VMware Server - 1.0 Administrator’s Guide

Administration Guide

VMware Server 1.0

VMware Server Administration Guide
Revision: 20060706
Item: SVR-ENG-Q206-226

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!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Before!You!Install!the!Release! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Host!System!Requirements! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!5

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

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!Operating
Technical!Support!Resources!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 20

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

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

Support!Offerings!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!20

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

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

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!1
!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!2

Support)! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!2

.!.!.!.!.!2

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!3

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!3

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!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!7

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!10

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!12

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!15

!Systems!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!17

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

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

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

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!22

VMware, Inc. iii

VMware Server Administration Guide

Chapter!2!Installing!VMware!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!25

Selecting!Your!Host!System!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

About!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!the!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Installing!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!26

Basic!Installation!.!.!.!.!.!

Default!Directories! .!

Installation!
Installing!VMware!Server!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!36

Basic!Installation!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Default!Directories! .!.!.!.!

Installation!Steps!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!40

Installing!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!Linux!Host!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 43

Before!

Installing!the!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!Linux!Host!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!44

Installing!an!X!Server!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Before!You!Install!on!a!SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!8
Configuring!Web!Browsers!for!Use!with!VMware!Server! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 46

Launching!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!the!VMware!

Interface!on!an!Encrypted!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 46
Connecting!to!the!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!Proxy!Server!!
Launching!Help!in!Netscape!on!a!Linux!System!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 48

Installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Windows!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 49
Installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!50

Installing!the!VMware!APIs!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Installing!VmPerl!and!VmCOM!APIs!on!a!Windows!Host!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 52
Installing!VmPerl!API!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!54

Uninstalling!VMware!Server!.!.!.!.!.

Uninstalling!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!Host!!.!.!.!.
Uninstalling!VMware!Server!on!a!Linux!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

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

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!26

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!28

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!30

Steps!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!30

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!37

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!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!45

!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!45

Management!

.!.!.!.!.!.!47

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!48

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!51

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!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!55

!.!.!57

Chapter!3!Migrating!from!GSX!Server!to!VMware!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!59

Preparing!for!the!Migration!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Before!You!Install!VMware!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!59
When!You!Remove!a!

Migrating!to!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 62
Migrating!to!VMware
Using!Virtual!Machines!Created!with!VMware!GSX!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!64

Creating!Everything!New!from!the!Start! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 65

iv VMware, Inc.

VMware!Product!and!Install!VMware!Server! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 62

!Server!on!a!Linux!Host!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!63

!.!.!.!.!59

Using!a!Legacy!Virtual!Machine!Without!Upgrading!Virtual!Hardware! .!.!.!.! 65
Upgrading!the!Virtual!Hardware!on!a!Legacy!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!65
Upgrading!Virtual!Hardware!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Using!Virtual!Machines!Created!with!Workstation!5.x!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!66

Chapter!4!Managing!Virtual!Machines!and!the!VMware!

Server Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!77

Remotely!Managing!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 77

Changing!the!Port!Number!for
Downloading!the!VMware!Server!Console! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!81

Securing!Virtual!Machines!and!the!

Understanding!Permissions!and!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Authenticating!Users!and!Running!Virtual!Machines!for!a!Windows!Host!!.! 85
Authenticating!Users!and!Running!Virtual!Machines!for!a!Linux!Host! .!.!.!.!.! 88
Checking!Permissions!in!the!VMware!Management!Interface! .!.!.!.!
Securing!Your!Remote!Sessions! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Identifying!a!Virtual!Machine!by!Its!UUID!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!92

Specifying!a!UUID!for!a!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.

Logging!VMware!Server!Events!on!Windows! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Backing!Up!Virtual!Machines!and!the!VMware!Server!Host!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!95

Using!a!Backup!Agent!in!the!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!
Using!a!Backup!Agent!Running!on!the! Host!Operating!System!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!96
Backing!Up!the!VMware!Server!Host
Considerations!for!Backing!Up!Virtual!Machines!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Using!the!VMware!Management!Interface! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Setting!the!Session!Length!for!the!VMware!Management!Interface!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 99
Logging!On!to!the!VMware!Management!Interface! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 99
Using!the
Configuring!a!Virtual!Machine!!.
The!Apache!Server!and!the!VMware!Management!Interface! .!.!.!.!.
Logging!Off!the!VMware!Management!Interface! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 111

Deleting!Virtual!Machines!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Deleting!a!Virtual!Machine!Using!the!VMware!Server!Console!!.!.!.!.!.!

Configuring!the!VMware!Server!Host!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 112

Securing!Remote!Connections!with!SSL
Configuring!Startup!and!Shutdown!Options!for!Virtual!Machines!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 113
Setting!User!
Setting!Global!Preferences!for!VMware!Server! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!123

!Status!Monitor!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!101

Preferences!for!the!VMware!Server!Host!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!117

!VMware!Server!Console!Connections! .!.!.!.!.!.! 78

Host!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!82

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!83

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!90

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!93

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!94

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!95

! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 96

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!97

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!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!111

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!111

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 112

Contents

!.!.!.!.!75

.!.!90

!.!97

.!.!.!.!.!112

VMware, Inc. v

VMware Server Administration Guide

Creating!Network!Labels!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!125
Setting!MIME!Type!to!

Using!VirtualCenter!to!Manage!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!131

Creating!Virtual
Connecting!to!a!Virtual!Machine!from!a!VirtualCenter!Client! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 131

Chapter!5!Moving!and!Sharing!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!133

Moving!a!VMware!Server!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Virtual!Machines!Use!Relative!Paths!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 134
Preparing!Your!Virtual!Machine!for!the!Move!!.!.!.!.!
Moving!a!Virtual!Machine!to!a!New!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Moving!VMware!GSX!Server!3!Virtual!Machine!to!a!New!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 136

Virtual!Machines!Use!Relative!Paths!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Preparing!Your!Virtual!Machine!for!the!Move!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Moving!a!Virtual!Machine!to!a!New!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!138

Moving!Older!Virtual!Machines! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Virtual!Machines!May!Use!Relative!or!Absolute!Paths! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Preparing!Your!Virtual!Machine!for!the!Move!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!139
Preparing!the!New!Host!Machine! .!.!.!.
Considerations!for!Moving!Disks!in!Undoable!Mode!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Sharing!Virtual!Machines!with!Other!Users!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 142

Launch!the!VMware!Server!Console!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!128

!Machines!from!a!VirtualCenter!Client!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 131

!133

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!134

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!135

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!137

!.!137

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!138

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!139

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!140

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!141

Chapter!6!Performance!Tuning!and!the!VMware!Server!Host!!145

Configuring!and!Maintaining!the!Host!Computer!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 145

Location!of!the!Working!Directory!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Defragmentation!of!Disk!Drives!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Adequate!Free!Disk!Space!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
NIC!Interrupts!Coalescing!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Configuring!VMware!Server! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!146

General
VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!Host!.!.!.!.
VMware!Server!on!a!Linux!Host! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Understanding!Memory!Usage!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 154

Memory!Use!on!the!Host!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Specifying!How!Much!RAM!is!Used!by!All!Running!Virtual!Machines!!.!.!.! 155
Memory!Usage!on!Older!Linux!Hosts!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

vi VMware, Inc.

!VMware!Server!Options!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!147

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!151

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!145

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!145

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!146

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!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!155

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!157

Contents

Chapter!7!Using!High‐Availability!Configurations!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 161

Using!SCSI!Reservation!to!Share!SCSI!Disks!with!Virtual!Machines! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!161

SCSI!Reservation!Support! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Enabling!SCSI!Reservation! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Issues!to!Consider!When!Sharing!Disks! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 164

Overview!of!Clustering!with!VMware!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!165

Applications!That!Can!Use!Clustering
Clustering!Software! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!166

Creating!a!Cluster!in!a!Box!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Configuring!Virtual!Machines!for!Cluster!in!a!Box!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Creating!a!Two‐Node!Cluster!with!Microsoft!Clustering!Services!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 169

Using!Network!Load!Balancing!with!VMware!Server!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Overview!of!Network!Load!Balancing!Clusters!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!175
Creating!a!Multinode!Network!Load!Balancing!Cluster! .!.!.!.!.!.

Creating!Two‐Node!Clusters!Using!Novell!Clustering!Services! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 179

Creating!the!First!Nodeʹs!Base!Virtual!Machine! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Creating!the!Second!Node!in!the!Cluster! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 181
Installing!the!Guest!Operating!System!and!VMware!Tools!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!181
Adding!the!Shared!Disks!to!Both!Virtual!Machines!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Installing!Novell!Clustering!Services!on!the!Cluster!Nodes! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 182

Clustering!Using!the!iSCSI!Protocol!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!

Clustering!Scenarios!Using!iSCSI!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!
Creating!and!Configuring!the!iSCSI!Initiator!Virtual!Machine!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!184
Configuring!the!iSCSI!Target!in!the!Cluster!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!162

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!162

! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 166

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!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!168

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.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!183

.!.!.!.!.!.!.!184

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!185

Appendix:!Mounting!Virtual!Disks! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!187

Considerations!for!Mounting!Virtual!Disks! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Statement!of!Support! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.

Installing!the!VMware!DiskMount!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.
Running!the!VMware!DiskMount!Utility! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!188

Examples!Using!the!VMware!DiskMount!

Utility! .!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!189

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!187
!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!188

!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!188

Glossary!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!191

Index!!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.! 199

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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.

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! 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.

Two-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)”!in!the!VMware!Server!Virtual!Machine!Guide.

!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”!in!the!VMware!Server!Virtual!Machine!Guide.

2 VMware, Inc.

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”!on!page 65..

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”!on!page 133.

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”!in!the!VMware!Server!Virtual!Machine!Guide.

Take and Revert to Snapshot s 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”!in!the!VMware!Server!Vi rt ua l!Machine!Guide.

!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.!

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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.

Before You Install the Release

Before!you!install!this!release,!take!the!following!steps!to!ensure!the!best!possible!
experience!with!VMware!Server.

If!you!plan!to!install!VMware!Server!on!a!host!machine!that!is!already!running!any!
other!VMware!product,!you!must!first!uninstall!that!product.!On!a!Microsoft!Windows!
host,!use!the!Add/Remove!
manual!for!the!commands!needed!to!uninstall!the!product.!

Programs!control!panel.!On!a!Linux!host,!see!your!product!

!you!

On!a!Windows!host,!the!uninstaller!asks!whether!you!want!to!keep!licenses!in!your!
registry.!Do!not!remove!the!licenses.!If!you!re‐install!the!VMware!product!that!you!
uninstalled,!you

On!a!Linux!host,!the!license!remains!in!place.!You!do!not!need!to!take!any!special!
action.

