD!Sempron,!64‐bit‐capable!revision!D!or!later!(experimental!support)!

! Intel!EM64T!VT‐capable!processors!(experimental!support)!

5.5.!Operating!systems!that!are!not!listed!are!not!supported!for!use!in!a!

VMware!Server!performs!an!internal!check.!If!the!host!CPU!is!not!a!supported!64‐bit!
processor,!VMware!Server!displays!an!error!message!that!indicates!the!hardware!on!
your!host!machine!is!incompatible!with!64‐bit!guest!operating!systems.!You!can,!
however,!continue!to

!power!on!the!virtual!machine.!

VMware!Server!provides!a!standalone!utility!that!performs!the!same!check!and!
determines!whether!your!CPU!is!supported!for!VMware!Server!virtual!machines!with!
64‐bit!guest!operating!systems.!You!can!download!the!64‐bit!processor!check!utility!
from!the!VMware!Web!site!at!http://www.vmware.com/download.

Microsoft Windows 64-bit Guest Operating Systems

! Microsoft!Windows!Vista!(experimental!support)

! Microsoft!Windows!Server!2003!Enterprise,!Standard,!and!Web!Editions,!R2

! Microsoft!Windows!Server!Enterprise!2003!Enterprise,!Standard,!and!Web!

Editions,!SP1!

! Microsoft!Windows!XP!Professional!

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Linux 64-bit Guest Operating Systems

! Mandriva!Linux!2006

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!3.0,!including!stock!2.4.21,!update!2.4.21‐15,!and

updates!6,!and!7

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!3.0,!update!8!(experimental!support)

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!4.0,!including!update!3

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!4.0,!update!4!(experimenetal!support)

! SUSE!Linux!9.1!stock!2.6.4‐52

! SUSE!Linux!9.2,!including!SP1

! SUSE!Linux!9.3

! SUSE!Linux!10

! SUSE!Linux!10.1

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!9,!including!SP1,!SP2,!and!SP3

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!10!(experimental!support)

FreeBSD

! FreeBSD!5.3!and!5.4

! FreeBSD!6.0

Sun Solaris

! Solaris!10,!including!update!1!and!update!2!(experimental!support)

Ubuntu

! Ubuntu!Linux!5.04!and!5.10

! Ubuntu!Linux!6.06!(experimental!support)

Hardware Requirements for 32-bit Guest Operating Systems

VMware!Server!supports!virtual!machines!with!the!following!32‐bit!guest!operating!
systems.

Microsoft Windows 32-bit Guest Operating Systems

! Microsoft!Windows!Server!2003,!including!Small!Business,!Standard,!and!Web!

Editions

16 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

! Microsoft!Windows!Server!2003!Enterprise!Edition,!including!R2

! Microsoft!Windows!XP!Professional!and!Home!Editions,!including!SP1!and!SP2

! Microsoft!Windows!Vista!(experimental!support)

! Microsoft!Windows!2000!Professional,!including!SP1,!SP2,!SP3,!and!SP4

! Microsoft!Windows!2000!Server,!including!SP1,!SP2,!SP3,!and!SP4

! Microsoft!Windows!2000!Advanced!Server,!SP3!and!SP4!only

! Microsoft!Windows!NT!4.0!Server!Service!Pack!6a,!Windows!NT!Workstation!4.0,!

including!Service!Pack!6a,!and!Windows!NT!4.0!Terminal!Server!Edition!Service!
Pack!6a

! Microsoft!Windows!Me

! Microsoft!Windows!98,!including!all!service!packs

! Microsoft!Windows!98!SE

! Microsoft!Windows!95,!including!SP!1!and!all!OSR!releases

! Microsoft!Windows!for!Wor k g r o u p s !3.11

! Microsoft!Windows!3.1

Microsoft MS-DOS

! MS‐DOS!6.x

Linux 32-bit Guest Operating Systems

! Mandriva!Linux!2006

! Mandrake!Linux!10.1

! Mandrake!Linux!9.2

! Mandrake!Linux!9!stock!2.4.19

! Mandrake!Linux!3.2!stock!2.4.18‐6mdk

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!3.0!AS,!ES,!and!WS,!including!updates!1,!2,!3,!4,!5,!6,!

and!7)

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!3.0!update!8!(experimental!support)

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!4.0!AS,!ES,!and!WS,!including!updates!1,!2,!and!3

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!4.0!update!4!(experimental!support)

! Red!Hat!Enterprise!Linux!2.1!AS,!ES,!and!WS,!including!stock!2.4.9‐e3

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! Red!Hat!Linux!9.0,!stock!2.4.20‐8!and!upgrade!2.4.20‐20.9

! Red!Hat!Linux!8.0!stock!2.4.18

! Red!Hat!Linux!7.3!stock!2.4.18

! Red!Hat!Linux!7.2,!stock!2.4.7‐10!and!upgrades!2.4.9‐7,!2.4.9‐13,!2.4.9‐21,!

and!2.4.9‐31

! Red!Hat!Linux!7.1!stock!2.4.2‐2!and!upgrade!2.2.3‐12

! Red!Hat!Linux!7.0!stock!2.2.16‐22!and!upgrade!2.2.17‐14

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!10!(experimental!support)

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!9,!including!SP1,!SP2,!and!SP3

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!8!stock!2.4.19

! SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!7!stock!2.4.7!and!patch!2

! SUSE!Linux!10

! SUSE!Linux!10.1!

! SUSE!Linux!9.0!stock!2.4.21‐99

! SUSE!Linux!9.1!stock!2.6.4‐52

! SUSE!Linux!9.2,!including!SP1

! SUSE!Linux!9.3

! SUSE!Linux!8.2!stock!2.4.20

! SUSE!Linux!8.1!stock!2.4.19

! SUSE!Linux!8.0!stock!2.4.18

! SUSE!Linux!7.3!stock!2.4.10

! Novell!Linux!Desktop!9,!including!SP2

! Novell!Open!Enterprise!Server,!including!SP1

! Tur b o l i n u x!Enterprise!Server!8.0

! Tur b o l i n u x!Server!7.0

! Tur b o l i n u x!Workstation!8.0

! Tur b o l i n u x!Desktop!10

18 VMware, Inc.

Novell NetWare

! NetWare!4.2!

! NetWare!5.1,!SP8!only

! NetWare!6,!SP!5!only

! Netware!6.5,!SP3!only

FreeBSD

! FreeBSD!4.0–4.6.2

! FreeBSD!4.8

! FreeBSD!5

! Free!BSD!5.1‐5.3

! Free!BSD!5.4

! FreeBSD!6.0!

Sun Solaris

! Solaris!9!(experimental!support)

! Solaris!10,!including!update!1!and!update!2!

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

Ubuntu

! Ubuntu!Linux!5.04!and!5.10

! Ubuntu!Linux!6.06!

Technical Support Resources

The!following!sections!describe!various!technical!support!resources!available!to!you.

! “Self‐Service!Support”

! “Online!and!Tel e p h o ne!Support”

! “Support!Offerings”

! “Reporting!Problems”

! “Log!Files”

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Self-Service Support

Use!the!VMware!Technology!Network!for!self!help!tools!and!technical!information:

! Product!Information!—!http://www.vmware.com/products/product_index.html

! Tec h n o l o g y!Information!—!http://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/technology

! Documentation!—!http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs

! Knowledge!Base!—!http://www.vmware.com/support/kb

! Discussion!Forums!—!http://www.vmware.com/community

! User!Groups!—!http://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/usergroups.html

For!more!information!about!the!VMware!Technology!Network,!go!to!

http://www.vmtn.net.

Online and Telephone Support

Use!online!support!to!submit!technical!support!requests,!view!your!product!and!
contract!information,!and!register!your!products.!Go!to!

http://www.vmware.com/support.

Use!phone!support!for!the!fastest!response!on!priority!1!issues!for!customers!with!
appropriate!support!contracts.!Go!to!

http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html.

Support Offerings

Find!out!how!VMwareʹs!support!offerings!can!help!you!meet!your!business!needs.!Go!
to!http://www.vmware.com/support/services.

Reporting Problems

If!you!have!problems!while!running!VMware!Server,!report!them!to!the!VMware!
support!team.!You!must!register!your!serial!number!and!then!you!can!report!your!
problems!by!submitting!a!support!request!at!

http://www.vmware.com/requestsupport.

This!section!describes!the!information!needed!to!diagnose!and!report!problems.!This!
information!largely!comes!from
problem!you!encounter.!

You!can!simplify!the!process!of!collecting!the!needed!information!by!running!the!
support!script!to!collect!the!appropriate!log!files!and!system!information.!Follow!the!
steps!that!apply!to!your!host!computer.

20 VMware, Inc.

!log!files.!The!required!log!files!depend!upon!the!

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

NOTE The!support!script!runs!only!on!the!VMware!Server!host.!If!you!encounter!

problems!on!a!remote!client,!you!must!supply!the!log!files!manually.!The!
required!log!files!depend!on!the!problem!encountered!on!the!client.!You!
should!include!the!VMware!Server!Console!log!file!and!the!installation!log!
files.!

To run the support script on a Windows host

1Open!a!command!prompt.

2 Change!to!the!VMware!Server!program!directory.

C:
cd \Program Files\VMware\VMware Server

If!you!did!not!install!the!program!in!the!default!directory,!use!the!appropriate!
drive!letter!and!substitute!the!appropriate!path!in!the!cd!command!above.

3Run!the!support!script.

cscript vm-support.vbs

After!the!script!runs,!it!displays!the!name!of

!the!directory!where!it!has!stored!its!

output.!

4Use!a!file!compression!utility!such!as!WinZip!or!PKZIP!to!zip!that!directory,!and!

include!the!zip!file!with!your!support!request.!

To run the support script on a Linux host

1Open!a!terminal.

2Run!the!support!script!as!the!user!who!is!running!the!virtual!machine!or!as!root.

vm-support

If

!you!do!not!run!the!script!as!root,!the!script!displays!messages!indicating!that!it!
cannot!collect!some!information.!This!is!normal.!If!the!VMware!support!team!
needs!that!information,!a!support!representative!may!ask!you!to!run!the!script!
again!as!root.

The!script!creates!a!compressed.tgz!file!in!

the!current!directory.!

3Include!the!output!file!with!your!support!request.!

Log Files

The!following!log!files!are!generated!by!VMware!Server!and!are!collected!by!the!
support!script!as!needed.!Because!the!VMware!Server!Console!does!not!include!a!
support!script,!you!need!to!submit!a!support!request!at!

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VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

http://www.vmware.com/requestsupport!for!any!issues!you!encounter!on!a!client!and!

include!the!VMware!Server!Console’s!log!file!or!its!installation!log!files.

Virtual Machine Log File

If!a!virtual!machine!exits!abnormally!or!crashes,!run!the!support!script!or!save!the!log!
file!before!you!launch!that!virtual!machine!again.

On!a!Windows!host,!the!vmware.log!file!is!in!the!same!directory!as!the!configuration!file!
(.vmx)!of!the!virtual!machine.!The!path!to!the!log!
located!under!Virtual!Machine!>!Settings!>!Options!>!Advanced.

On!a!Linux!host,!the!<vmname>.log!file!is!in!the!same!directory!as!the!configuration!file!
(.vmx)!of!the!virtual!machine.!

Also!save!any!core!files!(core!or!vmware-core).

Virtual Machine Event Log File

The!virtual!machine’s!event!log,!some!of!which!can!be!viewed!in!the!VMware!
Management!Interface,!is!stored!as!a!file!on!the!host.!This!file!can!also!be!useful!in!the!
event!a!virtual!machine!crashes.!

Each!virtual!machine!on!the!host!includes!an!event!log!file!called!
event-<path_to_configuration_file>.vmx.log.

file!of!the!active!virtual!machine!is!

On

!a!Windows!host,!the!log!is!stored!in!C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware

Server\vmserverdRoot\eventlog.!

On!a!Linux!host,!the!log!is!stored!in!/var/log/vmware.!

VMware Server Console Log File

The!VMware!Server!Console!keeps!a!log.!If!you!encounter!problems!with!the!VMware!
Server!Console!on!a!remote!client,!submit!a!support!request!and!this!log!file.

On!a!Windows!host,!the!log!is!called!vmware-<username>-<PID>.log!and!is!stored!in!the!
user’s!TEMP!directory;!by!default,!this!directory!is!C:\Documents and

Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Temp

dialog!box.!In!the!VMware!Server!Console,!choose!Help!>!About!VMware!Server,!and!
look!under!Additional!information.

On!a!Linux!host,!the!log!is!called!ui-<PID>.log!and!is!stored!in!the!user’s!TEMP!
directory;!by!default,!this!directory!is!
appears!in!the!terminal!when!you!start!the!VMware!Server!Console.

22 VMware, Inc.

.!The!path!to!this!file!appears!in!the!About!

/tmp/vmware-<username>.!The!path!to!this!file!

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

VMware Management Interface Log File

The!VMware!Management!Interface!keeps!a!log.

On!a!Windows!host,!the!log!is!called!mui.log!and!is!stored!by!default!in!C:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware Management Interface.!

On!a!Linux!host,!the!log!is!called!error_log!and!is!stored!by!default!in!
/var/log/vmware-mui.

VMware Authorization Service Log File

You!can!manually!enable!logging!for!the!VMware!Authorization!Service,!known!as!
vmware-authd!on!Linux!hosts.

To enable logging for VMware Authorization Service

1In!a!text!editor,!open!the!following!file:

! On!a!Windows!host!–!edit config.ini!located!in!C:\Documents and

Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Server

! On!a!Linux!host!–!edit!/etc/vmware/config

2Add!the!following!lines!to!the!file:!

vmauthd.logEnabled = TRUE
log.vmauthdFileName = "vmauthd.log"

A!file!is!created!called!vmauthd.log.!On!a!Windows!host,!this!file!appears!by!
default!in!C:\Windows\system32!or!C:\WINNT\system32;!on!a!Linux!host,!this!file!
appears!by!default!in!/var/log/vmware.

3 Save!and!close!the!configuration!file.

!

The!log!is!enabled!on!a!Linux!host.

4On!a!Windows!host,!choose!Start!>!Administrative!Tools!>!Services.

5Right‐click!VMware!Authorization!Service!and!choose!Restart.

The!log!is!enabled!on!a!Windows!host.

VMware Registration Service Log File

The!VMware!Registration!Service!keeps!a!log.

On!a!Windows!host,!the!log!is!called!vmware-serverd.log!and!is!stored!in!
C:\Windows\Temp.

On!a!Linux!host,!the!log!is!called!vmware-serverd.log!and!is!stored!in!/var/log/vmware.

VMware, Inc. 23

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

VMware Server and VMware Server Console Installation Log Files

VMware!Server!keeps!installation!log!files!on!the!server!host.!

On!a!remote!client,!the!VMware!Server!Console!keeps!two!installation!log!files.!If!you!
encounter!problems!installing!the!VMware!Server!Console,!submit!a!support!request!
including!the!names!of!these!log!files.

On!a!Windows!host,!the!files!are!vminst.log and vmmsi.log which are saved
TEMP!directory;!the!default!location!is!C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local
Settings\Temp.!The!Local Settings!folder!is!hidden!by!default.!To!see!its!contents,!
open!My!Computer,!choose!Tools!>!Folder!Options,!click!the!View!tab!and!select!
Show!Hidden!Files!and!Folders.!

On!a!Linux!host,!the!log!is!called!locations

!and!is!stored!in!/etc/vmware.

!in!your!

24 VMware, Inc.

CHAPTER 2 Creating a New Virtual Machine

This!chapter!describes!how!to!create!a!new!virtual!machine!and!covers!the!following!
topics:

! “Setting!Up!a!New!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 25

! “Installing!a!Guest!Operating!System”!on!page 37

Setting Up a New Virtual Machine

The!New!Virtual!Machine!Wizard!guides!you!through!the!key!steps!for!setting!up!a!
new!virtual!machine,!helping!you!set!various!options!and!parameters.!You!can!then!use!
the!virtual!machine!settings!editor!(VM!>!Settings)!to!make!any!changes!to!your!virtual!
machine’s!setup.

! To!create!a!new!virtual!machine! from!a!console,!see!“Creating!a!New!Virtual!

Machine!with!the!Virtual!Machine!Wizard”!on!page 27.

NOTE You!must!use!the!VMware!Server!Console!to!create!a!virtual!machine.!

What’s in a Virtual Machine?

The!virtual!machine!typically!is!stored!on!the!host!computer!in!a!set!of!files,!all!of!which!
are!in!a!directory!set!aside!for!that!particular!virtual!machine.!In!these!examples,!
<vmname>!is!the!name!of!your!virtual!machine.!The!key!files!are:!

! <vmname>.vmx!—!The!configuration!file,!which!stores!settings!chosen!in!the!New!

Virtual!Machine!Wizard!or!virtual!machine!settings!editor.!

! nvram!—!The!file!that!stores!the!state!of!the!virtual!machine’s!BIOS.

! <vmname>.vmdk!—!The!virtual!disk!file,!which!stores!the!contents!of!the!virtual!

machine’s!hard!disk!drive.!

! <vmname>.log!or!vmware.log!—!The!file!that!keeps!a!log!of!key!virtual!machine!

activity.!This!file!can!be!useful!in!troubleshooting!if!you!encounter!problems.!This!
file!is!stored!in!the!directory!that!holds!the!configuration!file!(.vmx)!of!the!virtual!
machine.