VMware!Server!lets!you!connect!to!hosts!running!VMware!GSX!Server!3.!You!can!either!
use!virtual!machines!created!using!VMware!GSX!Server!3!
the!virtual!hardware!of!legacy!virtual!machines.!To!use!virtual!machines!created!using!
VMware!GSX!Server!2,!you!must!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware.!For!more!information,!
see!“Migrating!to!VMware!Server”!on!page 55.

4 VMware, Inc.

!do!not!need!to!enter!the!serial!number!again.

in!legacy!mode!or!upgrade!

Installing VMware Tools

After!you!install!VMware!Server,!it!is!recommended!to!install!VMware!Tools!to!ensure!
enhanced!performance!for!your!guest!operating!system.!For!more!information,!see!

“Installing!VMware!Tools”!in!the!VMware!Server!Virtual!Machine!Guide.

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.

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

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

Compatible!processors!include:!

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

! 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.

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:

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VMware Server Administration Guide

! 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

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).

6 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

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

! 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,!and!Web!Editions,!R2

! 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.

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VMware Server Administration Guide

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

! 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

8 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

! 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

! 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.

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VMware Server Administration Guide

! 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.

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.!

10 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

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.

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:

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! 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

! 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).

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Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

! 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!

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.

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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.!

! 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

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Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

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.

! 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.

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

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 i on!64,!revision!E!or!later

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

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

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

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VMware Server Administration Guide

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!

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)

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Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

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

! 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

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! 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

! 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

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Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

! 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

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!

Ubuntu

! Ubuntu!Linux!5.04!and!5.10

! Ubuntu!Linux!6.06!

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Technical Support Resources

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

! “Self‐Service!Support”

! “Online!and!Tel e p h o n e!Support”

! “Support!Offerings”

! “Reporting!Problems”

! “Log!Files”

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.

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Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

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.

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.

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

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

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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

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

!the!current!directory.!

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!

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

include!the!VMware!Server

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.!

!Console’s!log!file!or!its!installation!log!files.

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

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

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.!

22 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements

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

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

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!

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

appears!in!the!terminal!when!you!start!the!VMware!Server!Console.

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.

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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 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!

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CHAPTER 2 Installing VMware Server

This!chapter!describes!how!to!install!VMware!Server!on!your!Linux!or!Windows!host!
system!and!covers!the!following!topics:

! “Selecting!You r !Host!System”!on!page 25

! “A b o u t !the!VMware!Server!Console!on!the!Server”!on!page 26

! “Installing!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!Host”!on!page 26

! “Installing!VMware!Server!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 36

! “Configuring!Web !Browsers!for!Use!with!VMware!Server”!on!page 46

! “Installing!the!VMware!Server!Console”!on!page 48

! “Installing!the!VMware!APIs”!on!page 51

! “Uninstalling!VMware!Server”!on!page 55

Selecting Your Host System

VMware!Server!is!available!for!both!Windows!and!Linux!host!computers.!Go!to!

http://www.vmware.com/download/server/!to!download!the!software.!You!receive!the!

serial!numbers!in!an!email!message!from!VMware.!The!message!includes!one!serial!
number!for!use!on!Windows!hosts!and!another!serial!number!for!use!on!Linux!hosts.!
Enter!the
download!the!software!again!or!request!additional!serial!numbers,!go!to!
http://www.vmware.com/download/server!and!log!on!to!receive!another!serial!
number.!

!serial!number!that!is!appropriate!for!your!host!operating!system.!To!

To!install!on!a!supported!Windows!host!computer,!see!“Installing!VMware!Server!on!a!

Windows!Host”!on!page 26.!To!
VMware!Server!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 36.

To!review!the!list!of!supported!host!operating!systems!on!which!you!can!install!
VMware!Server,!see!“Host!System!Requirements”!on!page 5.

install!on!a!Linux!host!computer,!see!“Installing!

Installing on a Computer with a Different VMware Product

You!cannot!install!VMware!Server!on!a!computer!with!VMware!Workstation,!VMware!
Player,!VMware!ACE,!or!VMware!GSX!Server!installed.!If!you!have!one!of!these!
products!installed!on!the!computer!where!you!plan!to!install!VMware!Server,!remove!
the!existing!product,!and!then!install!VMware!Server.!On!a!Windows!host,

VMware, Inc. 25

!use!the!

VMware Server Administration Guide

Add/Remove!Programs!control!panel.!On!a!Linux!host,!see!your!product!manual!for!
the!commands!needed!to!uninstall!the!product.!You!can!connect!to!hosts!running!
VMware!GSX!Server!3.!

Upgrading to VMware Server

You!can!upgrade!virtual!machines!created!using!VMware!GSX!Server!2!and!3.!For!more!
information!about!upgrading!a!host!from!VMware!GSX!Server!to!VMware!Server,!see!

“Migrating!from!GSX!Server!to!VMware!Server”!on!page 59.

About the VMware Server Console on the Server

VMware!Server!uses!the!VMware!Server!Console!to!manage!virtual!machines!on!any!
VMware!Server!host!directly!from!the!host!or!remotely!from!a!client!workstation!or!
another!host.

Multiple!consoles!can!connect!to!a!virtual!machine!at!the!same!time,!giving!multiple!
authorized!users!concurrent!access!to!the!virtual!machine.!
connect!to!the!virtual!machine!with!VMware!Scripting!APIs!and!the!VMware!
Management!Interface.!You!can!run!virtual!machines!in!full!screen!mode!from!any!
console.

When!you!install!the!VMware!Server!software,!the!VMware!Server!Console!is!installed!
automatically.!You!should!install!the!VMware!Server!Console!
workstation!from!which!you!want!to!access!virtual!machines.!This!allows!for!remote!
management!of!virtual!machines.!

Similarly,!multiple!users!can!

on!any!client!

NOTE Do!not!mix!components!of!VMware!Server!and!VMware!ESX!Server.!You!

cannot!use!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!VMware!ESX!Server!to!connect!
to!a!VMware!Server!host,!or!vice!versa.!You!can,!however,!use!the!VMware!
Server!Console!to!connect!to!VMware!GSX!Server!3!hosts.!To!open!virtual
machines!created!on!VMware!GSX!Server!2,!you!must!first!uninstall!VMware!
GSX!Server!2!and!then!install!VMware!Server.

To!install!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!client,!see!“Installing!the!VMware!Server!

Console”!on!page 48.!You!can!download!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!the!VMware!

Management!Interface!for!convenient!installation!on!a!remote!client.!For!more!
information,!see!“Downloading!the!VMware!

Server!Console”!on!page 81.

!

Installing VMware Server on a Windows Host

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!install!VMware!Server!on!your!Windows!host!
operating!system:

26 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

! “Basic!Installation”!on!page 28

! “Default!Directories”!on!page 30

! “Installation!Steps”!on!page 30

To get started with VMware Server on a Windows host

1Install!the!VMware!Server!software!(including!VMware!Management!Interface,!

the!VmCOM!API,!the!VmPerl!API,!the!Programming!API,!and!the!VMware!Server!
Console)!on!the!server.!

2Install!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!VMware!Scripting!APIs!on!Windows!or!

Linux!clients.

3Start!the!VMware!Server!Console.

You!are!prompted!

to!enter!your!serial!number!either!during!the!installation!

process!or!the!first!time!you!start!the!VMware!Server!Console.!

4Enter!the!serial!number!only!once.

NOTE You!receive!the!serial!numbers!in!an!email!message!from!VMware.!The!

message!includes!one!serial!number!to!use!on!a!Windows!host!and!another!
serial!number!to!use!on!a!Linux!host.!Enter!the!serial!number!that!is!
appropriate!for!your!host!operating!system.!To!download!the!software!again!
or

!request!additional!serial!numbers,!go!to!

http://www.vmware.com/download/server/.

5 Create!a!virtual!machine!using!the!New!Virtual!Machine!Wizard.!See!“Creating!a!

New!Virtual!Machine”.

6Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!install!a!guest!operating!system.!You!need!the!

installation!media!(CD‐ROM!or!floppy!disks)!for!your!guest!operating!system.!See!

“Installing!a!Guest!Operating!System”.

7Install!

the!VMware!Tools!package!in!your!virtual!machine!for!enhanced!

performance.!See!“Installing!VMware!Tools”.

8Install!software!in!your!virtual!machine.!

9Start!using!your!virtual!machine.!Use!the!VMware!Server!Console,!VMware!

Management!Interface,!and!VMware!Scripting!APIs!to!manage!your!server!host!
and!virtual!machines.

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VMware Server Administration Guide

Basic Installation

On!a!Windows!host,!install!VMware!Server!from!a!master!installer.!The!master!installer!
is!a!convenient!way!to!install!all!the!components!of!VMware!Server—the!server!
software,!the!VMware!Management!Interface!and!the!VMware!Scripting!APIs—or!you!
can!pick!and!choose!which!components!to!install.!In!addition,!the!VMware!Server
Console!is!always!installed.!All!components!are!installed!in!their!own!directories!under!
one!master!directory.

A!basic!installation!of!VMware!Server!uses!two!computers:!a!server!hosting!a!number!
of!virtual!machines!and!a!client!workstation.!The!client!communicates!with!the!virtual!
machines!on!the!server!over!a!TCP/IP!network

In!more!complex!installations,!one!client!can!run!multiple!VMware!Server!Consoles,!
with!each!console!managing!multiple!virtual!machines!on!a!separate!server.

Before!you!begin,!be!sure!you!have:

! Server!and!host!operating!system!that!meet!the!system!requirements!for!running!

VMware!Server.!See!“Host!System!Requirements”!on!page 5.

! Remote!management!client!and!operating!system!that!meet!the!system!

requirements!for!running!the!VMware!Server!remote!management!software.!See!

“Remote!Client!Requirements”!on!page 10.

! VMware!Server!installation!software!that!you!downloaded.!

!

!link.

! VMware!Server!serial!number.!The!serial!number!is!included!in!the!email!message!

you!received!from!VMware!or!from!the!reseller!from!whom!you!purchased!
VMware!Server.!

! Installation!CDs!or!disks!for!your!guest!operating!systems.!

! Internet!Information!Services!(IIS)!is!installed!and!configured!properly!(necessary!

to!use!the!VMware!Management!Interface).!

Installation on the Server

A!complete!installation!on!the!VMware!Server!host!includes:

! VMware!Server!package!for!the!server,!which!includes!the!tools!needed!to!create!

and!configure!virtual!machines!and!the!VMware!Server!Console!to!view!and!
control!virtual!machines.