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VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

! <vmname>.vmdk.REDO_xxxxxx!—!A!redo‐log!file!created!automatically!when!a!

virtual!machine!is!in!independent‐nonpersistent!mode.!This!file!stores!changes!
made!to!a!virtual!disk!while!the!virtual!machine!is!running.!More!than!one!such!
file!might!exist.!The!xxxxxx!indicates!a!unique!suffix!added!automatically!by!
VMware!Server!to

! <vmname>.vmss!—!The!suspended!state!file,!which!stores!the!state!of!a!suspended!

virtual!machine.

NOTE Some!earlier!VMware!products!used!the!extension!.std!for!suspended!

state!files.

! <vmname>.vmsn!—!The!snapshot!state!file,!which!stores!the!running!state!of!a!virtual!

machine!at!the!time!you!take!a!snapshot!of!it.

There!might!also!be!other!files,!some!of!which!are!present!only!while!a!virtual!machine!
is!running.

Virtu al Disks

A!virtual!disk!is!made!up!of!one!or!more!.vmdk!files.!If!you!specify!to!split!the!virtual!
disk!into!2GB!files,!the!number!of!.vmdk!files!depends!on!the!size!of!the!virtual!disk.

By!default,!all!virtual!disk!space!is!preallocated!when!you!create!the!virtual!disk.!Make!
sure!you!have!enough!disk!space!on!the!host!before!you!create!a!preallocated!disk.

!avoid!duplicate!filenames.

If!you!do!not!allocate!all!disk!space!when!you!create!the!virtual!disk,!the!.vmdk!files!
grow!in!size!as!data!is!added!to!the!virtual!disk.!Almost!all!of!a!.vmdk!file’s!content!is!
the!virtual!machine’s!data,!with!a!small!portion!allotted!to!virtual!machine!overhead.!

If!the!virtual!machine!is!connected!directly!to!a!physical!disk,!rather!than!to!a!virtual!
disk,!the!.vmdk!file!stores!information!about!the!partitions!the!virtual!machine!is!
allowed!to!access.

NOTE Earlier!VMware!products!used!the!extension!.dsk!for!virtual!disk!files.

Permissions and Running Virtual Machines

When!you!create!a!virtual!machine,!by!default!the!virtual!machine!is!private,!which!
means!you!are!the!only!user!who!can!access!it.!If!you!choose!the!custom!path!when!
creating!the!virtual!machine,!you!can!specify!that!all!users!can!access!the!virtual!
machine.

When!a!virtual!machine!is!
user!who!created!it.!The!virtual!machine!does!not!appear!in!the!inventory!of!consoles!

26 VMware, Inc.

private,!it!appears!only!in!the!inventory!of!the!console!of!the!

Chapter 2 Creating a New Virtual Machine

for!other!users!connected!to!the!host.!The!virtual!machine!appears!in!the!VMware!
Management!Interface!only!when!you!are!logged!on!as!the!user!who!created!the!virtual!
machine.

When!the!virtual!machine!is!running,!the!actions!you!can!take!depend!on!your!
permissions.!For!more!information!about!permissions,!see!

Permissions!and!Virtual!Machines”.

“Understanding!

Creating a New Virtual Machine with the Virtual Machine Wizard

When!you!create!a!new!virtual!machine,!the!result!is!a!set!of!files!that!represent!a!new!
computer,!complete!with!a!blank,!unformatted!hard!disk—the!virtual!disk—onto!
which!you!install!the!guest!operating!system.!The!virtual!disk!by!default!has!all!its!disk!
space!preallocated!at!the!time!it!is

The!virtual!machines!you!create!are!located!on!the!host!to!which!you!are!currently!
logged!on,!even!if!the!console!you!are!using!is!running!on!a!remote!client.

NOTE Before!you!create!the!virtual!machine,!check!the!installation!notes!for!the!guest!

operating!system!you!intend!to!install.!You!can!find!this!information!in!the!
VMware!Guest!Operating!System!Installation!Guide!available!from!the!VMware!
Web!site!at!www.vmware.com/support/guestnotes/doc/index.html.

To create a new virtual machine

!created.

1 Launch!the!VMware!Server!Console.

Windows!hosts:!See!“Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!Windows!Host!or!

Client”!on!page 82.

Linux!hosts:!See!“Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!Linux!Host!or!Client”!
on!page 84.

2Start!the!New!Virtual!Machine!Wizard.!Choose!File!>!New!

click!the!New!Virtual!Machine!icon!on!the!console!Home!tab.

VMware, Inc. 27

>!Virtual!Machine!or!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

3 Select!the!method!to!use!for!configuring!your!virtual!machine.

If!you!select!Typical,!you!can!specify!or!accept!defaults!only!for:

! The!guest!operating!system.

! The!virtual!machine!name!and!the!location!of!the!virtual!machine’s!files.

! The!network!connection!type.

! The!size!of!the!virtual!disk.

! Allocating!all!the!disk!space!for!the!virtual!disk!at!the!time!you!create!it.

! Splitting!the!virtual!disk!into!2GB!files.

Select!Custom!to:

! Set!the!number!of!processors,!which!is!required!to!enable!two‐way!Virtual!

SMP!(experimental!support).

! Allocate!an!amount!of!memory!different!from!the!default.

! Choose!between!the!LSI!Logic!and!BusLogic!types!of!SCSI!adapters.!(An!

ATAPI!IDE!adapter!is!always!installed.)

! Let!other!users!access!this!virtual!machine.

! Have!the!virtual!machine!automatically!power!on!or!off!when!the!VMware!

Server!Windows!host!starts!up!or!shuts!down.

! Specify!the!user!account!the!virtual!machine!uses!when!running.

! Use!an!existing!virtual!disk!or!use!a!physical!disk!rather!than!a!virtual!disk!(for!

advanced!users).

! Use!an!IDE!virtual!disk!for!a!guest!operating!system!that!would!otherwise!

have!a!SCSI!virtual!disk!created!by!default!and!vice!versa.

28 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Creating a New Virtual Machine

! Create!a!virtual!disk!as!a!single!disk!file.!If!the!virtual!disk!is!larger!than!8GB,!

the!host!file!system!must!support!files!larger!than!8GB.

! Store!your!virtual!disk!files!in!a!particular!location.

! Specify!a!particular!virtual!device!node!for!the!virtual!disk.

! Use!independent!disk!mode!(if!you!don’t!plan!to!use!snapshots!with!this!

virtual!machine;!see!“Independent!Disks”!on!page 121).

NOTE If!you!follow!the!custom!path,!you!still!specify!the!options!under!the!

typical!path.

4Under!Guest!operating!system,!select!the!operating!system!family.!Select!the!

specific!operating!system!from!the!Version!list.

NOTE VMware!Server!supports!64‐bit!guests.!The!Wizard!includes!options!for!

installing!64‐bit!versions!of!certain!operating!systems.!

VMware!Server!performs!an!internal!check.!If!the!host!CPU!is!not!a!supported!
64‐bit!processor,!VMware!Server!displays!an!error!message!that!indicates!the!
hardware!on!your!host!machine!is!incompatible!with!64‐bit!guest!operating!
systems.!You!can,!however,!continue

!to!power!on!the!virtual!machine.!

VMware!Server!provides!a!standalone!utility!to!use!without!VMware!Server!that!
performs!the!same!check!and!determines!whether!your!CPU!is!supported!for!
VMware!Server!virtual!machines!with!64‐bit!guest!operating!systems.!You!can!
download!the!64‐bit!processor!check!utility!from!

the!VMware!Web!site!at!

www.vmware.com/download.

In!this!example,!the!remaining!steps!assume!you!plan!to!install!a!Windows!Server!
2003!Enterprise!guest!operating!system.!You!can!find!detailed!installation!notes!for!
this!and!other!guest!operating!systems!in!the!VMware!Guest!Operating!System!
Installation!Guide,!available!from!the!VMware!

Web!site!at!

www.vmware.com/support/guestnotes/doc/index.html.

VMware, Inc. 29

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

If!the!operating!system!you!are!using!is!not!listed,!select!Other!as!both!the!guest!
operating!system!and!version.

The!New!Virtual!Machine!Wizard!uses!this!information!to!select!appropriate!
default!values,!such!as!the!amount!of!memory!needed.!The!Wizard!also!uses!this!
information!when!naming!associated!virtual!machine

NOTE VMware!Server!supports!64‐bit!guests.!The!Wizard!includes!options!for!

installing!64‐bit!versions!of!certain!operating!systems.!

5 Select!a!name!and!directory!for!the!virtual!machine.

!files.

Windows!hosts:!The!virtual!machine!directory!and!its!files!are!stored!in!the!default!
location!<installdrive>:\Virtual Machines.

Linux!hosts:!The!virtual!machine!directory!and!its!files!are!stored!in!the!default!
location!/var/lib/vmware/Virtual Machines.!

If!you

!selected!Typical!as!your!configuration!path,!go!to!step!10.

If!you!selected!Custom!as!your!configuration!path,!continue!with!the!steps!for!
customizing!your!virtual!machine!configuration.

30 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Creating a New Virtual Machine

6Specify!whether!this!virtual!machine!should!be!private.

By!default,!a!virtual!machine!is!private,!so!only!you!have!access!to!it.!

7 Choose!the!user!account!for!running!the!virtual!machine!(for!virtual!machines!on!

Windows!hosts!only)!and!the!host!startup!and!shutdown!options.

Windows!hosts:!Under!Virtual!machine!account,!

choose!which!user!account!the!
virtual!machine!uses!when!it!runs.!This!account!is!used!for!actions!like!network!
access!from!within!the!virtual!machine!and!access!to!virtual!machine!resources!
that!are!on!the!network.

! User!that!powers!on!the!virtual!machine!—!The!virtual!machine!runs!as!the!

account!of!the!user!who!powered!on!the!virtual!machine!until!the!virtual!
machine!is!powered!off.!Other!users!can!connect!to!the!virtual!machine!but!it!
still!runs!as!the!user!who!powered!on!the!virtual

! Local!system!account!—The!virtual!machine!runs!as!the!local!system!account!

!machine.

(administrator).!You !can!enable!this!option!only!if!you!are!logged!on!to!the!
host!operating!system!as!an!administrator.

NOTE This!user!can!run!virtual!machines!that!are!in!local!storage!only.

! This!user!—!The!virtual!machine!runs!as!the!user!account!specified!here.!The!

password!is!not!validated!until!you!power!on!the!virtual!machine.!You !can!

VMware, Inc. 31

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

specify!a!local!user!account,!a!local!system!administrator!account!or!a!
fully‐qualified!domain!user!account!for!this!user.

All!hosts:!Under!Startup/Shutdown!Options,!choose!whether!this!virtual!
machine!powers!on!automatically!when!the!VMware!Server!host!starts!up!and!
powers!off!when!the!host!shuts!down.!

To!enable!the

!startup!and!shutdown!options,!you!must!configure!the!virtual!
machine!to!run!as!an!administrator!user.!You!can!change!these!options!whether!the!
virtual!machine!is!powered!on!or!off.

8Specify!the!number!of!processors!for!the!virtual!machine.

The!following!are!considered!to!have!two!logical!processors:

! A!single‐processor!host!with!hyperthreading!enabled.

! A!single‐processor!host!with!a!dual‐core!CPU

! A!multiprocessor!host!with!two!CPUs,!neither!of!which!are!dual‐core!or!have!

hyperthreading!enabled.

9Use!the!default!or!change!the!amount!of!memory!allocated!to!the!virtual!machine.!

To!change!the!amount!of!memory,!move!the!slider!to!the!appropriate!location,!use!
the!spin!controller!next!to!the!field,!

or!type!a!new!value!in!the!field.

32 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Creating a New Virtual Machine

The!New!Virtual!Machine!Wizard!provides!a!default!value!based!on!your!guest!
operating!system!selection,!as!well!as!the!recommended!range!and!the!total!
amount!of!memory!all!running!virtual!machines!can!use.!

The!Wizard!also!indicates!the!minimum!amount!of!memory!recommended!by!the!
manufacturer!and!the!VMware!Server
performance!of!your!virtual!machine!on!this!server!host.

CAUTION You!cannot!allocate!more!than!2000MB!of!memory!to!a!virtual!

machine!if!it!is!stored!on!a!file!system!that!cannot!support!files!larger!
than!2GB,!such!as!FAT16.!You!will!not!be!able!to!power!on!such!a!
virtual!machine.!Further,!you!cannot!allocate!more!than!2000MB!of!
memory
even!though!it!does!support!files!up!to!4GB!in!size.

10 Configure!the!networking!capabilities!of!the!virtual!machine.

!to!a!virtual!machine!if!it!is!stored!on!a!FAT32!file!system,!

!recommended!maximum!value!for!best!

If!your!host!computer!is!on!a!network!and!you!have!a!separate!IP!address!for!your!
virtual!machine!(or!can!get!one!automatically!from!a!DHCP!server),!select!Use!
bridged!networking.

If

!you!do!not!have!a!separate!IP!address!for!your!virtual!machine!but!you!want!to!

be!able!to!connect!to!the!Internet,!select!Use!network!address!translation!(NAT).!
NAT!is!useful!if!you!have!a!wireless!network!adapter!on!a!Linux!host!(as!bridged!
networking!on!wireless!network!adapters
also!allows!for!the!sharing!of!files!between!the!virtual!machine!and!the!host!
operating!system.

To!enable!your!virtual!machine!to!use!a!virtual!network!limited!to!the!host!and!the!
virtual!machines!on!the!host!using!only!the!host‐only!network!adapter,
host‐only!networking.

If!you!selected!Typical!as!your!configuration!path,!go!to!step!14.

VMware, Inc. 33

!is!supported!only!on!Windows!hosts).!It!

!select!Use!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

If!you!selected!Custom!as!your!configuration!path,!continue!with!the!steps!for!
customizing!your!virtual!machine!configuration.

11 Choose!the!type!of!SCSI!adapter!to!use!with!the!virtual!machine.

You!cannot!change!the!SCSI!adapter!type!after!you!create!the!virtual!machine.

12 Select!the!disk!to!use!with!the!virtual!machine.

To

!use!a!new,!unformatted!virtual!disk,!select!Create!a!new!virtual!disk.

To!use!an!existing!virtual!disk!with!this!virtual!machine,!select!Use!an!existing!
virtual!disk.!Browse!to!select!the!disk.

To!install!the!guest!operating!system!on!a!physical!(also!called!raw)!IDE!disk,!select!

Use!a!

physical!disk.!To!use!a!physical!SCSI!disk,!add!it!to!the!virtual!machine!later!

with!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor!(VM!>!Settings).!Booting!from!a!physical!
SCSI!disk!is!not!supported.!

To!install!your!guest!operating!system!directly!on!an!existing!IDE!disk!partition,!
read!the!reference!
on!page 146.

34 VMware, Inc.

note!“Installing!an!Operating!System!onto!a!Physical!Partition”!

Chapter 2 Creating a New Virtual Machine

CAUTION VMware!recommends!that!only!advanced!users!use!physical!disks!

with!virtual!machines.!

13 Select!whether!you!want!the!virtual!disk!to!be!an!IDE!disk!or!a!SCSI!disk.

The!Wizard!recommends!the!best!choice!based!on!the!guest!operating!system!you!
selected.!

14 Enter!the!size!of!the!virtual!disk!that!you!want!to!create.!

If!this!setting!is!larger!than!
warning!message!appears,!and!specifies!how!much!space!you!have!on!the!host.!If!
the!disk!will!exceed!the!available!space!on!the!host,!you!must!make!the!virtual!disk!
smaller!or!clear!the!Allocate!all!disk!space!now!check!box.

Your!virtual!disk!can!be!as!small!as!0.1GB!(100MB).

VMware, Inc. 35

the!space!available!on!the!host!machine’s!hard!disk,!a!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

15 Specify!the!name!and!location!of!the!virtual!disk’s!files.

To!specify!which!virtual!device!node!should!be!used!by!your!virtual!disk!or!to!use!
independent!disk!mode,!click!Advanced.

CAUTION The!independent!disk!option!should!be!used!only!by!advanced!users!

who!need!it!for!special‐purpose!configurations.

You!have!the!following!options!for!an!independent!disk:

! Persistent!—!changes!are!immediately!and!permanently!written!to!the!disk.

! Nonpersistent!—!changes!to!the!disk!are!discarded!when!you!power!off!or!

reset!the!virtual!machine.

16 Click!Finish.!VMware!Server!creates!the!virtual!machine.

Your!new!virtual!machine!is!like!a!physical!computer!with!a!blank!hard!disk.!Before!
you!can!use!it,!you!need!to!partition!and!format!the!

virtual!disk!and!install!an!operating!
system.!The!operating!system’s!installation!program!might!handle!the!partitioning!and!
formatting!steps!for!you.!

36 VMware, Inc.

Installing a Guest Operating System

A!new!virtual!machine!is!like!a!physical!computer!with!a!blank!hard!disk.!Before!you!
can!use!it,!you!need!to!partition!and!format!the!virtual!disk!and!install!an!operating!
system.!The!operating!system’s!installation!program!can!handle!the!partitioning!and!
formatting!steps!for!you.

Chapter 2 Creating a New Virtual Machine

Installing!a!guest!operating!
essentially!the!same!as!installing!it!on!a!physical!computer.!The!basic!steps!for!a!typical!
operating!system!are:

1 Launch!the!VMware!Server!Console.

2Insert!the!installation!CD‐ROM!or!floppy!disk!for!your!guest!operating!system.

NOTE If!you!plan!to!use!a!PXE!server!to!install!the!guest!operating!system!over!

a!network!connection,!you!don’t!need!the!operating!system!installation!
media.!When!you!power!on!the!virtual!machine!in!the!next!step,!the!
virtual!machine!detects!the!PXE!server,!if!one!is!available!on!the!network.
For!more!information,!see!“Using!PXE!with!Virtual!Machines”!on!
page 100.

In!some!host!configurations,!the!virtual!machine!is!not!able!to!boot!from!the!
installation!CD‐ROM.!You!can!work!around!that!problem!by!creating!an!ISO!
image!file!from!the!installation!CD‐ROM.!Use!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor!
(VM!>!Settings)!to!connect!the!virtual!machine’s!CD‐
file,!then!power!on!the!virtual!machine.

3Power!on!your!virtual!machine!by!clicking!the!Power!On!button.

4Follow!the!instructions!provided!by!the!operating!system!vendor.

For!a!brief!illustration!of!installing!a!Windows!Server!2003!guest!operating!system,!see!

“Example:!Installing!Windows!Server!2003!

describes!the!process!on!a!Windows!host.!The!steps!are!the!same!on!a!Linux!host.

system!inside!your!VMware!Server!virtual!machine!is!

ROM!drive!to!the!ISO!image!

as!a!Guest!OS”!on!page 37.!The!example!

!

For!information!on!installing!other!guest!operating!systems,!see!the!VMware!Guest!
Operating!System!Installation!Guide,!available!from!the!VMware!Web!site!at!

www.vmware.com/support/guestnotes/doc/index.html.

Example: Installing Windows Server 2003 as a Guest OS

You!can!install!Windows!Server!2003!Standard!Edition,!Enterprise!Edition,!or!Web!
Edition!in!a!virtual!machine!using!the!corresponding!Windows!Server!2003!
distribution!CD.!

VMware, Inc. 37

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

To install Windows Server 2003 as a guest OS

1Insert!the!Windows!Server!2003!CD!in!the!CD‐ROM!drive.!

2Power!on!the!virtual!machine!to!start!installing!Windows!Server!2003.

3If!you!enabled!the!virtual!machine’s!Ethernet!adapter,!an!AMD!PCNET!Family!

Ethernet!Adapter!is!detected!and!set!up!automatically.

4Follow!the!installation!steps!as!you!would!for!a!

After!installing!your!guest!operating!system,!you!are!ready!to!install!VMware!Tools!as!
described!in!“Installing!VMware!Tools”!on!page 41.

For!more!information!about!using!Windows!Server!2003!guest!operating!systems,!such!
as!enabling!networking!in!the!virtual!machine,!see!the!VMware!Guest!Operating!System!
Installation!Guide,!available!

from!the!VMware!Web!site.

physical!computer.

38 VMware, Inc.

CHAPTER 3 Using VMware Tools

This!chapter!describes!how!to!install!and!run!VMware!Tools!and!covers!the!following!
topics:

! “A b o u t !VMware!Tools”!on!page 39

! “Installing!VMware!Tools”!on!page 41

! “Executing!Scripts!When!the!Virtual!Machine’s!Power!State!Changes”!on!page 55

! “Configuring!VMware!Tools”!on!page 56

! “A b o u t !the!VMware!Tools!Service”!on!page 68

About VMware Tools

VMware!Tools!is!a!suite!of!utilities!that!enhances!the!performance!of!the!virtual!
machineʹs!guest!operating!system!and!improves!management!of!the!virtual!machine!by!
VMware!Server.!It!is!very!important!that!you!install!VMware!Tools!in!the!guest!
operating!system.!Although!VMware!Server!can!run!a!guest!operating
VMware!Tools,!you!lose!important!functionality!and!convenience.!

!system!without!

When you install VMware Tools, you install:

! The!VMware!Tools!service!(or!vmware-guestd!on!Linux!guests).

! A!set!of!VMware!device!drivers,!including!an!SVGA!display!driver,!the!vmxnet!

networking!driver!for!some!guest!operating!systems,!the!BusLogic!SCSI!driver!for!
some!guest!operating!systems,!and!the!VMware!mouse!driver.

! The!VMware!Tools!control!panel!that!lets!you!modify!settings,!shrink!virtual!disks,!

and!connect!and!disconnect!virtual!devices.

! A!set!of!scripts!that!help!automate!guest!operating!system!operations.!The!scripts!

run!when!the!virtual!machine’s!power!state!changes.

! A!component!that!supports!copying!and!pasting!text!between!the!guest!and!host!

operating!systems.

VMware!Tools!performs!various!duties!within!the!guest!operating!system,!such!as!
passing!messages!from!the!host!operating!system!to!the!guest!operating!system,!
sending!a!heartbeat!to!VMware!Server,!grabbing!and!releasing!the!mouse!cursor,!

VMware, Inc. 39

and!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

synchronizing!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!system!with!the!time!in!the!host!
operating!system.!The!service!starts!automatically!when!the!guest!operating!system!
boots.!For!more!information,!see!“A b o u t !the!VMware!Tools!Service”!on!page 68.

With!the!VMware!SVGA!driver!installed,!VMware!Server!supports!up!to!32‐bit!
displays!
performance.!If!you!run!a!guest!operating!system!without!VMware!Tools,!the!graphics!
environment!within!the!virtual!machine!is!limited!to!VGA!mode!graphics!(640x480,!16!
color)!and!display!performance!might!be!unsatisfactory.

and!high!display!resolution,!with!significantly!faster!overall!graphics!

The!VMware!virtual!SCSI!driver!is!a!BusLogic!driver.!
systems!contain!LSI!Logic!drivers!and!can!take!advantage!of!the!virtual!LSI!Logic!
adapter!for!better!device!performance.

The!vmxnet!networking!driver!improves!network!performance.!This!driver!is!
automatically!installed!when!you!install!VMware!Tools.!

The!VMware!mouse!driver!improves!mouse!performance!in!some!guest!operating!
systems.!You!must!use!the!VMware!mouse!driver!with!third‐party!tools!like!
Microsoft’s!Terminal!Services.

In!a!Windows!guest,!you!can!access!the!VMware!Tools!control!panel!through!the!
Windows!Control!Panel!(choose!Start!>!Settings!>!Control!Panel!>!VMware!Tools)!or!
through!the!VMware!Tools!icon,!which!appears

In!a!Linux!or!FreeBSD!guest!operating!system,!the!VMware!Tools!control!panel!is!called!

vmware-toolbox.!You!can!launch!it!manually!as!a!background!process!from!a!by!typing:
vmware-toolbox &

NOTE Always!run!vmware-toolbox!in!the!guest!operating!system!to!ensure!you!have!

access!to!all!VMware!Tools!features,!such!as!copy!and!paste!and!mouse!
ungrab!for!operating!systems!for!which!X!display!driver!is!not!available.

In!a!NetWare!5.1!or!higher!guest!operating!system,!access!the!VMware!Tools!control!
panel!by!choosing!Novell!>!Settings!>!VMware!Tools!for!NetWare.!

Some!recent!guest!operating!

!by!default!in!the!system!tray.!

In!a!NetWare!4.2!guest!operating!system,!use!VMware!Tools!commands!in!the!system!
console.!The!VMware!Tools!program!is!called!vmwtool.!For!information!about!using!
this!command,!see!“Configuring!VMware!Tools!for!NetWare!Guests!in!the!System!

Console”!on!page 66.

With!some!window!managers,!you!can!place!the!command!to!start!VMware!Tools!in!a!
startup!configuration!so!VMware!Tools!starts!automatically!when!
graphical!environment.!Consult!your!window!manager’s!documentation!for!details.

40 VMware, Inc.

you!start!your!

Installation!files!for!VMware!Tools!for!all!supported!Windows,!Linux,!NetWare,!and!
FreeBSD!guest!operating!systems!are!built!into!VMware!Server.!

NOTE VMware!Server!provides!experimental!VMware!Tools!support!for!both!the!

32‐bit!and!64‐bit!versions!of!Sun!Solaris!10!as!guest!operating!systems.!The!
32‐bit!version!of!VMware!Tools!runs!in!compatibility!mode!on!virtual!
machines!running!64‐bit!Solaris!10.!In!addition,!the!version!of!VMware!Tools!
included

10.!

!in!this!release!does!not!include!X!drivers!for!64‐bit!versions!of!Solaris!

Installing VMware Tools

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!install!VMware!Tools:

! “Installing!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 41

! “Automating!the!Installation!of!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!Guest”!on!page 48

! “A d d i t i o n a l !Steps!When!Migrating!from!Old!Versions!of!Windows”!on!page 45

! “Installing!VMware!Tools!in!a!Linux!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 50

! “Installing!VMware!Tools!in!a!NetWare!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 53

The!installers!for!VMware!Tools!for!Windows,!Linux,!FreeBSD,!Solaris,!and!NetWare!
guest!operating!systems!are!built!into!VMware!Server!as!ISO!image!files.!(An!ISO!
image!file!looks!like!a!CD‐ROM!to!your!guest!operating!system!and!even!appears!
CD‐ROM!in!Windows!Explorer.!You!do!not!use!an!actual!CD‐ROM!to!install!VMware!
Tools,!and!you!do!not!need!to!download!the!CD‐ROM!image!or!burn!a!physical!
CD‐ROM!of!this!image!file.)!

Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

as!a!

When!you!install!VMware!Tools,!VMware!Server!temporarily!connects!the!virtual
machine’s!first!virtual!CD‐ROM!drive!to!the!ISO!image!file!that!contains!the!VMware!
Tools!installer!for!your!guest!operating!system,!and!begins!the!installation!process.!(To!
cancel!the!installer,!choose!VM!>!Cancel!VMware!Tools!Install!to!return!your!virtual!
machine’s!CD‐ROM!drive!to!its!original!configuration.)

!

Installing VMware Tools in a Windows Virtual Machine

VMware!Tools!for!Windows!guest!operating!systems!supports!all!Windows!guest!
operating!systems.

The!detailed!steps!for!installing!VMware!Tools!depend!on!the!version!of!Windows!you!
are!running.!The!steps!that!follow!show!how!to!install!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!
Server!2003!guest.!Some!steps!that!are!automated!in!
be!performed!manually!in!Windows!9x!and!Windows!NT.

VMware, Inc. 41

current!versions!of!Windows!must!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

NOTE If!you!are!running!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!host!and!your!virtual!

machine!has!only!one!CD‐ROM!drive,!the!CD‐ROM!drive!must!be!configured!
as!an!IDE!or!SCSI!CD‐ROM!drive.!It!cannot!be!configured!as!a!generic!SCSI!
device.

To!add!an!IDE!or!SCSI!CD‐ROM!drive,!see!“A d d i n g , !Configuring,!and!Removing!

Devices!in!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 103.!For!information!about!generic!SCSI,!see!
“Connecting!to!a!Generic!SCSI!Device”!on!page 237.

You!can!automate!the!installation!of!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!guest!operating!
system.!For!information,

Windows!Guest”!on!page 48.

To install VMware Tools in a Windows Guest Operating System

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine.

2Log!on!to!the!virtual!machine!as!an!administrator.

NOTE You!must!be!an!administrator!to!install!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!

guest!operating!system,!unless!the!guest!operating!system!is!Windows!
Me,!Windows!98,!or!other!early!versions!of!Windows.

!see!“Automating!the!Installation!of!VMware!Tools!in!a!

3When!the!guest!operating!system!starts,!choose!VM!>!Install!VMware!Tools.

The!remaining!steps!take!place!inside!the!virtual!machine.!If!you!have!autorun!
enabled!in!your!guest!operating!system!(the!default!setting!for!Windows!operating!
systems),!a!splash!screen!that!
box!that!asks!whether!you!want!to!install!VMware!Tools.

4Click!Yes!to!launch!the!InstallShield!wizard.

If!autorun!is!not!enabled,!the!dialog!box!does!not!appear.!If!it!doesn’t!appear,!run!
the!VMware!Tools!installer.!Click!Start!>!Run!and!enter!D:\setup.exe

NOTE You!do!not!use!an!actual!CD‐ROM!to!install!VMware!Tools.!The!VMware!

Server!software!contains!an!ISO!image!that!looks!like!a!CD‐ROM!to!your!
guest!operating!system!and!even!appears!as!a!CD‐ROM!in!Windows!
Explorer.!This!image!contains!all!the!files!needed!to!install!VMware
in!your!guest!operating!system.!When!you!finish!installing!VMware!
Tools,!this!image!file!no!longer!appears!in!your!CD‐ROM!drive.

42 VMware, Inc.

says!VMware!Tools!appears,!followed!by!a!dialog!

!Tools!

Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

The!VMware!Tools!installation!wizard!starts.

5Click!Next!to!continue!with!the!VMware!Tools!installation!wizard.!The!Setup!Type!

dialog!box!appears.

6 Choose!a!typical,!complete,!or!custom!installation.!The!installer!uses!this!selection!

each!time!you!upgrade!VMware!Tools.!

Typi c a l!Installation

A!typical!installation!installs!the!utilities!to!enhance!the!performance!
operating!system,!and!a!set!of!drivers!specific!to!VMware!Server!virtual!machines!
—!the!VMware!SVGA!driver,!the!VMware!Mouse!driver,!the!VMware!SCSI!driver,!
and!the!VMware!vmxnet!networking!driver!(the!vlance!driver!is!installed!when!
you!create!the!virtual!machine).!You!do!not!need!to
to!use!the vmxnet networking!driver.!The!vmxnet!driver!is!activated!when!reboot!
your!virtual!machine!after!you!install!VMware!Tools.!

If!you!do!not!plan!to!use!this!virtual!machine!with!other!VMware!products,!such!
as!VMware!Workstation,!use!the!typical!installation.!To!choose!the!typical!
installation,!select!Typical,!click!Next,!and!go!to!step!7.

Complete!Installation

A!complete!installation!installs!the!utilities!to!enhance!the!performance!of!the!
guest!operating!system,!and!all!the!drivers!—!the!VMware!SVGA!driver,!the!

VMware, Inc. 43

!configure!your!virtual!machine!

of!the!guest!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

VMware!Mouse!driver,!the!VMware!SCSI!driver,!the!VMware!vmxnet!networking!
driver!(the!vlance!driver!is!installed!automatically!when!you!created!the!virtual!
machine)!and!the!shared!folders!driver!(for!use!by!virtual!machines!with!VMware!
Workstation).

If!you!plan!on!using!this!virtual!machine!with!other!VMware!products,!use!the!
complete!installation.!To!choose!the!complete!installation,!select!Complete,!click!

Next,!then!go!to!step!7.

Custom!Installation

A!custom!installation!lets!you!pick!and!choose!which!components!to!install.!You!
can!always!run!the!installer!again!at!a!later!date!to!install!components!you!did!not!
install!the!first!
and!click!Next.!The!Custom!Setup!screen!appears.

time,!or!remove!components!you!no!longer!want.!Select!Custom!

In!the!Custom!Setup!screen,!pick!and!choose!the!components!to!install.!Click!the!
arrow!to!the!left!of!the!component!you!do!not!want!to!install!and!select!the!
appropriate!option!from

If!you!need!to!determine!how!much!free!space!is!on!the!guest,!click!Space.!This!is!
useful!if!you!are!choosing!a!custom!installation!due!to!limited!disk!space!on!your!
guest.

If!you!want!to!install!all!the!VMware!Tools!components!in!a!directory!other!than!
the

!default,!click!Browse!and!select!the!directory.!If!the!directory!does!not!exist,!the!

installer!creates!it!for!you.

When!you!are!ready!to!continue,!click!Next.

7To!change!any!settings!or!information!you!provided,!click!Back!until!you!reach!the!

dialog!box!containing!the!information!you!want!to!change.!

44 VMware, Inc.

!the!menu.

Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

Click!Install!once!you!are!ready!to!begin!the!installation.!The!installer!begins!
copying!files!to!your!host.

You!might!see!one!or!more!Digital!Signature!Not!Found!dialog!boxes!when!the!
installer!begins!to!install!the!virtual!drivers.!You!can!safely!ignore!these!warnings!
and!click!Yes!or!Continue!to!

approve!installation!of!the!drivers.

8After!the!installer!finishes!installing!the!files,!click!Finish.!

If!you!installed!the!VMware!SVGA!driver,!most!Windows!guest!operating!systems!can!
use!it!only!after!you!reboot!the!guest.!With!Windows!XP!guests,!you!do!not!have!to!
reboot!to!use!the!new!driver.

With!

some!older!Windows!guest!operating!systems,!extra!steps!are!needed.

Additional Steps When Migrating from Old Versions of Windows

If!you!are!migrating!from!VMware!GSX!Server!to!VMware!Server!and!your!guest!
operating!system!is!Windows!NT,!Windows!Me,!Windows!98,!or!Windows!95,!you!
might!need!to!configure!the!video!driver!by!hand.!Instructions!are!displayed!in!
Notepad!at!the!end!of!the!installation!process.!If!the!Notepad
it!to!the!front!by!clicking!the!Notepad!button!on!the!Windows!taskbar.