! VMware!Management!Interface!package,!a!Web!server!for!managing!virtual!

machines!and!the!host!from!a!browser.!For!more!information,!see!“Managing!

Virtual!Machines!and!the!VMware!Server Host”!on!page 77.

28 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

! VmCOM!API!package,!a!scripting!tool!that!uses!COM!to!manage!virtual!machines!

remotely.!For!more!information,!go!to!

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

! VmPerl!API!package,!a!scripting!tool!that!uses!Perl!to!manage!virtual!machines!

remotely.!For!more!information,!go!to!

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

! Programming!API!package.!For!more!information,!go!to

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

You!can!choose!a!custom!installation!path!where!you!install!only!the!packages!you!
need.!In!most!cases,!you!work!directly!at!the!server!when!you!install!the!server!
software.!You!can!manage!and!run!virtual!machines!from!the!server!or!from

!any!client.

Installation on a Client Workstation

In!addition!to!a!Web!browser,!you!can!install!the!following!packages!on!a!client:!

! VMware!Server!Console.

! VmPerl!and!VmCOM!APIs!(the!VmCOM!API!and!the!Programming!API!can!be!

installed!only!on!a!Windows!client).

The!packages!are!available!from!the!VMware!Server!installer!(on!Windows!hosts!only)!
and!on!the!VMware!Web!site.!The!VMware!Server!Console!is!available!in!the!VMware!
Management!Interface.!If!you!
client,!see!“Installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 50.

are!installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Linux!

The!VMware!Server!Console!can!run!on!a!remote!client!and!on!the!server!itself.!The!
VMware!Server!Console!is!available!in!client!packages!for!Windows!(Windows!2000,!
Windows!

XP,!and!Windows!Server!2003)!and!Linux.!

Typically,!you!run!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!browser!on!a!client.!The!browser!
allows!access!to!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!The!VMware!Management!
Interface!and!VMware!Server!Console!let!you:!

! Monitor!the!operation!of!virtual!machines.

! Start,!stop,!reset,!suspend,!and!resume!virtual!machines.

Essentially,!the!VMware!Server!Console!allows!you!to!manage!virtual!machines!locally!
and!remotely,!while!the!VMware!Management!Interface!allows!you!to!remotely!
manage!the!server!host!and!all!the!virtual!machines!on!the!host.

The!VmPerl!API,!the!VmCOM!API,!and!the!Programming

!API!can!connect!to!Linux!
and!Windows!hosts.!However,!the!VmCOM!API!can!run!only!on!a!Windows!host!or!
client.!You!can!use!the!APIs!to!create!scripts!to!automate!management!of!virtual!
machines!and!the!server!host.!

VMware, Inc. 29

VMware Server Administration Guide

Default Directories

By!default,!the!VMware!Server!components!are!installed!into!the!following!directories:!

! The!server!components!and!the!VMware!Server!Console!are!installed!in!

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Server.

! The!VMware!Management!Interface!components!are!installed!in

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Management Interface.

! The!VmCOM!API!components!are!installed!in

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware VmCOM Scripting API.

! The!VmPerl!API!components!are!installed!in

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware VmPerl Scripting API.

! The!Programming!API!components!are!installed!in

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware VIX.

You!can!change!the!directory!that!contains!all!the!components,!but!make!note!of!the!
new!paths!you!intend!to!use.!The!instructions!make!use!of!the!default!paths.

Installation Steps

You!cannot!install!VMware!Server!on!a!computer!that!already!has!any!of!the!following!
VMware!applications!installed:!VMware!Workstation,!VMware!Player,!VMware!ACE,!
VMware!GSX!Server.!You!cannot!have!multiple!versions!of!VMware!Server!installed!
on!the!same!host.!If!you!plan!to!install!VMware!Server!on!a!host!machine
running!any!of!these!VMware!products,!you!must!first!uninstall!that!product.!On!a!
Microsoft!Windows!host,!use!the!Add/Remove!Programs!control!panel.!

!that!is!already!

If!you!are!migrating!from!VMware!GSX!Server,!see!“Migrating!from!GSX!Server!to!

VMware!Server”!on!page 59.!

CAUTION Do!not!use!a!Microsoft!Windows!Terminal!Services!session!to!install!the!

server!software!on!a!host.

To!automate!the!installation!of!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!host,!see!“Automating!

the!Installation!of!VMware!Server”!on!page 34.

30 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

To install VMware Server on a Windows host

1Log!on!to!your!Microsoft!Windows!host!as!the!Administrator!user!or!as!a!user!who!

is!a!member!of!the!Administrators!group.

NOTE On!a!Windows!Server!2003!host,!you!must!be!logged!on!as!a!local!

administrator!(that!is,!not!logged!on!to!the!domain)!to!install!VMware!
Server.

Although!you!must!be!logged!on!as!an!administrator!to!install!VMware!Server,!
you!can!run!the!program!after!it!is!installed!as!a!user!with!normal!user!privileges.

NOTE A!warning!appears!if!you!are!installing!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!

host!configured!as!an!Active!Directory!server.!You!can!safely!ignore!the!
message!by!clicking!OK!to!continue!the!installation,!or!you!can!choose!to!
cancel!the!installation.

2Start!the!VMware!Server!installer.!

From!the!Start!menu,!choose!Run,!and!browse!to!the!directory!where!you!saved!
the!downloaded!installer!file!(the!name!is!similar!to!
VMware-server-installer-<xxxx>.exe,!where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!
representing!the!version!and!build!numbers).

The!installer!starts.

3Click!Next.

Accept!

the!end!user!license!agreement!(EULA).!

4 Select!the!I!accept!the!terms!in!the!license!agreement!option,!and!click!Next.

VMware, Inc. 31

VMware Server Administration Guide

5 Choose!to!perform!a!complete!or!a!custom!installation.

! A!complete!installation!installs!VMware!Server,!VMware!Management!Interface,!

VMware!Server!Console,!VmCOM!API,!VmPerl!API,!Programming!API,!and!
VMware!Disk!Mount!Utility!on!the!host.!To!choose!the!complete!installation,!select!
Complete,!and!click!Next.

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

than!

the!default,!click!Change!and!browse!to!the!directory!of!your!choice.!If!the!
directory!does!not!exist,!the!installer!creates!it!for!you.!

CAUTION VMware!Server!must!be!installed!on!a!local!drive,!not!a!network!

drive.

Windows!and!the!Microsoft!Installer!limit!the!length!of!a!path!to!a!folder!to!255!
characters!for!a!path!to!a!folder!on!a!local!drive!and!240!characters!for!a!path!to!a!
folder!on!a!mapped!or!shared!drive.!If!the!path!to!the!VMware!Server!program!
folder!exceeds!this!limit,!an!error!message!appears.!You!must!select!or!enter!a!
shorter!path.

When!you!are!ready!to!continue,!click!Next!and!go!to!Step!6.

! 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!

32 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

install!the!first!time.!Select!Custom!and!click!Next.!The!Custom!Setup!screen!
appears.

In!the!Custom!Setup!screen,!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!the!menu.

If!you!need!to!

determine!how!much!free!space!is!on!your!host,!click!Space.!This!is!

useful!if!you!are!choosing!a!custom!installation!due!to!limited!disk!space!on!your!
host.

If!you!want!to!install!all!the!VMware!Server!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.!

CAUTION VMware!Server!must!be!installed!on!a!local!drive,!not!a!network!

drive.

Windows!and!the!Microsoft!Installer!limit!the!length!of!a!path!to!a!folder!to!255!
characters!for!a!path!to!a!folder!on!a!local!drive,!and!240!characters!for!a!path!to!a!
folder!on!a!mapped!or!shared!drive.!If!the!path!to!the!VMware!Server!program!
folder!exceeds!this!limit,!an!error!message!appears.!You!must!select!or!enter!a!
shorter!path.

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

6To!change!any!settings!or!information!you!provided,!click!Back!until!you!reach!the!

screen!containing!the!information!you!want!to!change.!

VMware, Inc. 33

VMware Server Administration Guide

Otherwise,!click!Install.!The!installer!begins!copying!files!to!your!host.

If!the!installer!detects!that!the!CD‐ROM!autorun!feature!is!enabled,!it!displays!a!
dialog!box!that!gives!you!the!option!to!disable!this!feature.!Disabling!it!prevents!
undesirable!interactions!with!the!virtual!machines!you!install!on!this!system.

The!installer!creates!one!shortcut!on!your!desktop.!This!shortcut!gives!you!easy!
access!to!your!virtual!machines!from!the!desktop!of!your!host.

7Click!Finish.!The!VMware!Server!software!is!installed.

8If!you!see!a!prompt!that!suggests!you!reboot!your!server,!do!so!now!to!allow!

VMware!Server!to!

complete!the!installation!process.

Automating the Installation of VMware Server

Use!the!Microsoft!Windows!Installer!runtime!engine!to!install!the!software!silently!(in!
quiet!mode).!If!you!are!installing!VMware!Server!on!a!number!of!Windows!hosts,!you!
might!want!to!use!the!silent!installation!features.

The!server!on!which!you!are!installing!VMware!Server!must!have!Microsoft!Windows!
Installer!runtime!
Server!2003.!If!you!are!installing!on!a!Windows!2000!host!(or!are!installing!the!VMware!
Scripting!APIs!on!a!Windows!NT!4.0!client),!check!the!version!of!this!file:

%WINDIR%\system32\msiexec.exe

If!you!need!to!upgrade!the!engine,!run!instmsiw.exe,!which!is
where!you!extract!the!installation!packages;!see!below.

For!more!information!on!using!the!Microsoft!Windows!Installer,!go!to!the!Microsoft!
Web!site!at!msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en‐us/msi/setup/

about_windows_installer.asp.

34 VMware, Inc.

engine!version!2.0!installed.!This!version!is!included!with!Windows!

!located!in!the!directory!

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

To install VMware Server silently on a Windows host

1Extract!the!individual!installation!packages.!Open!a!command!prompt!and!on!one!

line!type:

VMware-server-installer-1.0.0-<xxxx>.exe /a /s /v

"TARGETDIR=C:\temp\server /qn"

where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!version!and!build!numbers.

2Run!the!silent!installation!on!the!extracted!installation!packages.!At!the!command!

prompt,!on!one!line,!type:

msiexec -i "C:\temp\server\VMware Server Standalone.msi" ADDLOCAL=ALL

/qn

The!installation!command!can!be!customized!using

!standard!Microsoft!Windows!

Installer!installation!properties!as!well!as!any!of!the!following:

Property Name Description Default

DESKTOP_SHORTCUT Installs!VMware!Server!shortcuts!on!the!

DISABLE_AUTORUN Disables!CD!autorun!on!the!host.!By!default,!

REMOVE_LICENSE Uninstall!only:!Removes!all!stored!licenses!

SERIALNUMBER! Automatically!enters!the!serial

desktop.!By!default,!shortcuts!are!installed!on!
the!desktop.

To!prevent!shortcuts!from!being!installed,!add!
the!following!in!Step!2:

DESKTOP_SHORTCUT = 0

autorun!is!disabled!during!the!installation.

To!enable!autorun,!add!the!following!in!Step!2:

DISABLE_AUTORUN = 0

when!you!uninstall!VMware!Server.!By!
default,!VMware!Server!keeps!the!licenses!on!
the!server.

To!remove!licenses,!add!the!following!in!Step!
2:

REMOVE_LICENSE = 1

Caution:!VMware!strongly!recommends!you!
keep!your!licenses,!in!case!you!reinstall!or!
upgrade!your!software.

!number.

To!enter!the!serial!number,!add!the!following!
in!Step!2:

SERIALNUMBER=<serialNumber>

1

1

0

none

VMware, Inc. 35

VMware Server Administration Guide

The!ADDLOCAL!option!defaults!to!install!all!VMware!Server!components.!You!can!
customize!the!installation!using!a!combination!of!the!ADDLOCAL!and!REMOVE!options.!
You!can!add!or!remove!the!following!components:

! All,!which!includes!all!the!options!in!this!list.

! Network,!which!includes!the!bridged!networking!adapter!(vmnet0),!the!

host‐only!networking!adapter!(vmnet1)!and!the!NAT!networking!adapter!
(vmnet8).!It!also!includes!NAT!and!DHCP,!but!these!can!be!removed!from!the!
installation.

! NAT,!the!VMware!NAT!Service.

! DHCP,!the!VMware!DHCP!Service.

To!include!a!component,!use!it!with!the!ADDLOCAL!option.

To!exclude!a!component,!use!it!with!the!REMOVE!option.!You!always!install!the!
bridged!and!host‐only!network!adapters!as!part!of!the!Network!component.

For!example,!to!install!everything!but!the!VMware!NAT!and!DHCP
specify!on!the!command!line:

ADDLOCAL=ALL REMOVE=DHCP,NAT

NOTE The!DHCP!and!NAT!components!are!children!of!the!Network!component.!

Thus,!you!also!skip!installation!of!the!VMware!NAT!and!DHCP!services!
if!you!specify:!ADDLOCAL=ALL REMOVE=Network

Installing VMware Server on a Linux Host

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!install!VMware!Server!on!your!Linux!host!
operating!system:

! “Basic!Installation”!on!page 37

! “Default!Directories”!on!page 39

! “Installation!Steps”!on!page 40

! “Installing!the!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 44

! “Before!Installing!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 43

! “Installing!an!X!Server”!on!page 45

! “Before!You !Install!on!a!SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!8!Host”!on!page 45

! “Before!You !Install!on!a!SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!8!Host”!on!page 45

!services,!

36 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

To get started with VMware Server on a Linux host

1Install!the!VMware!Server!software!(including!VMware!Management!Interface,!

the!VMware!Server!Console,!the!VmPerl!API,!and!the!Programming!API!on!the!
server.!

2Install!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!VMware!Scripting!APIs!on!Windows!or!

Linux!clients.

3Start!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!create!a!virtual!machine!using!the!New!

Virtual

!Machine!Wizard,!or!create!one!from!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!

See!“Creating!a!New!Virtual!Machine”.

4Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!install!a!guest!operating!system!in!the!new!

virtual!machine.!You!need!the!installation!media!(CD‐ROM!or!floppy!disks)!for!
your!guest!operating!system.!See!“Installing!a!

Guest!Operating!System”.

5Install!the!VMware!Tools!package!in!your!virtual!machine!for!enhanced!

performance.!See!“Installing!VMware!Tools”.

6Install!software!in!your!virtual!machine.!

7Start!using!your!virtual!machine.

You!can!use!the!VMware!Server!Console,!VMware!Management!Interface,!and!
VMware!Scripting!APIs!to!manage!your!server!host!and!virtual!

machines.

Basic Installation

A!basic!installation!of!VMware!Server!uses!two!computers:!a!server,!hosting!a!number!
of!virtual!machines,!and!a!client!workstation.!The!client!communicates!with!the!virtual!
machines!on!the!server!over!a!TCP/IP!network!link.

In!more!complex!installations,!one!client!can!run!multiple!instances!of!VMware!Server!
Console,!with!
And!consoles!on!multiple!clients!can!connect!to!virtual!machines!on!any!server.

Before!you!begin,!be!sure!you!have:

! A!server!and!host!operating!system!that!meet!the!system!requirements!for!running!

VMware!Server.!See!“Host!System!Requirements”!on!page 5.

! A!remote!management!client!and!operating!system!that!meet!the!system!

requirements!for!running!the!VMware!Server!remote!management!software.!See!

“Remote!Client!Requirements”!on!page 10.

! The!installation!CDs!or!disks!for!your!guest!operating!systems.!

! The!VMware!Server!installation!software,!which!is!in!the!files!you!downloaded.!

VMware, Inc. 37

each!console!managing!multiple!virtual!machines!on!a!separate!server.!

VMware Server Administration Guide

! Your!VMware!Server!serial!number.!The!serial!number!is!included!in!the!email!

message!you!received!from!VMware.

Also,!before!you!install!and!run!VMware!Server,!check!the!following!information!and!
make!any!necessary!adjustments!to!the!configuration!of!your!host!operating!system:

! The!real‐time!clock!function!must!be!compiled!into!your!Linux!kernel.!

! VMware!Server!for!Linux!systems!requires!that!the!parallel!port!PC‐style!

hardware!option!(CONFIG_PARPORT_PC)!be!built!and!loaded!as!a!kernel!module!(that!
is,!it!must!be!set!to!m!when!the!kernel!is!compiled).

! For!SUSE!Linux!Enterprise!Server!8!hosts,!the!gcc!package!must!be!installed!on!

your!host!before!you!install!VMware!Server.!See!“Before!You!Install!on!a!SUSE!

Linux!Enterprise!Server!8!Host”!on!page 45.

CAUTION Some!operating!systems,!such!as!Red!Hat!Linux!7.2!and!7.3,!include!a!

firewall!by!default.!This!firewall!prevents!access!from!the!VMware!Server!
Console!and!the!VMware!Management!Interface!on!client!computers!to!
the!VMware!Server!host.!For!the!VMware!Server!Console!to!connect!to!
the!host,!you!must!open
Management!Interface,!you!must!open!port!8333!and!port!8222!if!you!
plan!to!disable!SSL!for!the!VMware!Management!Interface.

!port!902.!To!connect!to!the!host!with!the!VMware!

Installation on the Server

You!can!install!up!to!three!software!packages!on!the!Linux!server:!

! The!VMware!Server!package!for!the!server!(from!an!RPM!or!tar!archive!available!

on!the!VMware!Server!CD‐ROM!or!the!VMware!Web!site).!The!RPM!file!is!called!

VMware-server-<xxxx>.i386.rpm and!the!tar!archive!is!called!
VMware-server-<xxxx>.tar.gz,!where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!

the!version!and!build!numbers.

NOTE The!VmPerl!API!and!the!Programming!API!packages!are!installed!when!

you!install!VMware!Server.!The!VmPerl!API!is!a!scripting!tool!that!uses!
Perl!to!manage!virtual!machines!remotely.

! The!VMware!Management!Interface!package!(from!a!tar!archive!available!on!the!

VMware!Web!site).!This!tar!archive!is!called!VMware-mui-<xxxx>.tar.gz.

! The!VMware!Server!Console!package!(which!you!download!from!the!VMware!

Management!Interface.)!The!package!is!also!available!as!an!RPM!file!or!as!tar!
archive!in!a!client!GZip!file!that!also!contains!the!VmPerl!API.!The!RPM!and!tar!
archives!files!are!available!on!the!VMware!Web !site).!The

38 VMware, Inc.

!RPM!file!is!called!

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

VMware-server-console-<xxxx>.i386.rpm, and!the!tar!archive!is!called!
VMware-server-console-<xxxx>.tar.gz.

In!most!cases,!you!work!directly!at!the!server!when!you!install!the!server!software.!You!
can!manage!and!run!virtual!machines!from!the!server!or!from!any!client.

Installation on a Client Workstation

In!addition!to!a!Web!browser,!you!can!install!the!following!packages!on!a!client:!

! The!VMware!Server!Console.

! The!Programming!API,!the!VmPerl!API,!and!the!VmCOM!API!(the!VmCOM!API!

can!be!installed!only!on!a!Windows!client).!For!more!information,!go!to!

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

The!VMware!Server!Console!is!available!in!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!The!
VmPerl,!VmCOM,!and!Programming!API!are!available!on!the!VMware!Web
are!installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Windows!client,!see!“Installing!the!

VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Windows!Host”!on!page 49.

VMware!Server!Consoles!can!run!on!clients!and!on!the!server!itself.!The!VMware!
Server!Console!packages!are!available!for!Windows!(Windows!NT!4.0,!Windows!2000,
Windows!XP,!and!Windows!Server!2003)!and!Linux.!

Typically,!you!run!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!browser!on!a!client.!The!browser!
allows!access!to!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!The!VMware!Management!
Interface!and!VMware!Server!Console!let!you:!

!site.!If!you!

!

! Monitor!the!operation!of!virtual!machines.

! Start,!stop,!reset,!suspend,!and!resume!virtual!machines.

! Create!and!delete!virtual!machines.

! Configure!host!and!virtual!machine!settings.

Essentially,!the!VMware!Server!Console!allows!you!to!manage!virtual!machines!locally!
and!remotely,!while!the!VMware!Management!Interface!allows!you!to!remotely!
manage!the!server!host!and!all!the!virtual!machines!on!the!host.

The!VmPerl,!VmCOM,!and!Programming!API!can!connect!to!Linux!and

!Windows!
hosts.!However,!the!VmCOM!API!can!run!only!on!a!Windows!client.!You!can!use!the!
APIs!to!create!scripts!to!automate!management!of!virtual!machines!and!the!host.

Default Directories

By!default,!the!VMware!Server!components!are!installed!into!the!following!directories:!

! The!server!components!are!installed!in!

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VMware Server Administration Guide

/usr/bin

! The!VMware!Management!Interface!components!are!installed!in!

/usr/lib/vmware-mui

! The!VMware!Server!Console!components!are!installed!in!

/usr/bin

! The!Apache!server!components!are!installed!in!

/usr/lib/vmware-mui/apache/bin

(so!they!do!not!conflict!with!existing!Apache!software!on!your!server)!