For!details,!see!the!following!steps!that!correspond!to!your!guest!operating!system.

VMware, Inc. 45

!window!is!hidden,!bring!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

To migrate from Windows NT guest operating systems

1After!installing!VMware!Tools,!click!Finish.!The!Display!Properties!dialog!box!

appears.!

2Click!the!Display!Type!button.!The!Display!Type!dialog!box!appears.

3Click!the!Change!button.!The!Change!Display!dialog!box!appears.!

4 Select!VMware,!Inc.!from!the!Manufacturer!list.

5 Select!VMware!SVGA!as!the!display!adapter!and!click!OK.

6Click!

7Click!Close!from!the!Display!Type!dialog!box,!and!click!Close!from!the!Display!

8Click!Yes!to!restart!Windows!NT!and!start!using!the!new

9The!VMware!Tools!background!application!is!launched!when!you!reboot!your!

Yes!in!response!to!the!on‐screen!question!about!third‐party!drivers!to!install!

the!driver.!Click!OK!to!confirm!the!drivers!were!installed.

Properties!dialog!box.

!video!driver.

virtual!machine.

To migrate from Windows Me guest operating systems

1After!installing!VMware!Tools,!click!Finish.!The!Display!Settings!dialog!box!

appears.!

2Click!the!Advanced!button.

3Click!the!Adapter!tab.

4Click!the!Change!button.!The!Update!Device!Driver!wizard!starts.!Click!Next.

The!wizard!displays!two!options.!

5 Choose!the!second!option!to!Specify!the!location!of!the!driver.!Click!Next.

6Check

!the!Specify!a!location!check!box.!Enter!the!following!path:

D:\video\win9x

D:!is!the!drive!letter!for!the!first!virtual!CD‐ROM!drive!in!your!virtual!machine.

Click!OK.

Windows!Me!automatically!locates!your!driver.

7 Select!the!VMware!SVGA!II!display!adapter!and!click!Next.

8Click!Next!to!install!the!driver.!

46 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

If!you!are!upgrading!a!virtual!machine!created!under!VMware!GSX!Server!2,!you!
might!see!a!dialog!box!that!warns,!“The!driver!you!are!installing!is!not!specifically!
designed!for!the!hardware!you!have.…!Do!you!wish!to!continue?”!Click!Yes.

9After!the!driver!is!installed,!click!Finish.

10 Click!Yes

11 The!VMware!Tools!background!application!starts!automatically!when!you!reboot!

your!virtual!machine.

!to!restart!Windows!Me!and!start!using!the!new!video!driver.

To migrate from Windows 98 guest operating systems

1After!installing!VMware!Tools,!click!Finish.!The!Display!Settings!dialog!box!

appears.!

2Click!the!Advanced!button.!The!Standard!Display!Adapter!(VGA)!Properties!

dialog!box!appears.!If!you!are!upgrading!from!a!previous!version!of!the!VMware!
drivers,!this!dialog!box!is!titled!VMware!SVGA!Properties.

3Click!the!Adapter!tab.

4Click!the!

The!wizard!displays!two!options.!

5 Choose!the!option!to!Display!a!list!of!all!drivers!in!a!specific!location.!Click!Next.

6 Select!Have!Disk.!The!Install!From!Disk!dialog!box!appears.

7Enter!the!following!path:

D:\video\win9x

D:!is!the!drive!letter!for!the!first!virtual!CD‐ROM!drive!in!your!virtual!machine.!

Click!OK.

Change!button.!The!Update!Device!Driver!wizard!starts.!Click!Next.

8 Select!VMware!SVGA!display!adapter!and!click!OK.

9Answer!Yes!to!the!on‐screen!question,!and!click!Next!to!install!the!driver.!

10 After!the!driver!is!installed,!click!Finish.

11 Click!Close!in!the!SVGA!Properties!dialog!box,!and!

Settings!dialog!box.

12 Click!Yes!to!restart!Windows!98!and!start!using!the!new!video!driver.

The!VMware!Tools!background!application!starts!automatically!when!you!reboot!
your!virtual!machine.

VMware, Inc. 47

click!Close!in!the!Display!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

To migrate from Windows 95 guest operating systems

1After!installing!VMware!Tools,!click!Finish.!The!Display!Settings!dialog!box!

appears.!

2Click!the!Advanced!Properties!button.!The!Advanced!Display!Properties!dialog!

box!appears.

3Click!the!Change!button.!The!Select!Device!dialog!box!appears.!

4 Select!Have!Disk.

5Enter!the!following!path:

D:\video\win9x

D:!is!the!drive!letter!for!the!first!virtual!CD‐

Click!OK.

6Click!OK!again!to!install!the!driver.

7Click!Close!from!the!Advanced!Display!Properties!dialog!box,!and!click!Close!

from!the!Display!Setting!dialog!box.

8Click!Yes!to!restart!Windows!95!and!start!using!the!new!video!driver.

9The!VMware!Tools!background!application!starts!

your!virtual!machine.

ROM!drive!in!your!virtual!machine.!

automatically!when!you!reboot!

Automating the Installation of VMware Tools in a Windows Guest

To!automate!the!installation!of!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!guest!operating!system,!
use!the!Microsoft!Windows!Installer!runtime!engine!to!install!the!software!silently!(in!
quiet!mode).!If!you!are!installing!VMware!Tools!in!a!number!of!Windows!virtual!
machines,!you!might!want!to!use!the!silent!install!features.

The!

guest!operating!system!in!which!you!are!installing!VMware!Tools!must!have!
Microsoft!Windows!Installer!runtime!engine!version!2.0!or!higher!installed.!This!
version!is!included!with!Windows!Server!2003!and!Windows!XP.!If!you!are!installing!
VMware!Tools!in!other!Windows!guest!operating!systems,!check!the!version!of!this!file:

%WINDIR%\system32\msiexec.exe

If!you!need!to!upgrade!the!engine,!run!instmsiw.exe!(instmsia.exe!for!Windows!95!or!
Windows!98!guests),!which!is!included!with!the!VMware!Tools!installer.

For!more!information!on!using!the!Microsoft!Windows!Installer,!go!to!the!Microsoft!
Web!site!—!

msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en‐us/msi/setup/about_windo
ws_installer.asp.

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To!install!VMware!Tools!silently!in!a!Windows!guest,!make!sure!the!virtual!machine’s!
CD‐ROM!drive!is!connected!to!the!VMware!Tools!ISO!image!(windows.iso,!located!in!
the!directory!where!you!installed!VMware!Server)!and!configured!to!connect!when!you!
power!on!the!virtual!machine.!Run!the!silent!installation

!on!the!extracted!installation!

packages.!At!the!command!prompt,!on!one!line,!type:

msiexec -i "D:\VMware Tools.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL /qn

The!installation!command!can!be!customized!using!standard!Microsoft!Windows!
Installer!installation!options.

The!ADDLOCAL!option!defaults!to!install!all!VMware!Tools!components.!You!can!
customize!the!installation!using!a!combination!of!the!ADDLOCAL!and!REMOVE!options.!For!
information!about!the!features!of!VMware!Tools,!see!“Ab o u t !VMware!Tools”!on!
page 39.!You!can!include!or!exclude!the!following!features:

! Toolbox!—!the!VMware!Tools!control!panel!and!its!utilities.!Excluding!this!feature!

prevents!you!from!using!VMware!Tools!in!the!guest!operating!system,!and!is!not!
recommended.

! Drivers!—!this!includes!the!SVGA,!Mouse,!BusLogic,!and!vmxnet!drivers.

! SVGA!—!the!VMware!SVGA!driver.!Excluding!this!feature!limits!the!display!

capabilities!of!your!virtual!machine.

! Mouse!—!the!VMware!mouse!driver.!Excluding!this!feature!decreases!mouse!

performance!in!your!virtual!machine.

! Buslogic!—!the!VMware!BusLogic!driver.!Excluding!this!feature!prevents!you!

from!using!this!driver!in!your!virtual!machine.!If!your!virtual!machine!is!
configured!to!use!the!LSI!Logic!driver,!then!you!may!want!to!remove!this!
feature.

! VMXNet!—!the!VMware!vmxnet!networking!driver.!Excluding!this!feature!

prevents!you!from!using!this!driver!in!your!virtual!machine.

! MemCtl!—!the!VMware!memory!control!driver.!This!feature!is!recommended!

if!you!plan!on!using!this!virtual!machine!with!VMware!ESX!Server.!Excluding!
this!feature!hinders!the!memory!management!capabilities!of!the!virtual!
machine!running!on!an!VMware!ESX!Server!system.

To!include!a!feature,!use!it!with!the!ADDLOCAL!

option.

To!exclude!a!feature,!use!it!with!the!REMOVE!option.

For!example,!to!install!everything!but!the!shared!folders!driver,!type!the!following!on!
the!command!line:

msiexec -i "D:\VMware Tools.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL REMOVE=Hgfs /qn

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The!SVGA,!Mouse,!BusLogic,!vmxnet!and!MemCtl!features!are!children!of!the!Drivers!
feature.!Thus,!on!the!command!line,!if!you!type:

msiexec -i "D:\VMware Tools.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL REMOVE=Drivers /qn

you!also!skip!installation!of!the!SVGA,!Mouse,!BusLogic,!vmxnet!and!MemCtl!drivers.

The!drivers!installed!by!VMware!Tools!are!not!signed!by!Microsoft.!When!you!install
VMware!Tools,!you!are!asked!to!confirm!the!installation!of!these!drivers.!You!can!
prevent!these!messages!from!appearing!in!the!guest!operating!system!during!
installation!by!completing!the!following!steps.

To!prevent!driver!installation!messages:

1On!the!virtual!machine’s!desktop,!right‐click!My!Computer,!and!choose!

Properties.

2Click!the!Hardware

appears.

3Click!Ignore,!and!click!OK!twice.

!tab,!and!click!Driver!Signing.!The!Driver!Signing!dialog!box!

Installing VMware Tools in a Linux Virtual Machine

This!section!explains!how!to!install!VMware!Tools!in!a!Linux,!FreeBSD,!or!Solaris!
virtual!machine.

To install VMware Tools in a Linux, FreeBSD, or Solaris Virtual Machine

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine.

2After!the!guest!operating!system!has!started,!prepare!your!virtual!machine!to!

install!VMware!Tools.!

Choose!VM!>!Install!VMware!Tools.!

The!remaining!steps!take!place!inside!the!virtual!

machine.!

!

NOTE You!can!install!VMware!Tools!either!from!a!terminal!in!an!X!window!

session!or!in!text!mode.

3As!root!(su -),!mount!the!VMware!Tools!virtual!CD‐ROM!image,!change!to!a!

working!directory!(for!example,!/tmp),!uncompress!the!installer,!and!unmount!the!
CD‐ROM!image.

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NOTE You!do!not!use!an!actual!CD‐ROM!to!install!VMware!Tools,!and!you!do!

not!need!to!download!the!CD‐ROM!image!or!burn!a!physical!CD‐ROM!
of!this!image!file.!The!VMware!Server!software!contains!an!ISO!image!
that!looks!like!a!CD‐ROM!to!your!guest!operating
contains!all!the!files!needed!to!install!VMware!Tools!in!your!guest!
operating!system.

Using!the!Tar !Installer!on!Linux!Guests:!Some!Linux!distributions!use!different!
device!names!or!organize!the!/dev!directory!differently.!If!your!CD‐ROM!drive!is!
not!/dev/cdrom!or!if!the!mount!point!for!a!CD‐ROM!is!not!/mnt/cdrom,!modify!the!
following!commands!to!reflect!the!conventions!used

Also,!some!Linux!distributions!automatically!mount!CD‐ROMs.!If!your!
distribution!uses!automounting,!do!not!use!the!mount!and!umount!commands!
below.!You!still!must!untar!the!VMware!Tools!installer!to!/tmp.

mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cd /tmp
tar zxf /mnt/cdrom/vmware-linux-tools.tar.gz
umount /mnt/cdrom

Go!to!step!4.

!system.!This!image!

!by!your!distribution.

Using!the!RPM!Installer!on!Linux!Guests:!Some!Linux!distributions!use
device!names!or!organize!the!/dev!directory!differently.!If!your!CD‐ROM!drive!is!
not!/dev/cdrom!or!if!the!mount!point!for!a!CD‐ROM!is!not!/mnt/cdrom,!modify!the!
following!commands!to!reflect!the!conventions!used!by!your!distribution.

Also,!some!Linux!distributions!automatically!mount!CD‐ROMs.!If!
distribution!uses!automounting,!do!not!use!the!mount!and!umount!commands!
below.!

mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cp /mnt/cdrom/vmware-linux-tools-<xxxxx>.i386.rpm
/tmp rpm -Uhv /tmp/vmware-linux-tools-<xxxxx>.i386.rpm
umount /mnt/cdrom

where!<xxxxx>!is!the!build!number!of!the!VMware!Server!release.

Go!to!step!6.

Solaris!Guests:!The!Solaris!volume!manager—vold—mounts!the!CD‐ROM!under
/cdrom/vmwaretools.!If!the!CD‐ROM!is!not!mounted,!restart!the!volume

using!the!following!commands:

/etc/init.d/volmgt stop
/etc/init.d/volmgt start

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!different!

your!

!manager!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

After!the!CD‐ROM!is!mounted,!use!the!following!commands!to!extract!VMware!
Tools.

cd /tmp
gunzip -c /cdrom/vmwaretools/vmware-solaris-tools.tar.gz | tar xf -

Go!to!step!4.

FreeBSD!Guests:!Some!FreeBSD!distributions!automatically!mount!CD‐ROMs.!If!
your!distribution!uses!automounting,!do!not!use!the!mount!and!umount!commands!
below.!You!still!must!untar!the!VMware!Tools!installer!to!

mount /cdrom
cd /tmp
tar zxf /cdrom/vmware-freebsd-tools.tar.gz
umount /cdrom

4Run!the!VMware!Tools!installer.

cd vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl

5Answer!the!questions!about!default!directories.

6Run!the!configuration!program.

vmware-config-tools.pl

/tmp.

7To!change!your!virtual!machine’s!display!resolution,!answer!yes,!and!enter!the!

number!that!corresponds!to!the!desired!resolution.

8Log!off!of!the!root!account.

exit

9Start!X!and!your!graphical!environment.!If!you!installed!

windows!session,!restart!X!windows.

10 In!an!X!terminal,!launch!the!VMware!Tools!background!application.

vmware-toolbox &

You!can!run!VMware!Tools!as!root!or!as!a!normal!user.!To!shrink!virtual!disks!or!to!
change!any!VMware!Tools!scripts,!you!must!run!VMware!Tools!as!root!(su -

NOTE Always!run!vmware-toolbox!in!the!guest!operating!system!to!ensure!you!have!

access!to!all!VMware!Tools!features,!such!as!copy!and!paste!and!mouse!
ungrab!for!operating!systems!for!which!X!display!driver!is!not!available.

52 VMware, Inc.

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Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

Starting VMware Tools Automatically

You!might!find!it!helpful!to!configure!your!guest!operating!system!so!VMware!Tools!
starts!when!you!start!your!X!server.!The!steps!for!doing!so!vary!depending!on!your!
Linux!distribution!and!your!desktop!environment.!Check!your!operating!system!
documentation!for!the!appropriate!steps!to!take.

For!example,!in!a!

1Open!the!Startup!Programs!screen!in!the!GNOME!Control!Center.

Main!Menu!(click!the!foot!icon!in!the!lower!left!corner!of!the!screen)!>!Programs!>!
Settings!>!Session!>!Startup!Programs

2Click!Add.

3In!the!Startup!Command!field,!enter!vmware-toolbox.

4Click!OK,!click!OK!again,!and!close!the!GNOME!Control!Center.

The!next!time!you!start!X,!VMware!Tools!also!starts.

Red!Hat!Linux!7.1!guest!using!GNOME,!follow!these!steps.

Starting VMware Tools in a FreeBSD 4.5 Guest Operating System

In!a!FreeBSD!4.5!guest!operating!system,!sometimes!VMware!Tools!does!not!start!after!
you!install!VMware!Tools,!reboot!the!guest!operating!system,!or!start!VMware!Tools!
on!the!command!line!in!the!guest.!An!error!message!appears:!

Shared object 'libc.so.3' not found.

The!required!library!was!not!installed.!This!does!not!happen!with!full!installations
FreeBSD!4.5,!but!does!occur!for!minimal!installations.!To!fix!the!problem!of!the!missing!
library,!take!the!following!steps:

1Insert!and!mount!the!FreeBSD!4.5!installation!CD!or!access!the!ISO!image!file.

2 Change!directories!and!run!the!installation!script.

!of!

cd /cdrom/compat3x
./install.sh

Uninstalling VMware Tools

To!remove!VMware!Tools!from!your!Linux!guest!operating!system,!log!on!as!root!
(su -)!and!run!the!following!command:

vmware-uninstall-tools.pl

Installing VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine

VMware!Tools!is!available!for!NetWare!4.2,!5.1,!6.0,!and!6.5!guest!operating!systems.!