! The!VmPerl!API!executable!files!are!installed!in

/usr/bin

! The!VmPerl!API!library!files!are!installed!in

/usr/lib/vmware-api

! The!Programming!API!library!files!are!installed!in

/usr/lib/vmware-vix

If!you!installed!the!software!from!a!tar!installer,!you!can!change!these!paths!if!you!wish,!
but!make!note!of!the!new!paths!you!intend!to!use.!The!instructions!make!use!of!the!
default!paths.

Installation Steps

The!steps!below!describe!an!installation!on!a!Red!Hat!Linux!host.!Start!from!the!
directory!where!you!saved!the!downloaded!installer!file
Linux!distribution,!some!of!the!commands!might!be!different.

Before!you!install!the!VMware!Server!software,!ensure!your!Linux!distribution!is!for!a!
server,!not!a!workstation.!If!you!are!running!a!workstation!distribution,!you!must!
install!the!inetd!process!to!connect!to!the!

VMware!Server!Console!and!VMware!
Management!Interface.!If!you!need!to,!review!the!“Host!System!Requirements”!on!
page 5.

If!you!currently!have!VMware!GSX!Server!installed!on!your!host!machine,!see!

“Migrating!from!GSX!Server!to!VMware!Server”!on!page 59.!You!should!also!read!
“Before!You !Install!the!Release”!on!page 4!

40 VMware, Inc.

before!installing!the!software.

.!If!you!are!using!a!different!

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

To install VMware Server on a Linux host

1Log!on!to!your!Linux!host!with!the!user!name!you!plan!to!use!when!running!

VMware!Server.!

2In!a!terminal!window,!become!root!so!you!can!perform!the!initial!installation.!

su -

3 Change!to!the!directory!where!you!saved!the!installer!file.!

Do!one!of!the!following:!

! Use!the!RPM!installer—Run!RPM!specifying!the!installation!file.

rpm -Uhv VMware-server-<xxxx>.i386.rpm
VMware-server-<xxxx>.i386.rpm!is!the!installation!file!on!the!CD;!where!
<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!version!and!build!numbers.

! Use!the!tar!installer—Complete!the!following!steps:

aCopy!the!tar!archive!to!a!directory!on!your!hard!drive.!For!example,!to!/tmp.

cp VMware-server-<xxxx>.tar.gz /tmp where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!
representing!the!version!and!build!numbers.

b Change!to!the!directory!to!which!you!copied!the!file.

cd /tmp

cUnpack!the!archive.!

tar zxf VMware-server-<xxxx>.tar.gz

d Change!to!

the!installation!directory.

cd vmware-server-distrib

eRun!the!installation!program.

./vmware-install.pl

fAccept!the!default!directories!for!the!binary!files,!daemon!files,!library!files,!

manual!files,!documentation!files,!init!directories!and!init!scripts.

4Run!the!configuration!program.

vmware-config.pl

! If!you!are!installing!VMware!Server!on!a!Mandrake!Linux!host,!the!

configuration!program!asks!for!the!location!of!lspci.!When!that!prompt!
appears,!enter!the!following!path:!

/usr/bin/lspcidrake

! If!you!use!the!RPM!installer,!you!must!run!the!configuration!program!

separately!from!the!command!line.!If!you!install!from!the!tar!archive,!the!

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VMware Server Administration Guide

installer!offers!to!launch!the!configuration!program!for!you.!Answer!Ye s !when!
you!see!the!prompt.

Use!this!program!to!reconfigure!VMware!Server!whenever!you!upgrade!your!
kernel.!It!is!not!necessary!to!reinstall!VMware!Server!after!you!upgrade!your!
kernel.!

You!can!also!use!vmware-config.pl!to!reconfigure!the!networking!options!

for!

VMware!Server—for!example,!to!add!or!remove!host‐only!networks.

5Press!Enter!to!read!the!end!user!license!agreement!(EULA).!If!the!Do you accept!

prompt!doesn’t!appear,!press!Q!to!get!to!the!next!prompt.!

6Configure!networking!for!your!virtual!machines.!

! If!you!want!to!use!any!type!of!networking!with!virtual!machines,!answer!Yes!

to!this!prompt:!Do you want networking for your virtual machines?!

Bridged!networking!is!always!enabled!if!you!enable!networking.!For!more!
information,!see!“Bridged!Networking”.

! To!enable!NAT ,!answer!Yes!to!the!following!prompts:!

Do you want to be able to use NAT networking in your virtual machines?
Do you want this script to probe for an unused private subnet?

This!allows!you!to!connect!your!virtual!machines!to!an!external!network!when!
you!have!only!one!IP!network!address!on!the!physical!network,!and!that!
address!is!used!by!the!host!computer.!For!more!information,!see!“Network!

Address!Translation!(NAT)”.

! To!enable!host‐only!networking,!answer!Ye s !to!the!following!prompts:!

Do you want to be able to use host-only networking in your virtual
machines?
Do you want this script to probe for an unused private subnet?

Host‐only!networking!allows!for!networking!between!the!virtual!machine!
and!the!host!operating!system.!For!more!information,!see!“Host‐Only!

Networking”.

7Specify!the!port!the!VMware!Server!Console!uses!when!connecting!to!the!VMware!

Server!host!remotely.!Port!

902!is!the!default!port.!If!your!site!uses!this!port!for!

another!application—for!example,!ideafarm-chat!uses!this!port—then!specify!a!
different!port!for!the!VMware!Server!Console!to!use!here.!To!change!the!port!later,!
see!“Changing!the!Port!Number!for!VMware!Server!Console!Connections”!on!
page 78.

8Specify!the!directory!

where!you!want!to!store!your!virtual!machine!files.!By!

default,!this!directory!is!/var/lib/vmware/Virtual Machines.!Make!sure!this!

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Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

location!is!on!a!large!enough!file!system!to!contain!the!files,!as!the!virtual!disk!files!
for!each!virtual!machine!are!usually!gigabytes!in!size.

9Enter!your!VMware!Server!serial!number!exactly!as!it!appears!(with!hyphens)!in!

the!email!message!you!received!from!VMware!or!from!the!reseller!from!

whom!you!
purchased!VMware!Server.!When!you!enter!the!serial!number,!it!is!saved!in!your!
license!file.

The!configuration!program!displays!a!message!saying!the!configuration!
completed!successfully.!If!it!does!not!display!this!message,!run!the!configuration!
program!again.

10 When!you!finish,!do!one!of!the!following:!

! Log!off!the!root!account.

exit!

! Install!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!Go!to!Step!3!under!“Installing!the!

VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 44.

! Install!the!VMware!Server!Console.!Go!to!Step!2!under!“Installing!the!

VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 50.

Before Installing VMware Management Interface on a Linux Host

If!you!are!running!VMware!Server!on!a!32‐bit!Linux!host,!you!must!install!the!
libdb.so.3!library!from!your!Linux!distribution’s!CD‐ROM!before!you!install!the!
VMware!Management!Interface.!The!version!that!comes!with!a!default!Linux!
installation!is!incompatible!with!the!VMware!Management!Interface!and!returns!the!
following

!error!when!you!start!the!VMware!Management!Interface:!

Couldn't find necessary components on your system. It appears that you are missing
the following library: libdb.so.3.

Some!Linux!distributions!are!known!to!ship!without!these!libraries.!From!your!Linux!
distribution!CD,!install!this!RPM!package: compat-db-<#>.<#>.<##>-<#>.i386.rpm!or!

libdb#.deb,!where!<#>!is!a!version!number!particular!to!your!version!of!the!
distribution.

If!your!distribution!CD!does!not!have!this!package,!contact!your!vendor!for!a!suitable!
library.!

If!you!install!this!package!after!you!installed!the!VMware!Management!

Interface!software,!start!the!Apache!server!with!the!following!command:!

/etc/init.d/httpd.vmware start.

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VMware Server Administration Guide

Installing the VMware Management Interface on a Linux Host

The!steps!below!describe!an!installation!of!the!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!Red!
Hat!Linux!host.!Start!from!the!directory!where!you!saved!the!installer!file!you!
downloaded.!If!you!are!using!a!different!Linux!distribution,!some!commands!might!be!
different.

NOTE You!must!install!the!libdb.so.3!library!from!your!Linux!CD‐ROM!first.!For!

more!information,!see!“Before!Installing!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!

Linux!Host”!on!page 43.!

To install VMware Management Interface on a Linux host

1In!a!terminal!window,!become!root!so!you!can!carry!out!the!installation.!

su -

2 Change!to!the!directory!where!you!saved!the!installer!file.

3Copy!the!tar!archive!to!a!directory!on!your!hard!drive!(for!example,!to!/tmp).

cp VMware-mui-<xxxx>.tar.gz /tmp
where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!

CAUTION Make!sure!the!directory!to!which!you!plan!to!untar!the!archive!does!

not!contain!any!files!from!a!previous!tar!installation.

version!and!build!numbers.

Change!to!the!directory!to!which!you!copied!the!file.

cd /tmp

Unpack!the!archive.!

tar zxf VMware-mui-<xxxx>.tar.gz

where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!version!and!build!numbers.

4 Change!to!the!installation!directory.

cd vmware-mui-distrib

5Run!the!installation!program.

./vmware-install.pl

6Press!Enter!to!continue.

7Accept!the!EULA.

8Specify!the!directory

binary!files,!VMware!Management!Interface!files,!init!directories!and!init!scripts.!
Or!accept!the!default!directories.

9 Allow!the!configuration!program!vmware-config-mui.pl!to!run.

44 VMware, Inc.

!where!you!want!to!install!the!management!components,!the!

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

10 Specify!the!number!of!minutes!before!a!session!times!out.!The!default!session!

length!is!60!minutes.

11 When!you!finish,!you!can:!

! Log!off!the!root!account.

exit

! Install!the!VMware!Server!Console.!Go!to!“Installing!the!VMware!Server!

Console!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 50.

Installing an X Server

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.!

Before You Install on a SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 Host

The!gcc!program!is!not!installed!on!a!SLES!8!host!by!default.!This!compiler!is!required!
by!the!VmPerl!API.!

Before!you!install!VMware!Server!on!a!SLES!8!host!system,!you!must!install!gcc.!

To install gcc in the host operating system

1Start!your!X!server!if!it!does!not!start!by!default.!Log!on!as!

the!root!user.

2Run!YAST2,!the!default!configuration!utility!for!SLES!8.

3Click!Software!in!the!left!pane,!click!Install!or!remove!software!in!the!right!pane.

4Check!C++!Compiler!and!Tools!in!the!left!pane,!and!click!Accept.

5When!prompted,!insert!the!SLES!8!CD.

6Click!Close!to!exit!YAST2.!

The!gcc!program!is!installed.!Now!install!VMware!Server.

To!install!the!correct!library,!run!the!version!of!the!Berkeley!Database!
compat-db-<#>.<#>.<##>-<#>.i386.rpm!RPM!package!included!with!your!Linux!
distribution,!as!long!as!you!install:compat-db-3.3.<##>-<#>.i386.rpm!or!later.

If!you!installed!this!package!after!you!installed!the!VMware!Management!Interface!
software,!start!the!Apache

!server!with!this!command:

/etc/init.d/httpd.vmware start

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VMware Server Administration Guide

Configuring Web Browsers for Use with VMware Server

To!run!the!VMware!Management!Interface!in!Internet!Explorer!6.0!on!a!Windows!
system,!you!must!take!certain!steps!to!configure!Internet!Explorer!properly.!These!steps!
are!needed!whether!the!browser!is!running!on!a!VMware!Server!Windows!host!or!you!
are!using!a!Windows!client!machine!to!connect!to!a

To!run!the!VMware!Server!in‐product!help!from!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!
Linux!system,!you!might!need!to!link!to!the!location!of!Netscape!on!the!system!if!it!is!
different!from!the!location!where!VMware!Server!expects!it!to!be.

!VMware!Server!host.

The!configuration!steps!allow!

! “Launching!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!the!VMware!Management!Interface!

on!an!Encrypted!Server”!on!page 46

! “Connecting!to!the!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!Proxy!Server”!on!page 47

! “Launching!Help!in!Netscape!on!a!Linux!System”!on!page 48

you!to!perform!the!following!activities:

Launching the VMware Server Console from the VMware Management Interface on an Encrypted Server

You!can!launch!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!the!VMware!Management!Interface!
automatically.!In!order!to!do!this!in!an!Internet!Explorer!6.0!browser!on!a!Windows!
system!where!SSL!is!encrypting!your!VMware!Server!remote!connections,!you!must!
ensure!that!the!Do!not!save!encrypted!pages!to!disk!option!is

For!information!on!encrypting!remote!connections,!see!“Enabling!and!Disabling!SSL!

for!Remote!Sessions”!on!page 91.

When!this!option!is!enabled,!Internet!Explorer!does!not!save!any!files!to!disk,!including!
the!files!it!needs!to!hand!off!to!helper!applications.!This!prevents!the!VMware!Server!
Console!from!launching!automatically.!
Update!reset!this!setting,!so!you!might!need!to!repeat!this!process!after!you!run!
Windows!Update.

CAUTION This!option!might!have!been!enabled!deliberately!at!your!site!to!prevent!

the!saving!of!sensitive!files!to!disk.!Disabling!it!could!permit!other!
sensitive!information!to!be!saved!to!disk.

Some!patches!installed!when!you!run!Windows!

!disabled.

To enable the option to save encryted pages to disk

1In!the!Internet!Explorer!6.0!window,!open!the!Internet!Options!control!panel.!

Choose!Tools!>!Internet!Options.

2Click!the!Advanced!tab.

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Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

3Scroll!down!to!the!Security!section,!and!deselect!the!Do!not!save!encrypted!pages!

to!disk!check!box.

4Click!OK.

Connecting to the VMware Management Interface on a Proxy Server

If!your!network!is!protected!behind!a!proxy!server,!you!must!take!certain!steps!to!use!
the!VMware!Management!Interface!in!Internet!Explorer!6.0!on!a!Windows!system.!
Follow!the!steps!for!the!appropriate!Windows!operating!system.

To connect to the VMware Management Interface on Windows Server 2003

1 Launch!Internet!Explorer!6.0.

2 Choose!Tools!>!Internet!Options,!and!click!the!Security!tab.!

3 Select!Trusted!sites,!and!click!Sites.

4In!the!Add!this!Web!site!to!the!zone!entry!field,!type!

https://*.<domain>

where!<domain>!is!your!organization’s!domain!name,!such!as!vmware.com.

5Click!Add.

6Click!OK!until!you!return!to!the!browser!window.

When!you!use!Internet!Explorer!6.0!to!connect!to!the!VMware!Management!
be!sure!to!use!fully!qualified!domain!names.

To connect to the VMware Management Interface on Windows 2000, Windows XP,
and Windows NT operating systems

1 Launch!Internet!Explorer!6.0.

2 Choose!Tools!>!Internet!Options.

3Click!the!Connections!tab,!and!click!LAN!Settings.

4Make!sure!that!Bypass!proxy!server!for!local!addresses!is!checked.

5Click!OK!until!you!return!to!the!browser!window.

When!you!use!Internet!Explorer!
do!not!use!fully!qualified!domain!names.

VMware, Inc. 47

6.0!to!connect!to!the!VMware!Management!Interface,!

Interface,!

VMware Server Administration Guide

Connecting to the VMware Management Interface When There Is No Proxy Server

If!you!are!on!a!Windows!system!and!your!network!does!not!use!a!proxy!server,!you!
must!use!fully!qualified!domain!names!when!connecting!to!the!VMware!Management!
Interface!with!Internet!Explorer!6.0.

Launching Help in Netscape on a Linux System

To!use!VMware!Server!Help!on!a!Linux!system,!you!must!have!a!Web!browser!installed!
on!your!physical!computer.!VMware!Server!expects!to!find!the!Netscape!browser!in!
/usr/bin/netscape.!If!this!matches!the!configuration!of!your!host!computer,!you!do!not!
need!to!take!any!special!steps.!If!you!
browser!is!in!a!different!location,!add!a!symbolic!link!to!it!from!/usr/bin:

ln -s <path to browser> /usr/bin/netscape

are!using!a!different!browser!or!if!your!Netscape!

Installing the VMware Server Console

The!VMware!Server!Console!enables!you!to!view!and!control!VMware!Server!virtual!
machines!from!a!remote!client!or!on!the!server!host.!Multiple!users!can!use!the!VMware!
Server!Console!to!connect!to!a!virtual!machine!from!the!server!host!or!from!remote!
clients!at!the!same!time.!Use!the
system!running!on!your!system.!

!instructions!below!that!correspond!to!the!operating!

The!VMware!Server!Console!can!also!be!launched!from!the!VMware!Management!
Interface.!If!you!use!Netscape!or!Mozilla!as!your!browser,!you!must!configure!the!
MIME!type!for!the!VMware!Server!Console.!To!set!the!MIME!type,!

Typ e!to!Launch!the!VMware!Server!Console”!on!page 128.!Internet!Explorer!is!

automatically!configured!when!you!install!the!VMware!Server!Console!software.

CAUTION Do!not!install!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!a!client!installer!package!

onto!the!VMware!Server!host.!Do!not!download!and!install!the!VMware!
Server!Console!from!an!older!version!of!VMware!Server!or!VMware!ESX!
Server!onto!any!client.

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!install!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!Windows!
and!Linux!computers:

! “Installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Windows!Host”!on!page 49

! “Installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 50

48 VMware, Inc.

see!“Setting!MIME!

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

Installing the VMware Server Console on a Windows Host

On!the!VMware!Server!for!Windows!host,!the!VMware!Server!Console!is!installed!
automatically!from!the!master!installer!when!you!install!the!VMware!Server!
component.!To!upgrade!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!the!VMware!Server!host,!use!
the!master!installer.

You!can!download!the!installer!from!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!You!

can!run!

the!VMware!Server!Console!on!any!Windows!client.

To install VMware Server Console on a Windows host

1After!you!download!the!VMware!Server!Console!installation!package,!go!to!the!

directory!where!you!downloaded!the!installer!and!run!
VMware-server-console-<xxxx>.exe,!where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!
representing!the!version!and!build!numbers.!

The!InstallShield!Wizard!dialog!box!appears.!

2Click

!Next.

3Accept!the!end!user!license!agreement!(EULA),!and!click!Next.

4 Choose!the!directory!in!which!to!install!the!VMware!Server!Console.!If!you!prefer!

to!install!it!in!a!directory!other!than!the!default,!click!Change!and!change!to!your!
directory!of!choice.!If!the!directory!does!not!exist,!

it!is!created!for!you.!Click!Next.

5If!you!want!to!change!any!settings!or!information!you!provided,!click!Back!until!

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

Otherwise,!click!Install.!The!installer!begins!copying!files!to!your!host.

6When!the!setup!completes,!click!Finish.!You

!do!not!need!to!reboot!your!host!

operating!system!after!you!install!the!VMware!Server!Console.

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VMware Server Administration Guide

Installing the VMware Server Console on a Linux Host

This!section!describes!an!installation!of!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Red!Hat!Linux!
host.!Start!from!the!directory!where!you!saved!the!installer!file!you!downloaded.!If!you!
are!using!a!different!Linux!distribution,!some!commands!might!be!different.

You!can!download!the!VMware!Server!Console!installer!from!the!
Management!Interface.!You!can!run!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!the!VMware!Server!
host!or!any!Linux!client.

To!download!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!the!VMware!Management!Interface,!
see!“Downloading!the!VMware!Server!Console”!on!page 81.

To install VMware Server Console on a Linux host

1In!a!terminal!window,!if!you!have!not!done!so!already,!become!root!so

carry!out!the!installation!steps:!

su -

2 Change!to!the!directory!to!where!you!saved!the!installer!file.

If!you!downloaded!a!.zip!file!from!the!VMware!Web!site,!unzip!the!client!installer!
archive!to!/tmp:

unzip VMware-server-linux-client-<xxxx>.zip -d /tmp
where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!the!version!and!build!numbers.

CAUTION To!install!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!a!tar!package,!make!sure!

the!directory!to!which!you!plan!to!untar!the!tar!archive!does!not!
contain!any!files!from!a!previous!console!tar!installation.

3 Change!to!the!/tmp!directory.

cd /tmp

4Do!one!of!the!following:

VMware!

!you!can!

! Use!the!RPM!installer.!Run!RPM!specifying!the!installation!file.!

rpm -Uhv VMware-server-console-<xxxx>.i386.rpm

where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!the!version!and!build!
numbers.

! Use!the!tar!installer.!Complete!the!following!steps:

aUnpack!the!archive.!

tar zxf VMware-server-console-<xxxx>.tar.gz!

where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!the!version!and!build!
numbers.

The!archive!unpacks!to!vmware-server-console-distrib.

50 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

bRun!the!installer.

cd vmware-server-console-distrib
./vmware-install.pl

cAccept!the!EULA!and!answer!the!questions!specifying!default!directories!for!

the!binary!files,!library!files,!manual!files,!and!documentation!files.

dIf!the!Do you accept!prompt!doesnʹt!appear,!press!Q!to!continue.