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When!you!install!VMware!Tools!in!a!NetWare!guest!operating!system,!the!CPU!idler!
program!is!installed!and!loaded.!The!idler!can!be!disabled!from!the!system!console.!For!
information!on!configuring!VMware!Tools!from!the!system!console,!see!“Configuring!

VMware!Tools!for!NetWare!Guests!in!the!System!Console”!on!page 66.

Follow!the!appropriate!steps!for!your!NetWare!guest!operating!system.

Installing VMware Tools in a NetWare 5.1, 6.0, or 6.5 Virtual Machine

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine.

2 Prepare!your!virtual!machine!to!install!VMware!Tools.

Choose!VM!>!Install!VMware!Tools.!

The!remaining!steps!take!place!inside!the!virtual!machine.

3Load!the!CD‐ROM!driver!so!the!CD‐ROM!device!mounts!the!ISO!image!as!a!

volume.!Do!one!of!the!following.

! In!the!system!console!for!a!NetWare!6.5!virtual!machine,!type

LOAD CDDVD

! In!the!system!console!for!a!NetWare!6.0!or!NetWare!5.1!virtual!machine,!type

LOAD CD9660.NSS

4When!the!driver!finishes!loading,!you!can!begin!installing!VMware!Tools.!In!the!

system!console,!type

vmwtools:\setup.ncf

When!the!installation!finishes,!the!message!VMware Tools for NetWare are now
running!appears!in!the!Logger!Screen!(NetWare!6.5!and!NetWare!6.0!guests)!or!the!

Console!Screen!(NetWare!5.1!guests).

5Restart!the!guest!operating!system.!In!the!system!console,!type

restart server

After!you!install!VMware!Tools,!make!sure!the!VMware!Tools!virtual!CD‐ROM!image!
(netware.iso)!is!not!attached!to!the!virtual!machine.!If!it!is,!disconnect!it.!Right‐click!the!
CD‐ROM!icon!in!the!

status!bar!of!the!console!window!and!select!Disconnect.

Installing VMware Tools in a NetWare 4.2 Virtual Machine

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine.

2 Prepare!your!virtual!machine!to!install!VMware!Tools.!Choose!VM!>!Install!

VMware!Tools.!The!remaining!steps!take!place!inside!the!virtual!machine.!

3Load!the!cdrom.nlm!module.!In!the!system!console,!type

load cdrom

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Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

4Mount!the!VMware!Tools!CD‐ROM!image.!In!the!system!console,!type

cd mount vmwtools

5Start!installing!VMware!Tools.!In!the!system!console,!type

vmwtools:\setup

When!the!installation!finishes,!the!message!VMware Tools for NetWare are now
running!appears!in!the!Console!Screen.

6Bring!the!guest!operating!system!down.!In!the!system!console,!type

down

7Restart!the!guest!operating!system.!In!the

restart server

After!you!install!VMware!Tools,!make!sure!the!VMware!Tools!virtual!CD‐ROM!image!
(netware.iso)!is!not!attached!to!the!virtual!machine.!If!it!is,!disconnect!it.!Right‐click!the!
CD‐ROM!icon!in!the!status!bar!of!the!console!window!and!select!Disconnect.

!system!console,!type

Executing Scripts When the Virtual Machine’s Power State Changes

You!can!run!scripts!in!the!guest!operating!system!when!you!power!on,!power!off,!
suspend,!or!resume!the!virtual!machine.!

Scripts!can!help!automate!guest!operating!system!operations!when!you!change!the!
virtual!machine’s!power!state.

You!perform!these!power!operations!from!the!toolbar!buttons!and!menus!in!the!
VMware!

On!Microsoft!Windows!hosts!only,!you!can!configure!scripts!to!run!when!you!use!the!
power!buttons!on!the!toolbar!by!choosing!VM!>!Settings!>!Options!>!Power!and!
checking!the!appropriate!options!under!Run!VMware!Tools!scripts.

NOTE The!commands!on!the!Power!menu!take!precedence!over!how!the!toolbar!

Scripts!can!be!executed!only!when!the!VMware!Tools!service!is!running.!The!service!is!
a!part!of!VMware!Tools,!so!VMware!Tools!must!be!running!in!the!guest!for!scripts!to!
run.!The!service!starts!by!default!when!you!start!the!guest!operating!system.!For!more!
information!about!the!VMware!Tools!service,!see!“A b o u t !the!VMware!Tools!Service”!
on!page 68.

Server!Console!and!the!VMware!Management!Interface.

power!buttons!are!configured.

Default!scripts!are!included!in!VMware!Tools.!On!a!Microsoft!Windows!host,!the!
default!script!executed!when!you!suspend!a!virtual!machine!releases!the!IP!address!of!

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the!virtual!machine,!while!the!default!script!executed!when!you!resume!a!virtual!
machine!renews!the!IP!address!of!the!virtual!machine!(this!affects!only!virtual!
machines!configured!to!use!DHCP).!On!a!Linux!host,!the!default!script!executed!when!
you!suspend!a!virtual!machine!stops!networking!for!the!virtual!machine,
default!script!executed!when!you!resume!a!virtual!machine!starts!networking!for!the!
virtual!machine.

In!addition,!you!can!create!your!own!scripts.!The!scripts!you!can!run!must!be!batch!files!
for!Windows!hosts,!but!can!be!any!executable!format!(such!as!shell!or!Perl!scripts)!for!
Linux

!hosts.!You!should!have!a!thorough!familiarity!with!these!types!of!scripts!before!

you!modify!the!default!scripts!or!create!your!own.

If!you!create!your!own!scripts,!you!must!associate!each!script!with!its!particular!power!
operation.!For!more!information,!see!“Choosing!Scripts!for!VMware!Tools !to!Run!

During!Power

!State!Changes”!on!page 58!for!Windows!guests!and!“Choosing!Scripts!

for!VMware!Tools!to!Run!During!Power!State!Changes”!on!page 61!for!Linux!guests.

For!scripts!and!their!associated!power!operations!to!work,!the!following!conditions!
must!be!met:

! The!VMware!Tools!service!must!be!running!in!the!virtual!machine.!

! The!version!of!VMware!Tools!must!be!updated!to!the!current!version.!If!you!are!

using!a!virtual!machine!created!with!another!VMware!product,!such!as!VMware!
GSX!Server!3,!update!VMware!Tools!to!the!version!included!in!this!release.

!while!the!

! Depending!on!the!operation!the!script!performs,!the!virtual!machine!must!have!a!

virtual!network!adapter!connected,!or!the!power!operation!fails.

CAUTION When!you!reinstall!VMware!Tools!after!you!upgrade!the!VMware!Server!

software,!any!changes!you!made!to!the!default!scripts!are!overwritten.!
Any!scripts!you!created!on!your!own!remain!untouched,!but!do!not!
benefit!from!any!underlying!changes!that!enhance!the!default!scripts.

Configuring VMware Tools

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!configure!VMware!Tools!in!a!virtual!machine:

! “Configuring!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 57

! “Configuring!VMware!Tools!in!a!Linux,!FreeBSD,!or!Solaris!Virtual!Machine”!on!

page 60

! “Configuring!VMware!Tools!in!a!NetWare!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 64

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Configuring VMware Tools in a Windows Virtual Machine

This!section!shows!the!options!available!in!a!Windows!2000!guest!operating!system.!
Similar!configuration!options!are!available!in!VMware!Tools!for!other!Windows!guests.

To!open!the!VMware!Tools!control!panel,!double‐click!the!VMware!Tools!icon!in!the!
system!tray.

If!the!VMware!Tools!icon!does!not!appear!in!the

Panel!>!VMware!Tools.

!system!tray,!go!to!Start!>!Control!

Setting Options with VMware Tools

The!Options!tab!shows!miscellaneous!options.

! Time!synchronization!between!the!virtual!machine!and!the!host!operating!

system!—!this!option!lets!you!synchronize!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!system!

with!the!time!in!the!host!operating!system.

NOTE You!can!synchronize!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!system!with!the!time!

on!the!host!operating!system!only!when!you!set!the!clock!in!the!guest!
operating!system!to!a!time!earlier!than!the!time!set!in!the!host.

To!completely!disable!time!synchronization,!see!“Disabling!Time!

Synchronization”!on!page 70.

! Show!VMware!Tools!in!the!taskbar!—!this!option!displays!the!VMware!Tools!icon!

in!the!Windows!taskbar.

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Connecting Devices with VMware Tools

The!Devices!tab!allows!you!to!enable!or!disable!removable !devices.!Removable!devices!
include!the!floppy!and!CD‐ROM!drives!and!the!virtual!network!adapter.

To!connect!a!device!select!the!check!box!next!to!the!device.!To!disconnect!the!device,!
deselect!the!check!box!next!to!the!device.

NOTE You!can!also!set!these!options!from!the!VM!>!Removable!Devices!menu!in!the!

virtual!machine!window.

Choosing Scripts for VMware Tools to Run During Power State Changes

Through!VMware!Tools,!you!can!run!scripts!that!execute!when!you!power!on,!power!
off,!suspend,!or!resume!the!virtual!machine.!For!more!information,!see!“Executing!

Scripts!When!the!Virtual!Machine’s!Power!State!Changes”!on!page 55.

NOTE Scripts!cannot!be!run!in!Windows!95!guest!operating!systems.!Scripts!in!

Windows!NT!and!Windows!Me!guest!operating!systems!do!not!release!and!
renew!the!IP!address.!

The!Scripts!tab!lets!you!enable,!disable,!and!run!scripts!that!are!associated!with!the!
Suspend,!Resume,!Power!On,!and!Power!Off!buttons.

A!default!script!for!each!power!state!is!included!in!VMware!Tools.!These!scripts!are!
located!in!the!guest!operating!system!in!C:\Program Files\VMware.

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Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

Table 3-1.

When You … This Default Script Runs

Suspend!the!guest!operating!
system

Resume!the!guest!operating!
system

Power!off!the!guest!operating!
system

Power!on!the!guest!operating!
system

suspend-vm-default.bat

resume-vm-default.bat

poweroff-vm-default.bat

poweron-vm-default.bat

Windows!hosts:!If!the!virtual!machine!is!configured!to!use!DHCP,!the!script!executed!
when!you!suspend!a!virtual!machine!releases!the!IP!address!of!the!virtual!machine.!The!
script!executed!when!you!resume!a!virtual!machine!renews!the!IP!address!of!the!virtual!
machine.!

Linux,!FreeBSD,!and!Solaris!hosts:!The

!script!executed!when!you!suspend!a!virtual!

machine!stops!networking!for!the!virtual!machine.!The!script!executed!when!you!
resume!a!virtual!machine!starts!networking!for!the!virtual!machine.

For!each!power!state,!you!can!use!the!default!script!or!you!can!substitute!a!script!you!
created.!In!addition,!you!can

!test!a!script!or!disable!the!running!of!a!script.!Complete!

the!following!steps.

1In!the!Script!Event!list,!select!the!power!operation!with!which!to!associate!the!

script.!

2Do!one!of!the!following:

! To!select!a!different!script,!click!Custom!Script,!click!Browse,!and!select!the!

new!script.

! To!edit!a!script,!click!Edit.!The!script!opens!in!your!default!editor.!Make!your!

changes!there.

! To!test!the!script,!click!Run!Now.

! To!disable!the!running!of!a!script,!click!to!deselect!the!Use!Script!check!box.

3Click!Apply!to!save!your!settings.

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Shrinking Virtual Disks with VMware Tools

The!Shrink!tab!gives!you!access!to!the!controls!you!need!to!reclaim!unused!space!in!a!
virtual!disk.

In!some!configurations,!it!is!not!possible!to!shrink!virtual!disks.!If!your!virtual!machine!
uses!such!a!configuration,!the!Shrink!tab!displays!information!explaining!why!you!
cannot!shrink!your!virtual!disks.!

For!more!information!about!shrinking!virtual!disks,!see!“Defragmenting!and!Shrinking!

Virtual!Disks”!on!page 125.

Viewing Information About VMware Tools

For!general!information!about!VMware!Tools,!click!the!About!tab.

In!addition!to!copyright!information,!this!tab!contains!the!following!information:

! The!VMware!Tools!build!number,!which!lets!you!verify!that!your!VMware!Tools!

version!matches!the!VMware!Server!version!you!are!running.!The!build!number!is!
also!useful!when!you!request!support.!

! An!indication!as!to!whether!the!VMware!Tools!service!is!running.!

Configuring VMware Tools in a Linux, FreeBSD, or Solaris Virtual Machine

This!section!shows!the!options!available!in!a!Linux!or!FreeBSD!guest!operating!system.!

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To!open!the!VMware!Tools!control!panel,!at!a!command!prompt,!type:

vmware-toolbox &

You!can!run!VMware!Tools!as!root!or!as!a!normal!user.!To!shrink!virtual!disks,!you!
should!run!VMware!Tools!as!root!(su -).

NOTE Always!run!vmware-toolbox!in!the!guest!operating!system!to!ensure!you!have!

access!to!all!VMware!Tools!features,!such!as!copy!and!paste!and!mouse!
ungrab!for!operating!systems!for!which!X!display!driver!is!not!available.

Connecting Devices with VMware Tools

The!Devices!tab!allows!you!to!enable!or!disable!removable !devices.!Removable!devices!
include!the!floppy!and!CD‐ROM!drives!and!the!virtual!network!adapter.

To!connect!a!device,!select!the!check!box!next!to!the!device.!To!disconnect!the!device,!
click!to!deselect!the!check!box!next!to!the!device.

NOTE You!can!also!set!these!options!from!the!VM!>!Removable!Devices!menu!in!the!

virtual!machine!window.

Choosing Scripts for VMware Tools to Run During Power State Changes

Through!VMware!Tools,!you!can!run!scripts!that!execute!when!you!power!on,!power!
off,!suspend,!or!resume!the!virtual!machine.!For!more!information,!see!“Executing!

Scripts!When!the!Virtual!Machine’s!Power!State!Changes”!on!page 55.

A!default!script!for!each!power!operation!is!included!in!VMware!Tools.!These!scripts!
are!

located!in!the!guest!operating!system!in!/etc/vmware-tools.

Table 3-2.

When You … This Default Script Runs

Suspend!the!guest!operating!
system

Resume!the!guest!operating!
system

Power!off!the!guest!operating!
system

Power!on!the!guest!operating!
system

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suspend-vm-default

resume-vm-default

poweroff-vm-default

poweron-vm-default

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

For!each!power!state,!you!can!use!the!default!script!or!you!can!substitute!a!script!you!
created.!In!addition,!if!you!are!logged!on!as!root,!you!can!edit!a!script,!test!a!script,!or!
disable!the!running!of!a!script.!Complete!the!following!steps.

1To!edit!the!appropriate!power!

! Use!default!script!to!suspend!guest!operating!system

! Use!default!script!to!resume!guest!operating!system

! Use!default!script!to!shut!down!guest!operating!system

! Use!default!script!to!power!on!guest!operating!system

operation,!select:

2Do!one!of!the!following:!

! To!select!a!different!script,!click!Browse!and!select!the!new!script.!

! To!edit!a!script,!click!Edit.!The!script!opens!in!vi.!Make!your!changes!there.

NOTE To!edit!scripts!from!the!Scripts!tab,!xterm!and!vi!must!be!installed!in!

the!guest!operating!system.!You!must!be!a!root!user!to!edit!the!script!
and!have!vi!and!xterm!in!your!PATH!when!using!the!Scripts!tab.!You!
can!also!edit!scripts!manually!using!any!text!editor.

! To!test!a!script,!click!Test.

NOTE If!you!plan!to!test!scripts!in!a!Turbolinux!7.0!guest!operating!system,!

you!need!to!update!the!Turbolinux!guest!operating!system.!This!is!a!
known!issue!with!Turbolinux.

! To!disable!a!script,!select!the!path!to!the!script!and!delete!it.!

3Click!Apply!to!save!your!settings.

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Setting Options with VMware Tools

The!Options!tab!gives!you!the!option!to!synchronize!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!
system!with!the!time!in!the!host!operating!system.

NOTE You!can!synchronize!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!system!with!the!time!in!

the!host!operating!system!only!when!the!time!in!the!guest!is!earlier!than!the!
time!in!the!host.

To!completely!disable!time!synchronization,!see!“Disabling!Time!Synchronization”!on!
page 70.

Shrinking Virtual Disks with VMware Tools

The!Shrink!tab!gives!you!access!to!the!controls!you!need!to!reclaim!unused!space!in!a!
virtual!disk.

To!shrink!virtual!disks,!you!should!run!VMware!Tools!as!the!root!user!(su -).!If!you!
shrink!the!virtual!disk!as!a!non‐root!user,!you!cannot!prepare!to!shrink!the!
virtual!disk!that!require!root‐level!permissions.

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parts!of!the!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

NOTE The!shrink!process!affects!all!disks—not!only!the!disks!that!you!prepare!to!

shrink.

For!more!information!about!shrinking!virtual!disks,!see!“Defragmenting!and!Shrinking!

Virtual!Disks”!on!page 125.

Configuring VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine

This!section!discusses!the!options!available!in!a!NetWare!6.5,!6.0,!or!5.1!guest.!VMware!
Tools!does!not!include!a!control!panel!for!NetWare!4.2!because!that!version!of!Netware!
does!not!include!a!graphical!user!interface.!You!can!configure!certain!virtual!machine!
options!such!as!time!synchronization,!CPU!idling,!and
VMware!Tools!in!a!NetWare!4.2!guest!in!the!system!console.!For!more!information,!see!