5Run!the!configuration!program!vmware-config-console.pl.

NOTE If!you!use!the!RPM!installer,!you!must!run!this!program!separately!from!

the!command!line.!If!you!install!from!the!tar!archive,!the!installer!offers!
to!launch!the!configuration!program!for!you.!Answer!Yes!when!you!see!
the!prompt.

You!see!the!following!prompt:!What port do you want the remote console to

use to connect to server. [902]

6If!you!specified!a!different!port!number!when!you!installed!the!server!software,!

enter!that!port!number!here.!Otherwise,!keep!the!default!of!902.

7When!you!finish,!log!off!of!the!root!account.

exit

Installing the VMware APIs

VMware!Server!supports!VMware’s!scripting!APIs!which!include!the!VmPerl!API!and!
the!VmCOM!API,!and!the!Programming!API.!You!can!use!these!APIs!to!manage!the!
VMware!Server!host!and!virtual!machines!locally!and!remotely.

The!Programming!API!can!be!installed!on!a!Windows!or!Linux!host.!For!information!
on!

the!Programming!API!and!how!to!install!it,!see!the!API!programming!and!reference!

documents.

For!more!information!on!the!VMware!APIs,!go!to!

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

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!install!the!scripting!APIs!on!Windows!and!
Linux!hosts.

! “Installing!VmPerl!and!VmCOM!APIs!on!a!Windows!Host”!on!page 52

! “Installing!VmPerl!API!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 54

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VMware Server Administration Guide

Installing VmPerl and VmCOM APIs on a Windows Host

On!either!a!Windows!server!host!or!a!Windows!remote!computer,!you!can!use!the!
VmPerl!API!or!the!VmCOM!API.!The!APIs!are!installed!automatically!on!the!VMware!
Server!for!Windows!host!from!the!master!installer!if!you!chose!a!complete!installation.!

You!can!make!the!APIs!available!for!download
the!Login!page!of!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!For!more!information,!see!

“Customizing!the!Download!Menu”!on!page 82.

To install the VMware Scripting APIs

1 Choose!Start!>!Run!and!browse!to!the!directory!where!you!saved!the!downloaded!

installer!file!(the!name!is!similar!to!VMware-VmPerlAPI-<xxxx>.exe!or!
VMware-VmCOMAPI-<xxxx>.exe,!where!<xxxx>!
the!version!and!build!numbers).

The!installer!starts.!

2Click!Next.

3Accept!the!end!user!license!agreement!(EULA),!and!click!Next.

!by!customizing!the!download!menu!on!

is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!

52 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

4 Choose!the!directory!in!which!to!install!the!scripting!API.!To!install!it!in!a!directory!

other!than!the!default,!click!Change!and!browse!to!your!directory!of!choice.!If!the!
directory!does!not!exist,!the!installer!creates!it!for!you.!Click!Next.

NOTE Windows!and!the!Microsoft!Installer!limit!the!path!length!to!255!

characters!for!a!path!to!a!folder!on!a!local!drive,!and!240!characters!for!a!
path!to!a!folder!on!a!mapped!or!shared!drive.!If!the!path!to!the!scripting!
API!program!folder!exceeds!this!limit,!an!error

!message!appears.!You!

must!select!or!enter!a!shorter!path.

If!you!want!to!change!any!settings!or!information!you!provided,!click!Back!until!
you!reach!the!dialog!box!containing!the!information!you!want!to!change.!
Otherwise,!click!Install.!

The!installer!begins!copying!files!to!your!host.

5Click!Finish.!

The!VMware!Scripting!API!is

!installed.

If!you!install!the!VmCOM!API,!two!directories!named!MiniMUI!and!SampleScripts!are!
created!in!the!VmCOM!API!directory.!The!MiniMUI!directory!contains!a!sample!

VMware, Inc. 53

VMware Server Administration Guide

Microsoft!Visual!Basic!6!project!that!uses!the!VmCOM!API.!The!SampleScripts!
directory!contains!VBScript!and!JScript!samples!using!the!VmCOM!API.

If!you!install!the!VmPerl!API,!a!SampleScripts!directory!is!created!in!the!VmPerl!API!
directory.!The!SampleScripts!directory!contains!sample!scripts!using!the!VmPerl!API.

Installing VmPerl API on a Linux Host

On!either!a!Linux!server!host!or!a!Linux!remote!computer,!you!can!use!only!the!VmPerl!
API.!The!VmCOM!API!cannot!be!installed!on!a!Linux!host,!although!VmCOM!API!
installed!on!a!Windows!remote!client!can!communicate!with!a!Linux!host.!You!can!
make!the!VmPerl!API!tar!archive
menu!on!the!Login!page!of!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!See!“Customizing!the!

Download!Menu”!on!page 82.!

NOTE There!is!no!64‐bit!version!of!the!VmPerl!API!available!for!installation!on!a!

64‐bit!Linux!host.!To!use!the!VmPerl!API!with!a!64‐bit!Linux!host,!install!the!
32‐bit!version!of!the!VmPerl!API!on!a!32‐bit!Linux!host!and!use!that!API!to!
control!a!64‐bit!host.

To install the VmPerl API on a 32-bit host or client

1 Download!the!VmPerl!API!package!from!the!VMware!Management!Interface!

Login!page!to!the!machine!on!which!you!want!to!run!the!VMware!Scripting!API.

!available!for!download!by!customizing!the!download!

2In!a!terminal!window,!if!you!have!not!done!so!already,!become!root!so!you!can!

carry!out!the!installation!steps.!

su -

3Untar!the!package.

tar zxf VMware-VmPerlAPI-<xxxx>.tar.gz

where!<xxxx>!is!a!series!of!numbers!representing!the!version!and!build!numbers.

4 Change!to!the!installation!directory.

cd vmware-api-distrib

5Run!the!installation!program.

./vmware-install.pl

6Press!Enter!to!read!the!end!user!license!agreement!(EULA).!You!may!page!through!

it!by!pressing!the!spacebar.!If!the!Do you accept?!prompt!doesn’t!appear,!
to!get!to!the!next!prompt.!Accept!the!EULA.

7Specify!the!directory!where!you!want!to!install!the!VmPerl!API!executable!files.!

The!default!is!where!Perl!is!installed!on!your!host,!typically!/usr/bin.

54 VMware, Inc.

press!Q!

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

8Specify!the!directory!where!you!want!to!install!the!VmPerl!API!library!files.!The!

default!is!/usr/lib/vmware-api.

This!directory!includes!the!sample!scripts!for!the!VmPerl!API.!The!SampleScripts!
directory!contains!example!scripts!that!demonstrate!use!of!the!VmPerl!API.!You!
can!customize!these!scripts!for!your!organization.

9Specify!the!directory!

files.!These!files!consist!of!the!README,!end!user!license!agreement!and!copyright!
information.!The!default!is!/usr/share/doc/vmware-api.

10 When!you!finish,!log!off!of!the!root!account.

exit

where!you!want!to!install!the!VmPerl!API!documentation!

Uninstalling VMware Server

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!remove!the!VMware!Server!components!from!
your!system:

! “Uninstalling!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!Host”!on!page 55

! “Uninstalling!VMware!Server!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 57

Uninstalling VMware Server on a Windows Host

To!uninstall!VMware!Server,!complete!the!following!steps.!These!steps!remove!all!the!
components!you!installed!with!the!VMware!Server!master!installer,!including!the!
VMware!Management!Interface!and!the!VMware!Scripting!APIs.

To!uninstall!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!a!Windows!client,!see!“Uninstalling!the!

VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Windows!

To!remove!specific!VMware!Server!components!(for!example,!the!scripting!APIs!or!the!
VMware!Management!Interface),!see!“Removing!VMware!Components!on!a!Windows!

Host”!on!page 56.

Host”!on!page 57.

If!you!chose!the!custom!installation!path,!any!components!you!installed!at!that!time!are!
removed!when!you!use!the!master!installer!to

To uninstall VMware Server on a Windows host

1On!a!Windows!Server!2003!host,!choose!Start!>!Settings!>!Control!Panel!>!Add!or!

Remove!Programs.!Select!the!VMware!Server,!and!click!Remove.!

On!a!Windows!2000!host,!choose!Start!>!Settings!>!Control!Panel!>!Add/Remove!
Programs.!Select!the!VMware!Server,!and!click!

2After!the!master!installer!launches,!click!Next.

VMware, Inc. 55

!uninstall!VMware!Server.

Remove.!

VMware Server Administration Guide

3 Select!Remove,!and!click!Next.

4When!you!are!ready!to!begin!removing!VMware!Server,!click!Remove.

During!the!uninstallation,!you!are!asked!whether!you!want!to!keep!your!VMware!
licenses!in!the!Windows!registry.!VMware!strongly!recommends!you!keep!your!
licenses,!in!case!you!reinstall!or!upgrade!your!software.

5To!keep

During!the!uninstallation,!you!are!asked!whether!you!want!to!keep!any!login!
information!for!any!virtual!machines!configured!to!run!as!specific!user!accounts.!
If!you!choose!to!delete!the!login!information,!and!reinstall!VMware!Server,!any!
virtual!machines!configured!to!run
powers!on!those!virtual!machines.!After!you!decide!whether!to!keep!the!login!
information,!the!uninstallation!continues.

6After!all!the!components!are!removed,!click!Finish.

7If!you!see!a!prompt!that!suggests!you!reboot!your!server,!do!so!now!to!allow!

VMware

!the!licenses!in!the!registry,!click!Yes.!

!as!specific!users!will!run!as!the!user!that!

!Server!to!complete!the!uninstallation!correctly.

Removing VMware Components on a Windows Host

With!the!master!installer,!you!can!choose!to!remove!specific!components!from!your!
VMware!Server!installation.!For!example,!if!you!decide!to!not!use!the!VmPerl!API,!you!
can!remove!only!that!component.!

NOTE Do!not!use!this!method!to!remove!VMware!Server.!Use!it!to!remove!only!the!

VMware!Scripting!APIs!or!the!VMware!Management!Interface.

To remove VMware components on a Windows host

1On!a!Windows!Server!2003!host,!choose!Start!>!Settings!>!Control!Panel!>!Add!or!

Remove!Programs.!Select!the!VMware!Server!Installer!and!click!Change.!

On!a!Windows!2000!host,!choose!Start!>!Settings!>!Control!Panel!>!Add/Remove!
Programs.!

2After!the!master!installer!launches,!click!Next.!The!Program!Maintenance!screen!

appears.

3 Select!Modify,!and!click!Next.!The!Custom!Setup!screen!appears.

4Click!the!arrow!to!open!the!menu!next!to!the!component!you!want!to!remove,!

select!This!feature!will!not

5When!you!are!ready!to!begin!removing!the!component,!click!Install.