“Configuring!VMware!Tools!for!NetWare!Guests!in!the!System!Console”!on!page 66.

Configuring VMware Tools in a NetWare 6.5, 6.0, or NetWare 5.1 Guest

To!open!the!VMware!Tools!control!panel,!choose!Novell!>!Settings!>!VMware!Tools!
for!NetWare.!

Viewing Information About VMware Tools

For!general!information!about!VMware!Tools,!click!the!VMware!Tools!tab.

!device!configuration!with!

This!tab!contains:

! Copyright!information.

! A!button!you!click!to!visit!the!VMware!Web!site.

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Connecting Devices with VMware Tools

The!Devices!tab!allows!you!to!enable!or!disable!removable !devices.!Removable!devices!
include!the!floppy!and!CD‐ROM!drives!and!the!virtual!network!adapter.

To!connect!a!device,!select!the!check!box!next!to!the!device.!To!disconnect!the!device,!
deselect!the!check!box!next!to!the!device.

NOTE You!can!also!set!these!options!from!the!VM!>!Removable!Devices!menu!in!the!

virtual!machine!window.

Shrinking Virtual Disks with VMware Tools

The!Shrink!tab!gives!you!access!to!the!controls!you!need!to!reclaim!unused!space!in!a!
virtual!disk.

For!more!information!about!shrinking!virtual!disks,!see!“Defragmenting!and!Shrinking!

Virtual!Disks”!on!page 125.

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Setting Options with VMware Tools

The!Other!tab!gives!you!the!option!to!synchronize!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!
system!with!the!time!in!the!host!operating!system.

NOTE You!can!synchronize!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!system!with!the!time!in!

the!host!operating!system!only!when!the!time!in!the!guest!is!earlier!than!the!
time!in!the!host.

To!completely!disable!time!synchronization,!see!“Disabling!Time!Synchronization”!on!
page 70.

Configuring VMware Tools for NetWare Guests in the System Console

You!can!configure!certain!virtual!machine!options!such!as!time!synchronization,!CPU!
idling,!and!device!configuration!with!VMware!Tools!in!a!NetWare!virtual!machine!
using!the!system!console.!The!VMware!Tools!command!line!program!is!called!vmwtool.!

To!see!the!options!associated!with!this!command,!type!vmwtool help at!the!system!
console.

When!VMware!Tools!is!installed!in!a!NetWare!guest,!a!heartbeat!is!always!sent!from!
the!virtual!machine!to!VMware!Server.!You!can!verify!the!virtual!machine’s!heartbeat!
by!viewing!information!about!this!virtual!machine!in!the!VMware!Management!
Interface.!For!more!information,!see!“Monitoring!the!Virtual!Machine’s!Heartbeat”.

In!addition,
Management!Interface.!To!power!a!virtual!machine!on!or!off!with!the!VMware!
Management!Interface,!see!“Changing!a!Virtual!Machine’s!Power!State!from!the!

Management!Interface”!on!page 90.!Because!scripts!are!not!available!for!NetWare!

virtual!machines,!

66 VMware, Inc.

!you!can!gracefully!power!the!virtual!machine!on!or!off!in!the!VMware!

no!scripts!are!run.

Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

Summary of VMware Tools Commands for a NetWare Guest

Each!command!in!the!following!table!must!be!entered!into!the!system!console!after!the!
VMware!Tools!command!vmwtool.!Use!the!following!format:
vmwtool <command>to!enter!commands.

Table 3-3.

vmwtool Command Definition

help Displays!a!summary!of!VMware!Tool s !commands!and!

options!in!a!NetWare!guest.

partitonlist Displays!a!list!of!all!disk!partitions!in!the!virtual!disk!

and!whether!or!not!a!partition!can!be!shrunk.!

shrink <partition>! Shrinks!the!listed!partitions.!If!no!partitions!are!

specified,!all!partitions!in!the!virtual!disk!are!

The!status!of!the!shrink!process!appears!at!the!bottom!of!
the!system!console.

For!more!information,!see!“Defragmenting!and!

Shrinking!Virtual!Disks”!on!page 125.

devicelist Lists!each!removable!device!in!the!virtual!machine,!its!

disabledevice <device name>! Disables!the!specified!device!or!devices!in!the!virtual!

enabledevice <device name> Enables!the!

device!ID!and!whether!the!device!is!enabled!or!disabled.!
Removable!devices!include!the!virtual!network!adapter,
CD‐ROM!and!floppy!drives.

machine.!If!no!device!is!specified,!all!removable!devices!
in!the!virtual!machine!are!disabled.

Note:!You !can!also!disable!devices!from!the!VM!>!
Removable!Devices!menu!in!the!VMware!Server!

console!window.

specified!device!or!devices!in!the!virtual!
machine.!If!no!device!is!specified,!all!removable!devices!
in!the!virtual!machine!are!enabled.

Note:!You !can!also!enable!devices!from!the!VM!>!
Removable!Devices!menu!in!the!VMware!Server!

console!window.

shrunk.

!

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Table 3-3.

vmwtool Command Definition

synctime [on|off] Lets!you!enable!or!disable!time!synchronization!

between!the!guest!operating!system!and!the!host!
operating!system.!By!default,!time!synchronization!is!
disabled.!

Use!this!command!without!any!options!to!view!the!
current!time!synchronization!status.

You !can!synchronize!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!
system!with!time!on!the!host
when!the!time!in!the!guest!operating!system!is!earlier!
than!the!time!set!in!the!host.

idle [on|off] Lets!you!enable!or!disable!the!CPU!idler.!By!default,!the!

idler!is!turned!on.!The!CPU!idler!program!is!included!in!
VMware!Tools!for!NetWare!guests.

The!idler!program!is
do!not!idle!the!processor!when!the!operating!system!is!
idle.!As!a!result,!a!virtual!machine!takes!processor!time!
from!the!host!regardless!of!whether!the!NetWare!server!
software!is!idle!or!busy.!

About the VMware Tools Service

When!you!install!VMware!Tools!in!a!virtual!machine,!the!VMware!Tools!service!is!one!
of!the!primary!components!installed.!The!service!does!the!following:!

!operating!system!only!

!needed!because!NetWare!servers!

! Synchronizes!the!time!of!the!guest!operating!system!with!the!time!in!the!host!

operating!system.

! Runs!scripts!in!a!virtual!machine!when!the!power!state!changes.!See!“Executing!

Scripts!When!the!Virtual!Machine’s!Power!State!Changes”!on!page 55.

! Executes!commands!in!the!virtual!machine!when!you!shut!down!or!restart!a!Linux!

or!Solaris!guest!operating!system.

! Sends!a!heartbeat!to!VMware!Server!so!that!it!knows!the!guest!operating!system!is!

running.!A!gauge!for!this!heartbeat!appears!in!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!
For!more!information,!see!“Using!the!Status!Monitor”.

! Passes!messages!from!the!host!operating!system!to!the!guest!operating!system.

! Passes!information!between!the!guest!operating!system!and!a!VMware!Scripting!

API!script.

The!service!starts!when!you!boot!the!guest!operating!system.!

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In!a!Windows!guest,!the!VMware!Tools!service!program!file!is!called!
VMwareService.exe.!Help!is!available!by!right‐clicking!the!VMware!Tools!icon!in!the!
system!tray!and!choosing!Help.!

In!a!Linux!or!Solaris!guest,!the!VMware!Tools!service!is!called!vmware-guestd.!To!
display!help!about!the!service,!

including!a!list!of!all!options,!use!the!following!

command:!

/usr/sbin/vmware-guestd --help

This!section!covers!the!following!topics:

! “Synchronizing!the!Time!in!the!Guest!OS!with!the!Host!OS”!on!page 69

! “Executing!Commands!After!You!Power!Off!or!Reset!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!

page 70

! “Passing!a!String!from!the!Host!OS!to!the!Guest!OS”!on!page 70

! “Passing!Information!Between!the!Guest!OS!and!a!VMware!API!Script”!on!page 73

Synchronizing the Time in the Guest OS with the Host OS

The!VMware!Tools!service!can!synchronize!the!date!and!time!in!the!guest!operating!
system!with!the!time!in!the!host!operating!system!once!every!minute.!To!enable!time!
synchronization!for!a!Windows!guest,!see!“Setting!Options!with!VMware!Tools”!on!
page 57.!To!enable!time!synchronization!for!a!Linux,!FreeBSD,!or

“Setting!Options!with!VMware!Tools”!on!page 63.!To!enable!time!synchronization!for!

a!NetWare!guest,!see!“Setting!Options!with!VMware!Tools”!on!page 66.

!Solaris!guest,!see!

Synchronizing Guest Time in Response to System Events

The!service!synchronizes!the!date!and!time!in!the!guest!with!the!time!in!the!host!in!
response!to!various!system!events.!These!events!include:!

! Tak ing!a!snapshot.!In!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration!file!(.vmx),!this!setting!is!

represented!by!the!time.synchronize.continue!option.

! Reverting!to!a!snapshot.!In!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration!file!(.vmx),!this!

setting!is!represented!by!the!time.synchronize.restore!option.

! Resuming!a!suspended!virtual!machine.!In!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration!file!

(.vmx),!this!setting!is!represented!by!the!time.synchronize.resume.disk!option.

! Shrinking!the!virtual!disk.!In!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration!file!(.vmx),!this!

setting!is!represented!by!the!time.synchronize.shrink!option.

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Disabling Time Synchronization

To!disable!time!synchronization!in!the!guest,!open!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration!
file!(.vmx)!in!a!text!editor!and!set!the!following!options!to!FALSE.

tools.syncTime
tools.synchronize.restore
time.synchronize.resume.disk
time.synchronize.continue
time.synchronize.shrink

Executing Commands After You Power Off or Reset a Virtual Machine

In!a!Linux!guest,!you!can!have!the!VMware!Tools!service!execute!specific!commands!
when!you!shut!down!or!restart!the!guest!operating!system.!This!is!in!addition!to!any!
script!that!you!might!have!specified!to!run!when!you!shut!down!the!guest!operating!
system.!

To!execute!these!commands,!you
commands!are:

halt-command = <command>

(where!<command>!is!the!command!to!execute!when!you!shut!down!the!guest!operating!
system)!

reboot-command = <command>

(where!<command>!is!the!command!to!execute!when!you!restart!the!guest!operating!
system)!

!need!to!modify!/etc/vmware-tools/tools.conf.!The!

Passing a String from the Host OS to the Guest OS

With!VMware!Server!and!knowledge!of!a!scripting!language!like!Perl!or!NetShell!(in!a!
Windows!2000!guest!operating!system),!you!can!pass!a!string!from!your!virtual!
machineʹs!configuration!file!in!the!host!operating!system!to!the!guest!operating!system!
when!you!use!the!configuration!file!to!launch!a

What!you!pass!to!the!guest!operating!system!is!up!to!you.!You!should!pass!a!string!only!
if!you!have!a!good!understanding!of!a!scripting!language!and!know!how!to!modify!
system!startup!scripts.!

!virtual!machine.

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There!are!two!ways!of!passing!strings!to!a!virtual!machineʹs!guest!operating!system:

1You!can!place!a!string!in!the!virtual!machineʹs!configuration!file!by!setting!the!

string!to!the!machine.id!parameter.

For!example,!you!can!set!this!string:!

machine.id = "Hello World."

2You!pass!the!string!to!the!guest!operating!system!

you!launch!the!virtual!machine.!See!example!1!below.

You!can!pass!items!like!the!Windows!system!ID!(SID),!a!machine!name!or!an!IP!
address.!Inside!the!guest!operating!system!startup!script,!you!have!the!service!retrieve!
this!string,!which!can!then!be!used!in!
script!to!set!your!virtual!machineʹs!system!ID,!machine!name,!or!IP!address.!

This!way,!you!can!make!copies!of!the!same!configuration!file,!add!a!different!string!to!
each!(either!in!the!configuration!file!itself!or!at!the!command!line),
variations!of!the!same!configuration!file!to!launch!the!same!virtual!disk!in!
nonpersistent!mode!multiple!times!in!a!training!or!testing!environment,!for!example.!

This!is!what!portions!of!two!configuration!files!that!point!to!the!same!virtual!disk!might!
look!like.!Each!configuration!file!contains!
parameter.!

<config_file_1>.vmx!contains:!

ide0:0.present = TRUE
ide0:0.fileName = "my_common_virtual_hard_drive.vmdk"
machine.id = "the_string_for_my_first_vm"

<config_file_2>.vmx!contains:!

ide0:0.present = TRUE
ide0:0.fileName = "my_common_virtual_hard_drive.vmdk"
machine.id = "the_string_for_my_second_vm"

another!script!you!write!and!include!in!the!startup!

its!own!unique!string!set!for!the!machine.id!

from!the!command!line!when!

!then!use!these!

Passing!a!string!is!also!useful!in!situations!where!you!want!to!deploy!virtual!machines!
on!a!network!using!a!common!configuration!file,!while!providing!each!machine!with!
its!own!unique!identity.!In!this!case,!you
need!to!launch!each!virtual!machine!with!the!vmware -s!command)!when!you!launch!
each!virtual!machine!using!this!configuration!file.!See!example!1!below.!

Each!virtual!machine!disk!file!must!be!copied!into!its!own!directory!if!it!shares!its!
filename!with!

The!following!example!uses!a!Windows!host!and!guest!to!illustrate!how!you!can!use!
the!service!to!retrieve!a!string!containing!what!will!become!the!virtual!machineʹs!

VMware, Inc. 71

another!virtual!machine!disk!file.!

!specify!the!string!at!the!command!line!(you!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

machine!name!and!IP!address.!In!this!example,!W2K‐VM!is!the!machine!name!and!

148.30.16.24!is!the!IP!address.!

1Define!a!string.!Do!this!by!either:!

! Adding!the!following!line!to!your!virtual!machineʹs!configuration!file:!

machine.id = "W2K-VM 148.30.16.24"

then!launching!a!virtual!machine!using!this!configuration!file.!

! Launching!a!virtual!machine!from!the!command!line.!At!the!command!line,!

type:!

“C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Server\vmware -s 'machine.id=W2K-VM

148.30.16.24' C:\Virtual Machines\win2000\win2000.vmx”

NOTE Write!the!above!command!on!one!line.

NOTE On!a!Linux!host,!the!machine!ID!passed!on!the!command!line!takes!

precedence!and!is!passed!to!the!guest!operating!system!if!the!following!
conditions!are!met:

! A!virtual!machine!ID!is!specified!in!a!configuration!file.

! You!use!that!file!to!launch!a!virtual!machine.

! You!also!specify!a!machine!ID!on!the!command!line.

2 Retrieve!the!string!in!the!virtual!machine.!In!a!Windows!guest,!the!command!to!

retrieve!the!string!is!

VMwareService --cmd machine.id.get

NOTE In!your!Linux!guest!operating!system’s!startup!script,!add!the!following!

command!before!the!network!startup!section:!

/etc/vmware/vmware-guestd --cmd 'machine.id.get'

You!need!to!further!customize!this!startup!script!so!it!uses!the!string!the!service!
retrieved!during!startup!to!set!the!virtual!machineʹs!network!name!to!W2K‐VM!and!its!
IP!address!to!148.30.16.24.!This!string!should!be!located!in!the!script!before!the!network!
services!are!started.!If!

youʹre!using!a!Windows!2000!guest!operating!system,!for!

example,!you!can!call!the!NetShell!utility!(netsh)!and!pass!it!the!contents!of!the!string,!
which!then!uses!the!string!accordingly!(that!is,!it!can!set!a!new!IP!address!for!the!virtual!
machine,!if!that!is!what!was

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!passed!in!the!string!originally).!

Chapter 3 Using VMware Tools

From!your!host!operating!system,!you!can!prevent!a!string!from!being!passed!to!the!
guest!operating!system!via!the!service.!To!do!this,!set!the!following!line!in!your!virtual!
machineʹs!configuration!file:

isolation.tools.getMachineID.disable = TRUE

Passing Information Between the Guest OS and a VMware API Script

When!the!guest!operating!system!is!running!inside!a!virtual!machine,!the!VMware!
Tools!service!allows!you!to!pass!information!from!a!VMware!Scripting!API!script!you!
created!(that!is!running!in!another!host!machine)!to!the!guest!operating!system!and!
from!the!guest!operating!system!to!a!script.

For!more!

www.vmware.com/support/developer.!

information,!go!to!the!VMware!Web!site!at!

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CHAPTER 4 Running Virtual Machines

After!you!have!installed!VMware!Server,!a!guest!operating!system,!and!VMware!Tools,!
you!are!ready!to!run!your!virtual!machine.!This!chapter!describes!the!most!common!
tasks!to!run!virtual!machines!and!covers!the!following!topics:!

! “Overview!of!the!VMware!Server!Console!Window”!on!page 75

! “Connecting!to!Virtual!Machines!and!VMware!Server!Hosts”!on!page 82

! “Changing!the!Power!State!of!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 88

! “Controlling!the!Virtual!Machine!Display”!on!page 95

! “Running!Virtual!Machines!from!DVDs!or!CD‐ROM!Discs”!on!page 98

! “Running!Virtual!Machines!from!DVDs!or!CD‐ROM!Discs”!on!page 98

! “Using!PXE!with!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 100

! “Installing!Software!in!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 101

! “Cutting,!Copying,!and!Pasting!Text”!on!page 102

! “Using!Devices!in!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 102

! “Command!Reference”!on!page 104

For!purposes!of!illustration,!the!examples!in!these!sections!use!a!Windows!Server!2003!
guest!operating!system.!Some!commands!used!in!the!illustrations!are!different!from!
those!used!in!other!guest!operating!systems.!

Overview of the VMware Server Console Window

The!following!sections!provide!an!overview!of!the!VMware!Server!Console:

! “Using!the!Home!Tab”!on!page 77

! “Using!Tab s ”!on!page 78

! “Configuring!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 79

! “Using!the!Virtual!Machine!Inventory”!on!page 79

! “Displaying!Hints”!on!page 80

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! “Checking!the!Status!of!VMware!Tools”!on!page 80

! “Creating!a!Screen!Shot!of!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 81

Think!of!a!VMware!Server!virtual!machine!as!a!separate!computer!that!runs!in!a!
window!on!your!physical!computerʹs!desktop.!The!VMware!Server!Console!lets!you!
connect!to!multiple!virtual!machines!and!switch!easily!from!one!to!another.

When!you

!first!connect!the!VMware!Server!Console!to!a!VMware!Server!host,!the!
Home!tab!appears!in!the!virtual!machine!display.!The!Home!tab!indicates!whether!you!
are!connecting!to!GSX!3!Server!or!VMware!Server!and!the!version!of!the!server!
software.!The!status!bar!of!the!VMware!Server!Console!

window!also!displays!this!

information.

NOTE VMware!supports!connecting!to!VMware!GSX!Server!3!hosts!and!using!

virtual!machines!created!with!VMware!GSX!Server!3!as!legacy!machines.!You!
can!also!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware!of!those!virtual!machines.!You!must!
upgrade!the!hardware!of!virtual!machines!created!under!VMware!GSX!Server!

2.!You!cannot!connect!to

!VMware!ESX!Server!from!VMware!Server.!For!more!
information!see,!“Migrating!from!GSX!Server!to!VMware!Server”!in!the!
VMware!Server!Administration!Guide.

If!you!are!connecting!to!a!GSX!3!Server!some!of!the!controls!and!functionality!of!the!
interface!change!to!accommodate!the!differences!between!the!features!available!to!that!
product.!To!see!a!list!of!what!is!different,!see!“Connecting!to!VMware!GSX!Server!and!

Older!Virtual

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!Machines”!on!page 86.

Chapter 4 Running Virtual Machines

Menu Layouts

The!following!table!lists!the!locations!for!the!most!commonly!used!menu!items.:

Table 4-1.

Menu Items

File!>!New!>!Virtual!Machine

File!>!New!>!Window

File!>!Exit

VM!>!Removable!Devices

Host!>!Settings!(for!global!host!settings)!and!
Edit!>!Preferences!(for!user!settings)

VM!>!Settings

Host!>!Virtual!Network!Settings

VM!>!Install!VMware!Tool s

VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Hardware

VM!>!Send!Ctrl+Alt+Del

!Grab!Input

VM!>

Using the Home Tab

You!can!use!the!Home!tab!to!quickly!create!new!virtual!machines,!open!existing!virtual!
machines,!connect!to!other!VMware!Server!hosts,!and!set!global!preferences!for!the!
current!VMware!Server!host.

! For!information!on!creating!virtual!machines,!see!“Creating!a!New!Virtual!

Machine!with!the!Virtual!Machine!Wizard”!on!page 27.!

! For!information!on!opening!an!existing!virtual!machine,!see!“Connecting!to!

Virtual!Machines!and!VMware!Server!Hosts”!on!page 82.

! For!information!on!changing!hosts,!see!“Connecting!to!a!Different!VMware!Server!

Host”!on!page 85.

! For!information!on!configuring!the!VMware!Server!host,!see!“Setting!Global!

Preferences!for!VMware!Server”.

Opening Virtual Machines from the Inventory list

In!VMware!Server,!you!can!open!multiple!virtual!machines!located!on!the!same!server!
host!in!the!same!VMware!Server!Console!window.!You!can!run!multiple!consoles!and!
have!each!connect!to!virtual!machines!on!

different!servers.!Be!sure!you!have!enough!
memory!and!processor!power!to!handle!the!number!of!virtual!machines!you!want!to!
run.

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Selecting!virtual!machines!in!the!Inventory!list!opens!them!in!new!tabs.!If!the!virtual!
machine!is!already!running,!its!desktop!appears!in!the!virtual!machine!display.

If!the!virtual!machine!is!suspended!or!powered!off,!the!virtual!machine!display!lists!
information!about!the!virtual!machine,!including!its!power!state,!the!
system,!the!location!of!the!configuration!file,!and!whether!the!virtual!machine!is!
configured!for!VMware!Server!or!VMware!GSX!Server!3.

guest!operating!

.

Figure 4-1. With the virtual machine powered off or suspended, you can enter no te s
about it, edit its settings or start it. Double-click on a device to configure it.

For!information!about!the!inventory,!see!“Using!the!Virtual!Machine!Inventory”!on!
page 79.

Instead!of!using!physical!buttons!to!turn!this!computer!on!and!off,
the!toolbar!at!the!top!of!the!VMware!Server!Console!window.

Figure 4-2. T oolbar when a virtual machine is powered off (as seen on a Windows host)

There!are!separate!Power!Off!and!Power!On!buttons.!When!you!suspend!a!virtual!
machine,!the!Power!On!button!becomes!a!Resume!button.!

!you!use!buttons!on!

Using Tabs

When!a!virtual!machine!is!active,!its!virtual!machine!name!appears!on!a!tab!at!the!top!
of!the!virtual!machine!display.!To!switch!from!one!virtual!machine!display!to!another,!

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click!the!tab!of!the!virtual!machine!you!want!to!see.!It’s!like!a!soft!KVM!switch.!You!can!
use!this!feature!in!the!windowed!view!and!also!in!the!quick!switch!view.

Figure 4-3. Tabs make it easy to switch among active virtual machines (as seen on a
Windows host)

You!can!close!a!virtual!machine’s!tab!without!interrupting!the!operation!of!the!virtual!
machine.!If!the
keeps!running!in!the!background!and!will!be!running!when!you!open!it!in!a!tab!again.

To!view!the!virtual!machine!in!the!virtual!machine!display!again,!click!the!virtual!
machine!in!the!inventory.!If!you!close!the
View!>!Go!to!Home!Tab.

If!you!want!to!view!more!than!one!virtual!machine!at!the!same!time,!you!can!open!
multiple!console!windows!and!launch!one!or!more!virtual!machines!in!each.!To!view!
virtual!machines!on!different!

!virtual!machine!is!running!when!you!close!the!tab,!the!virtual!machine!

!Home!tab,!you!can!open!it!again!by!choosing!

servers,!connect!a!new!console!to!each!server.

Configuring a Virtual Machine

To!change!settings!for!a!virtual!device,!use!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor.!Choose!
VM!>!Settings,!click!the!device!name!in!the!list!on!the!left,!then!make!changes!on!the!
right.

Figure 4-4. Use the virtual machine settings editor to add, remove and modify virtual
machine components

For!more!information,!see!“Using!Devices!in!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 102.

Using the Virtual Machine Inventory

When!you!create!a!virtual!machine!with!VMware!Server!it!is!added!to!the!inventory!
automatically.!This!allows!the!virtual!machine!to!be!accessed!by!a!VMware!Server!
Console!and!the!VMware!Management!Interface.

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The!inventory!gives!you!a!convenient!way!to!open!virtual!machines.!To!add!a!virtual!
machine!to!the!inventory!(for!example,!if!you!copied!the!virtual!machine!from!another!
host,!you!need!to!add!it!to!the!inventory!manually),!choose!File!>!Open,!click!Browse,!
and!browse!to!the!virtual!

Indicators!on!the!icons!for!virtual!machines!in!the!list!show!whether!a!virtual!machine!
is!powered!off,!powered!on!or!suspended.

To!toggle!the!display!of!the!inventory!on!or!off,!press!F9 on!both!Windows!and!Linux!
hosts.!On!Windows!hosts!only,!you!can!also
toolbar.

Removing a Virtual Machine from the Inventory

If!you!do!not!currently!need!to!use!a!virtual!machine,!but!do!not!want!to!delete!it,!you!
can!remove!it!from!the!inventory!instead.!The!virtual!machine!no!longer!appears!in!the!
VMware!Server!Console!or!the!VMware!Management!Interface.

machine’s!configuration!(.vmx)!file.

click!the!inventory!button!()!on!the!

Removing!the!virtual!machine!from!the!list!does!not!

To remove a name from the Inventoy

1 Select!a!virtual!machine!name!in!the!list.

2 Choose!File!>!Remove!from!Inventory.

affect!the!virtual!machine’s!files.

Displaying Hints

VMware!Server!can!display!hints!that!appear!in!response!to!various!actions!you!take!
when!you!run!a!virtual!machine.!The!hints!provide!more!information!about!these!
actions.!By!default,!hints!are!turned!off.!VMware!recommends!that!users!new!to!
VMware!Server!display!hints.!To!display!hints,!choose!Help!>!Hints
Hints!in!the!VMware!Server!Console.!To!enable!hints!that!were!disabled,!choose!Help!
>!Hints!>!Enable!All!Hints.!

You!can!hide!each!hint!on!a!case!by!case!basis.!To!hide!a!hint,!check!Never!show!this!
hint!again!before!dismissing!the!hint!dialog!box.
choose!Help!>!Hints!>!Enable!All!Hints.

!To!enable!hints!that!were!disabled,!

!>!Show!Enabled!

Checking the Status of VMware Tools

For!best!performance,!you!should!install!VMware!Tools!and!run!in!your!virtual!
machine.!For!more!information!about!VMware!Tools,!see!“Using!VMware!Tools”!on!
page 39.

After!you!install!VMware!Tools!in!a!Windows!virtual!machine,!the!VMware!Tools!
services!start!automatically!when!you!start!the!guest!operating!system.!

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Figure 4-5. When VMware T ools is running in a Windows virtual machine, the VMware
Tools icon appears in the system tray unless you disable the icon.

If!the!VMware!Tools!icon!is!not!displayed!in!the!system!tray,!use!the!VMware!Tools!
control!panel!in!the!guest!operating!system!(Start!>!Settings!>!Control!Panel!>!VMware!
Tools)!to!change!settings!for!VMware!Tools.!You!can!also!reactivate!the!system!tray!
icon.!On

In!a!Linux!or!FreeBSD!virtual!machine,!boot!the!guest!operating!system,!start!X,!and!
launch!your!graphical!environment.!Launch!the!VMware!Tools!background!
application!with!this!command:

vmware-toolbox &

!the!Options!tab,!check!Show!VMware!Tools!in!the!taskbar.

You!can!run!VMware!Tools!as!root!or!as!a!normal!user.!
must!run!VMware!Tools!as!root!(su -).!To!test!and!edit!scripts,!you!must!run!VMware!
Tools!as!the!root!user.

In!a!NetWare!5.1!or!higher!guest!operating!system,!you!access!the!VMware!Tools!
control!panel!by!choosing!Novell!>!Settings!>!VMware!Tools!

With!some!window!managers,!you!can!place!the!command!to!start!VMware!Tools!
automatically!when!you!start!your!graphical!environment.!Consult!your!window!
manager’s!documentation!for!details.!For!more!information,!see!“Starting!VMware!

Tools!Automatically”!on!page 53.

To!shrink!virtual!disks,!you!

for!NetWare.!

A Reminder About Installing VMware Tools

An!alert!appears!in!the!status!bar!—!at!the!lower!left!corner!of!the!VMware!Server!
window!—!when!your!virtual!machine!is!not!running!the!version!of!VMware!Tools!that!
matches!your!version!of!VMware!Server.

To!launch!the!VMware!Tools!installer,!choose!VM!>!Install!VMware!Tools.

NOTE Your!guest!operating!system!must!be!completely!installed!and!running!when!

you!install!VMware!Tools.

For!details,!see!“Installing!VMware!Tools”!on!page 41.

Creating a Screen Shot of a Virtual Machine

You!can!capture!a!screen!shot!of!a!virtual!machine!using!VM!>!Capture!Screen.!You!
can!save!this!image!as!a!bitmap!(.bmp)!file!on!a!Windows!host!or!as!a!portable!network!
graphics!(.png)!file!on!a!Linux!host.

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Connecting to Virtual Machines and VMware Server Hosts

This!section!covers!the!following!topics:

! “Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!Windows!Host!or!Client”!on!page 82

! “Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!Linux!Host!or!Client”!on!page 84

! “Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!the!VMware!Management!Interface”!on!

page 85

! “Connecting!to!a!Different!VMware!Server!Host”!on!page 85

! “Connecting!to!VMware!GSX!Server!and!Older!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 86

Connecting to a Virtual Machine from a Windows Host or Client

To!view!a!particular!virtual!machine’s!desktop,!either!from!a!remote!client!or!the!local!
client,!attach!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!connect!to!the!virtual!machine.!

To!connect!to!a!virtual!machine!from!a!Windows!host:

1Start!the!VMware!Server!Console,!either!by!clicking!on!the!VMware!Server!

Console!icon!
VMware!Server!Console.

or!by!going!to!Start!>!Programs!>!VMware!>!VMware!Server!>!

The!VMware!Virtual!Machine!Console!‐!Connect!to!Host!dialog!box!appears.

If!you!are!connecting!from!the!local!host,!select!local!host.
To!connect!to!a!remote!host,!specify!the!host!name,!user!name,!and!password
connect!to!that!host,!and!click!OK.

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Chapter 4 Running Virtual Machines

NOTE If!this!is!the!first!time!you!have!launched!VMware!Server!and!you!did!not!

enter!the!serial!number!when!you!installed!the!product!(an!option!
available!on!a!Windows!host),!you!are!prompted!to!enter!it.!The!serial!
number!is!in!the!email!message!that!came!with!your!electronic!
distribution.!Enter!your!serial!number!and!click!OK.

The!serial!number!you!enter!is!saved!and!VMware!Server!does!not!ask!you!for!it!
again.!For!your!convenience,!VMware!Server!automatically!sends!the!serial!
number!to!the!VMware!Web!site!when!you!use!certain!Web!links!built!into!the!
product!(for
VMware!on!the!Web!>!Request!Support).!This!allows!us!to!direct!you!to!the!
correct!Web!page!to!register!and!get!support!for!your!product.

The!VMware!Server!Console!window!opens.

!example,!Help!>!VMware!on!the!Web!>!Register!Now!!and!Help!>!

2 Select!the!name!of!the!virtual

VMware!Server!Console!window.

If!the!virtual!machine!does!not!appear!in!the!inventory,!choose!File!>!Open,!click!

Browse!and!browse!to!the!configuration!(.vmx)!file!for!the!virtual!machine!to!use.

NOTE By!default,!VMware!Server!stores!virtual!machines!in!

<installdrive>:\Virtual Machines\<guestOS>.

3To!start!a!virtual!machine,!click!the!Power!On!button.

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!machine!in!the!Inventory!list!at!the!left!of!the!

VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide

4If!VMware!Tools!is!not!running!in!the!virtual!machine,!click!anywhere!inside!the!

virtual!machine!window!to!give!the!virtual!machine!control!of!your!mouse!and!
keyboard.

5To!log!on,!use!Ctrl‐Alt‐Ins—not!Ctrl‐Alt‐Del—and!type!your!name!and!password!

just!as!you!do!on!a!physical!computer.!
detects!the!command.

If!you!use!Ctrl‐Alt‐Del,!the!Windows!host!

Connecting to a Virtual Machine from a Linux Host or Client

To!view!a!particular!virtual!machine’s!desktop!from!a!local!Linux!host,!a!remote!Linux!
host!running!VMware!Server!or!a!client,!attach!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!
connect!to!the!virtual!machine.!

You!need!an!X!server!to!run!the!VMware!Server!Console.!If!an!X!server!is!not!installed,
you!must!install!libxpm.so.4,!located!on!your!Linux!distribution!disk.

1Start!the!VMware!Server!Console.!Open!a!terminal!window.

2To!connect!the!VMware!Server!Console!to!a!virtual!machine,!type:

vmware & for either a local or remote hostPress!Enter.!
The!Connect!to!Host!dialog!box!appears.!

3If!you!are!connecting!from!a!local!host,!select!Local!host,!and

To!connect!to!a!remote!host,!select!Remote!host,!and!specify!the!host!name,!user!
name,!and!password.!Click!Connect.

The!VMware!Server!Console!window!opens.

!click!Connect.

!

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4 Select!the!name!of!the!virtual!machine!you!want!to!use!in!the!Inventory!list!at!the!

left!of!the!VMware!Server!Console!window.!

If!the!virtual!machine!does!not!appear!in!the!Inventory,!choose!File!>!Open!and!
click!Browse!to!locate!the!configuration!file!(.vmx!or!.cfg!file)!
machine!you!want!to!use.

NOTE By!default,!VMware!Server!stores!virtual!machines!in!

/var/lib/vmware/Virtual Machines/<guestOS>.!

5To!start!the!virtual!machine,!click!the!Power!On!button.

6If!VMware!Tools!is!not!running!in!the!virtual!machine,!click!anywhere!inside!the!

virtual!machine!display!to!give!the!virtual!machine!control!of!your!mouse!and!
keyboard.

for!the!virtual!

7To!log!on,!type!in!your!name!and!password!just!as!you!

do!on!a!physical!computer.

Connecting to a Virtual Machine from the VMware Management Interface

To!view!a!particular!virtual!machine’s!desktop,!you!can!attach!the!VMware!Server!
Console!and!connect!to!the!virtual!machine.!

From!the!VMware!Management!Interface,!click!the!terminal!icon!()!in!the!row!for!
the!virtual!machine!to!which!you!want!to!connect!with!the!VMware!Server!Console.!For!
more!information,

Client”!on!page 82!and!“Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!Linux!Host!or!Client”!

on!page 84.

!see!“Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!Windows!Host!or!

Connecting to a Different VMware Server Host

Each!VMware!Server!Console!can!connect!to!one!VMware!Server!host!at!a!time.!To!
switch!hosts!from!the!VMware!Server!Console,!complete!the!following!steps.

1From!a!VMware!Server!Console,!choose!Host!>!Switch!Host.!The!Switch!Host!

dialog!box!appears.

2 Choose!whether!to!connect!to!the!local!host!or!

! To!connect!to! a!virtual!machine!on!another!VMware!Server!host,!specify!the!

host!name,!user!name,!and!password!to!connect!to!that!host,!then!click!OK.

If!you!were!already!connected!to!a!different!VMware!Server!host,!you!lose!that!
connection.

another!VMware!Server!host.

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Connecting to VMware GSX Server and Older Virtual Machines

When!you!connect!a!VMware!Server!Console!from!VMware!Server!to!VMware!GSX!
Server!3,!the!VMware!Server!Console!controls!adapt!to!VMware!GSX!Server.!Features!
introduced!in!VMware!Server,!such!as!Virtual!SMP,!are!not!available!on!virtual!
machines!running!VMware!GSX!Server!3.!

As!discussed!in!“Overview!of!the
Home!tab!and!the!status!bar!in!the!VMware!Server!Console!window!display!the!
type—VMware!GSX!Server!3!or!VMware!Server—and!version!of!the!server!to!which!
you!are!connecting.

If!you!are!running!VMware!Server!with!a!virtual!machine!created!under!VMware!GSX
Server!3,!the!virtual!machine’s!summary!information!indicates!that!it!is!a!legacy!virtual!
machine.!If!the!virtual!machine!was!created!using!VMware!Server!or!Workstation!5.x,!
the!virtual!machine!is!considered!to!be!a!current!virtual!machine!when!run!under!
VMware!Server.!Look!for!the!Version!information!in!the!
the!virtual!machine!is!not!running.

In!addition,!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor!identifies!a!virtual!machine!as!a!legacy!
virtual!machine.

NOTE To!determine!which!version!of!another!VMware!product!is!older!than!

VMware!Server,!see!the!VMware!Vi rtual!Machine!Mobility!Planning!Guide!on!the!
VMware!Web!site.!This!guide!also!discusses!moving!virtual!machines!
between!VMware!products.

If!you!are!running!an!older!virtual!machine!on!a!VMware!Server!host,!the!virtual!
machine!is!considered!a!legacy!virtual!machine!until!you!upgrade!the!virtual!
hardware.!Some!legacy!virtual!machine!settings!are!disabled.!For!example,!you!cannot!
add!physical!disks!to!a!legacy!virtual!machine!on!

The!abilities!and!limitations!of!connecting!the!VMware!Server!Console!to!older!servers!
and!older!virtual!machines!are!outlined!below.

!VMware!Server!Console!Window”!on!page 75,!the!

virtual!machine!display!when!

a!current!VMware!Server!host.

!

Configuring the Host

You!can!configure!a!host!running!VMware!Server!or!VMware!GSX!Server!3!only.!You!
cannot!configure!a!host!running!any!other!version!of!VMware!GSX!Server!or!any!other!
VMware!product.!

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Creating and Deleting Virtual Machines

You!can!create!new!virtual!machines!on!the!VMware!GSX!Server!3!host!from!the!
VMware!Server!Console.!You!can!also!delete!virtual!machines!running!on!a!VMware!
GSX!Server!3!host!from!the!VMware!Server!Console.

Upgrading Virtual Hardware

Using!the!VMware!Server!Console,!you!can!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware!of!legacy!
virtual!machines!only!to!the!virtual!hardware!level!supported!by!the!VMware!GSX!
Server!3!or!VMware!Server!host!that!it!resides!on.!To!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware!of!
a!legacy!virtual!machine!created!using!VMware!GSX!Server
VMware!GSX!Server!on!the!host!and!install!VMware!Server.

After!you!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware,!the!virtual!machine!is!no!longer!considered!to!
be!a!legacy!virtual!machine.!For!more!information!on!how!to!upgrade!the!virtual!
hardware!of!a!legacy!virtual!machine,!see!“Upgrading!Virtual
VMware!Server!Administration!Guide.

!2,!you!must!uninstall!

!Hardware”!in!the!

Virtual Disk Modes

You!can!specify!a!disk!mode!for!persistent!or!nonpersistent!virtual!disks.!For!a!
discussion!of!disk!modes,!see!“Ad d i n g !Virtual!Disks!to!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 132.

If!you!are!running!a!legacy!virtual!machine!on!a!VMware!Server!host,!the!virtual!
machine’s!disk!modes!are!honored!but!cannot!be!
do!not!apply!(see!“Independent!Disks”!on!page 121).!For!information!on!how!
snapshots!work!with!disk!modes,!see!“Snapshots!and!Legacy!Disk!Modes”!on!
page 117.

modified.!Independent!disk!modes!

Using Snapshots

You!can!take!snapshots!of!virtual!machines!running!on!VMware!GSX!Server!3!when!
connected!to!the!VMware!GSX!Server!host!from!a!VMware!Server!host.!You!cannot!
take!snapshots!of!legacy!virtual!machines!running!on!a!VMware!Server!host.!For!more!
information,!see!“Snapshots!and!Legacy!Disk!Modes”!on!page 117.

Virtual CD-ROM Drive Differences

You!can!enable!raw!access!for!the!virtual!machine.!This!is!known!as!legacy!emulation!
in!VMware!Server.!

Virtual Network Interface Card (NIC)

If!you!are!running!a!VMware!GSX!Server!3!virtual!machine,!you!can!choose!the!vmxnet!
adapter!only!if!the!guest!operating!system!is!Windows!2000,!Windows!XP!or!Windows!
Server!2003.

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Product Messages

Messages!that!the!VMware!Server!Console!displays!are!based!on!the!version!of!the!
server!to!which!you!are!connecting.!References!to!menu!items,!interface!elements!and!
product!terminology!are!relevant!to!that!server!type!and!version,!not!necessarily!to!the!
current!version!of!VMware!Server.

Viewing the Tip of the Day

You!can!view!the!tip!of!the!day!when!you!are!connected!to!a!VMware!GSX!Server!3!
host.

Changing the Power State of a Virtual Machine

The!following!topics!discuss!ways!you!change!a!virtual!machine’s!power!state:

! “Using!Power!Options!for!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 88

! “Suspending!and!Resuming!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 91

! “Shutting!Down!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 92

! “Powering!Virtual!Machines!On!and!Off”!on!page 92

Using Power Options for Virtual Machines

The!basic!power!operations!for!a!virtual!machine!include!powering!on,!powering!off,!
suspending,!resuming,!and!resetting.!These!options!are!analogous!to!the!power!
operations!on!a!physical!computer.

If!VMware!Tools!is!running,!you!can!run!scripts!when!you!change!the!power!state!of!a!
virtual!machine.!For!more!information,!

Machine’s!Power!State!Changes”!on!page 55.!

When!you!reset!a!virtual!machine,!you!can!choose!either!to!restart!the!guest!operating!
system,!which!gracefully!closes!applications!and!restarts!the!guest!operating!system,!or!
to!reset!the!virtual!machine,!which!is!the!same!as!pressing!the
computer.!

Similarly,!when!you!power!off!the!virtual!machine,!you!can!choose!either!to!shut!down!
the!guest!operating!system,!which!gracefully!closes!applications!and!shuts!the!guest!
operating!system!down,!or!to!turn!off!the!virtual!machine,!which!is!the!same!as!
pressing!the!

All!the!power!options!are!available!on!the!Power!menu.!The!menu!items!might!not!be!
available,!depending!upon!the!current!power!state!of!the!virtual!machine.!For!example,!
if!the!virtual!machine!is!powered!off,!you!cannot!select!any!power!off,!suspend,!
resume,!or!

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power!button!on!a!physical!computer.

reset!options.!

see!“Executing!Scripts!When!the!Virtual!

!reset!button!on!a!physical!

Chapter 4 Running Virtual Machines

For!the!purpose!of!running!scripts!in!the!guest!operating!system,!the!commands!on!the!
Power!menu!take!precedence!over!how!the!toolbar!power!buttons!are!configured.!

For!example,!if!the!Suspend!toolbar!button!is!configured!to!run!a!script!when!you!
suspend!the!virtual!machine,!and!you!do!not!want

!to!run!the!script,!choose!Power!>!

Suspend.!Similarly,!if!the!Suspend!toolbar!button!is!not!configured!to!run!a!script,!and!

you!want!to!run!the!script!at!the!time!you!suspend!the!virtual!machine,!choose!Power!
>!Suspend!after!running!script.

Options for Powering On a Virtual Machine

Choose!from!the!following!options!when!powering!on!a!virtual!machine:

! Power!On!—!powers!on!the!virtual!machine.!This!is!the!same!as!clicking!the!Power!

On!button!on!the!toolbar.!When!the!virtual!machine!is!suspended,!this!menu!item!
appears!as!Resume.

! Power!On!and!Run!Script!—!powers!on!the!virtual!machine,!then!executes!the!

associated!script.

Options for Powering Off a Virtual Machine

Choose!from!the!following!options!when!powering!off!a!virtual!machine:

! Power!Off!—!powers!off!the!virtual!machine.!This!is!similar!to!turning!off!a!

physical!computer!by!pressing!its!power!button,!so!any!programs!running!in!the!
virtual!machine!could!be!adversely!affected.

! Shut!Down!Guest!—!runs!the!associated!script,!then!gracefully!shuts!the!guest!

operating!system!down!and,!if!the!guest!operating!system!supports!Advanced!
Power!Management,!powers!off!the!virtual!machine.!This!is!the!same!as!choosing!

Start!>!Shut!Down!>!Shut!Down!in!a!Windows!operating!system!or!issuing

!a!

shutdown!command!in!a!Linux!operating!system.!

You!can!configure!the!stop!button!()!on!the!toolbar!to!power!off!the!virtual!machine!
or!shut!down!the!guest!operating!system.!Choose!VM!>!Settings,!then!click!Options!>!

Power,!and!choose!the!desired!action!in!the!list!under!

Power!Controls.

Options for Suspending a Virtual Machine

Choose!from!the!following!options!when!suspending!a!virtual!machine:

! Suspend!—!suspends!the!virtual!machine.

! Suspend!after!Running!Script!—!executes!the!associated!script,!then!suspends!the!

virtual!machine.

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Options for Resuming a Virtual Machine

Choose!from!the!following!options!when!resuming!a!virtual!machine:

! Resume!—!resumes!the!suspended!virtual!machine.!When!the!virtual!machine!is!

powered!off,!this!menu!item!appears!as!Power!On.

! Resume!and!Run!Script!—!resumes!the!suspended!virtual!machine,!then!executes!

the!associated!script.

Options for Resetting a Virtual Machine

Choose!from!the!following!options!when!resetting!a!virtual!machine:

! Reset!—!resets!the!virtual!machine.!This!is!similar!to!resetting!a!physical!computer!

by!pressing!its!reset!button,!so!any!programs!running!in!the!virtual!machine!could!
be!adversely!affected.!

! Restart!Guest!—!gracefully!restarts!the!virtual!machine.!This!is!the!same!as!

choosing!Start!>!Shut!Down!>!Restart!in!a!Windows!operating!system!or!issuing!
a!reboot!command!in!a!Linux!operating!system.!

You!can!configure!the!reset!button!()!on!the!toolbar!to!reset!the!virtual!machine!or
restart!the!guest!operating!system.!Choose!VM!>!Settings,!then!click!Options!>!Power,!
and!choose!the!desired!action!in!the!list!under!Power!Controls.

Changing a Virtual Machine’s Power State from the Management Interface

Depending!upon!your!permissions,!you!can!change!the!power!state!of!the!virtual!
machine!in!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!Your!permissions!are!listed!in!the!
Users!and!Events!tab!for!the!virtual!machine.!For!more!information,!see!“Viewing!a!

List!of!Connected!Users”.

To!change!the!virtual!machine’s!power!state,!click
virtual!machine’s!current!power!state.!A!pop‐up!menu!appears,!displaying!the!
following!buttons:

!the!button!that!corresponds!to!the!

!

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Table 4-2.

Button Description

Shuts!down!the!guest!operating!system!and!powers!off!the!virtual!
machine.!Any!open!applications!close,!the!guest!operating!system!shuts!
down,!then!VMware!Server!powers!off!the!virtual!machine.!VMware!
Tools!executes!any!script!associated!with!this!power!state!change.!When!
this!icon!is!red,!the!virtual!machine!is!powered

Suspends!a!running!virtual!machine.!VMware!Too ls!executes!any!script!
associated!with!this!power!state!change.!When!this!icon!is!amber,!the!
virtual!machine!is!suspended.!

Powers!on!a!stopped!virtual!machine!or!resumes!a!suspended!virtual!
machine.!VMware!Tool s!executes!any!script!associated!with!this!power!
state!change.!

Restarts!a!guest!operating!system.!Any!open!applications!close,!the!guest!
operating!system!shuts!down,!then!VMware!Server!restarts!the!guest.!
VMware!Tools!executes!any!script!associated!with!this!power!state!
change.

When!this!icon!is!green,!the!virtual!machine!is!running.!

!off.!

Changing!the!power!state!executes!any!script!associated!with!the!power!state!change.!
For!more!information!about!running!scripts,!see!“Executing!Scripts!When!the!Virtual!

Machine’s!Power!State!Changes”!on!page 55.

Suspending and Resuming Virtual Machines

You!can!save!the!current!state!of!your!virtual!machine!by!suspending!it.!Later,!you!can!
resume!the!virtual!machine!to!pick!up!work!quickly,!right!where!you!stopped!—!with!
all!documents!you!were!working!on!open!and!all!applications!in!the!state!they!were!at!
the!time!you!suspended

!the!virtual!machine.

To!suspend!a!virtual!machine:

1If!your!virtual!machine!is!running!in!full!screen!mode,!return!to!window!mode!by!

pressing!the!Ctrl‐Alt!key!combination.

2Click!Suspend!on!the!VMware!Server!Console!toolbar.

To!resume!a!suspended!virtual!machine:!

1Start!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!choose!a!suspended!

virtual!machine.!The!
process!is!the!same!as!that!described!in!“Connecting!to!Virtual!Machines!and!

VMware!Server!Hosts”!on!page 82.

2Click!Resume!on!the!VMware!Server!Console!toolbar.

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Note!that!any!applications!you!were!running!at!the!time!you!suspended!the!virtual!
machine!are!running!and!the!content!is!the!same!as!it!was!when!you!suspended!
the!virtual!machine.

For!more!information,!see!“Suspending!and!Resuming!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 109.

To!suspend!and!resume!a!virtual!machine!from!the
see!“Changing!a!Virtual!Machine’s!Power!State!from!the!Management!Interface”!on!
page 90.

!VMware!Management!Interface,!

Shutting Down a Virtual Machine

As!with!physical!computers,!you!need!to!shut!down!your!guest!operating!system!
before!you!power!off!your!virtual!machine.!Follow!the!standard!steps!you!also!follow!
in!the!host!operating!system.

For!example,!in!a!Windows!guest!operating!system,!take!these!steps.

1 Select!Shut!Down!from!the!Start!menu!of!the

virtual!machine).

2 Select!Shut!Down,!then!click!OK.

3After!the!guest!operating!system!shuts!down,!you!can!turn!off!the!virtual!machine.!

Click!Power!Off.

!guest!operating!system!(inside!the!

Powering Virtual Machines On and Off

You!can!configure!a!virtual!machine!to!power!on!automatically!when!the!VMware!
Server!host!starts.!When!the!host!shuts!down,!you!can!specify!whether!to!power!off!the!
virtual!machine!or!shut!down!the!guest!operating!system.

You!can!enable!these!settings!as!long!as!the!startup!and!shutdown!options!
disabled!for!the!server.!See!“Configuring!Startup!and!Shutdown!Options!for!Virtual!

Machines”.

are!not!

To!specify!these!options,!the!virtual!machine!must!be!configured!to!run!as!either!the!
local!system!account!or!as!a!specific!user.!The!virtual!machine!cannot!be!configured!to!
run!as!the!user!that!powers

You!can!change!the!startup!and!shutdown!options!whether!the!virtual!machine!is!
powered!on!or!powered!off.

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!it!on.