56 VMware, Inc.

Select!the!VMware!Server!Installer!and!click!Change.!

!be!installed,!and!click!Next.

Chapter 2 Installing VMware Server

6After!the!component!is!removed,!click!Finish.

Uninstalling the VMware Server Console on a Windo ws Host

Use!the!Add/Remove!Programs!in!the!Windows!Control!Panel!to!uninstall!the!VMware!
Server!Console.

To uninstall the VMware Server Console on a Windows host

1 Choose!Start!>!Settings!>!Control!Panel.

2Double‐click!Add/Remove!Programs!(Add!or!Remove!Programs!on!a!Windows!

Server!2003!host).

3 Select!VMware!Server!Console,!and!click!Change.

NOTE If!the!VMware!Server!Console!was!installed!on!Windows!NT!4.0,!click!

Add/Remove.

A!wizard!starts.

4Click!Next.

5In!the!next!screen,!select!Remove,!and!click!Next.

6To!start!removing!the!VMware!Server!Console,!click!Remove.

7After!the!wizard!finishes!removing!the!VMware!Server!Console,!click!Finish.!

You!do!not!need!to!reboot!the!system!after!you!remove!the!VMware!Server!
Console.

Uninstalling VMware Server on a Linux Host

To!uninstall!VMware!Server!or!any!of!its!component,!open!a!terminal!and!log!on!as!the!
root!user.

To uninstall VMware Server or any of its components on a Linux host

! If!you!used!the!RPM!installer!to!install!VMware!Server,!enter!the!following!

command!to!view!the!name!of!the!package!to!uninstall:

rpm -qa | grep VM

! If!you!used!the!RPM!installer!to!install!VMware!Server,!remove!the!software!from!

your!system!by!running:

rpm -e <VMware-server package name>

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VMware Server Administration Guide

! If!you!used!the!tar!installer!to!install!VMware!Server,!remove!the!software!from!

your!system!by!running:

vmware-uninstall.pl

NOTE Uninstalling!the!server!software!removes!the!VmPerl!API!and!the!

Programming!API!that!were!installed!with!it.

! To!uninstall!the!VMware!Management!Interface!components,!run!the!program:

/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-mui.pl

! To!uninstall!a!Linux!console!that!was!installed!from!an!RPM!package,!type:

rpm -e VMware-server-console

! To!uninstall!a!Linux!console!that!was!installed!from!a!tar!package,!run!the!

program:

/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-server-console.pl

! To!uninstall!the!VmPerl!API!that!was!installed!on!a!remote!client!from!a!client!

package,!type:

/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-api.pl

58 VMware, Inc.

CHAPTER 3 Migrating from GSX Server to

VMware Server

This!chapter!describes!how!to!migrate!from!VMware!GSX!Server!to!VMware!Server!on!
your!Linux!or!Microsoft!Windows!host!system.!It!also!describes!how!to!use!virtual!
machines!created!with!VMware!GSX!Server!and!Workstation!5.x.!This!chapter!covers!
the!following!topics:!

! “Preparing!for!the!Migration”!on!page 59

! “Migrating!to!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!Host”!on!page 62

! “Migrating!to!VMware!Server!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 63

! “Using!Virtual!Machines!Created!with!VMware!GSX!Server”!on!page 64

! “Using!Virtual!Machines!Created!with!Workstat i on!5.x”!on!page 75

Preparing for the Migration

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!prepare!for!the!migration!from!VMware!GSX!
Server!to!VMware!Server:

! “Before!You !Install!VMware!Server”!on!page 59

! “When!You!Remove!a!VMware!Product!and!Install!VMware!Server”!on!page 62

Before You Install VMware Server

Before!you!install!or!remove!any!VMware!product!from!a!host!computer,!review!the!
information!in!the!following!sections!to!ensure!the!best!possible!migration!experience.!

Shut Down and Power Off All Virtual Machines

If!you!plan!to!use!virtual!machines!created!under!VMware!GSX!Server,!VMware!
Workstation!5.x,!VMware!Player,!or!VMware!ACE,!be!sure!they!have!been!shut!down!
completely!before!you!uninstall!the!product!you!used!to!create!them.!

If!a!virtual!machine!is!suspended,!resume!it!in!the!current!VMware!product,
the!guest!operating!system,!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.!

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!shut!down!

VMware Server Administration Guide

NOTE If!you!attempt!to!resume!a!virtual!machine!that!was!suspended!under!a!

different!VMware!product,!a!message!appears,!giving!you!the!choice!of!
discarding!or!keeping!the!file!that!stores!the!suspended!state.!To!recover!the!
suspended!state,!you!must!click!Preserve!and!resume!the!virtual!machine!
under!the!correct
normally,!but!the!suspended!state!is!lost.

Make Sure All Disks Are in the Same Mode

If!you!have!an!existing!virtual!machine!with!one!or!more!virtual!disks,!and!all!the!disks!
use!persistent!mode,!no!special!steps!are!required!to!upgrade.

If!you!have!an!existing!virtual!machine!with!one!or!more!virtual!disks,!and!all!the!disks!
use!nonpersistent!mode,!you!must!take!a!
Tools.!For!details,!see!

http://www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=975.!

Upgrading Virtual Machines with Disks in Undoable Mode

If!you!plan!to!use!an!existing!virtual!machine!that!has!disks!in!undoable!mode,!commit!
or!discard!any!changes!to!the!virtual!disks!before!you!uninstall!the!product!you!used!
to!create!them.!

!VMware!product.!If!you!click!Discard,!you!can!power!on!

few!special!steps!when!you!upgrade!VMware!

NOTE VMware!Server!does!not!support!undoable!disks.

To upgrade a virtual machine with disks in undoable mode

1Resume!or!power!on!the!virtual!machine!in!the!earlier!product.

2Shut!down!the!guest!operating!system.!

3Power!off!the!virtual!machine!and!either!commit!or!discard!changes!to!the!disk!in!

undoable!mode!when!prompted.!

If!the!disks!are!in!persistent!or!nonpersistent!mode,!be!sure!the!virtual!machine!is!
completely!shut!down.!If!it!is!suspended,!resume!it,!shut!down!the!guest!operating!
system!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

Upgrading Virtual Machines with Multiple Virtual Disks

If!you!have!an!existing!virtual!machine!that!has!multiple!virtual!disks!and!the!disks!are!
in!multiple!modes,!the!simplest!approach!to!upgrading!is!to!convert!all!the!disks!to!
persistent!mode.

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To upgrade a virtual machine with multiple virtual disks in multiple modes

1Resume!or!power!on!the!virtual!machine!in!the!earlier!product.

2Shut!down!the!guest!operating!system.

3Power!off!the!virtual!machine!and!either!commit!or!discard!changes!to!any!

undoable!mode!disks!when!prompted.!

4Open!the!Configuration!Editor!and!change!all!disks!to!persistent!mode.!

5After!you!upgrade!to!VMware

!Server,!you!can!use!the!snapshot!feature!to!preserve!

the!state!of!a!virtual!machine!and!return!to!that!state!at!a!later!time.

If!you!need!to!preserve!special!functionality!that!requires!disks!in!multiple!modes,!
review!the!information!at!http://vmware.com/!

support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=976!before!you!upgrade.!

Back Up Virtual Machines

As!a!precaution,!back!up!all!the!files!in!your!virtual!machine!directories—including!the!
.vmdk!or!.dsk,!.vmx!or!.cfg!and!nvram!files—for!any!existing!virtual!machines!you!plan!
to!migrate!to!the!new!version!of!VMware!Server.

You!have!a!choice!with!virtual!machines!that!you!created!under!VMware!GSX
3!or!updated!to!use!the!VMware!GSX!Server!3!virtual!hardware:

! You!can!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware!of!these!virtual!machines!for!full!

compatibility!with!VMware!Server.!In!that!case,!the!virtual!machines!can!no!longer!
be!used!under!VMware!GSX!Server!3.x.!

! You!can!choose!not!to!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware.!In!that!case,!you!can!run!the!

virtual!machines!under!both!VMware!GSX!Server!3!and!VMware!Server,!but!you!
do!not!have!the!benefits!of!the!new!virtual!hardware!provided!by!VMware!Server.!
Other!new!features!are!also!not!available.!

To

!use!virtual!machines!created!under!VMware!GSX!Server!2,!you!must!upgrade!the!
virtual!hardware.!After!you!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware!of!machines!created!under!
VMware!GSX!Server!2,!they!are!no!longer!compatible!with!VMware!GSX!Server!2.!

!Server!

Take Note of Custom Network Configurations

If!you!customized!any!virtual!network!settings!or!created!a!custom!network,!you!must!
take!note!of!these!settings!before!you!uninstall!the!previous!version!of!VMware!Server.!
Custom!network!settings!cannot!be!preserved!across!product!upgrades!and!must!be!
configured!again!after!you!install!the!new!version.

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Remove Existing VMware Products

If!you!have!VMware!GSX!Server,!VMware!Workstation,!VMware!Player,!or!VMware!
ACE!installed!on!your!host!system,!you!must!remove!it!before!you!install!VMware!
Server.!Also,!see!“When!You!Remove!a!VMware!Product!and!Install!VMware!Server”!
on!page 62.

NOTE You!can!run!a!virtual!machine!created!with!VMware!Workstation!5.x!on!a!

VMware!Server!host,!but!you!cannot!connect!remotely!from!a!VMware!Server!
host!to!a!host!running!any!version!of!VMware!Workstation.

Make the Virtual Machine Accessible to Its Users

If!the!virtual!machine!is!located!on!a!different!host!or!in!a!different!directory!on!the!
VMware!Server!host,!set!permissions!on!the!directory!to!make!it!accessible!to!all!users!
of!the!virtual!machine.!For!more!information!on!permissions,!see!“Securing!Virtual!

Machines!and!the!Host”!on!page 82.

When Y ou Remove a VMware Product and Install VMware Server

There!is!a!key!precaution!you!should!take!when!you!remove!a!VMware!product!and!
install!VMware!Server.

Leave the Existing License in Place

The!installation!steps!for!your!host!requires!that!you!run!an!uninstaller!to!remove!a!
previous!version!of!the!VMware!product!from!your!machine.!

On!a!Windows!host,!the!uninstaller!asks!whether!you!want!to!keep!licenses!on!your!
system.!Do!not!remove!the!licenses!if!you!plan!to!use!the
You!can!safely!keep!licenses!for!multiple!versions!of!VMware!products!on!your!system!
at!the!same!time.

On!a!Linux!host,!the!license!remains!in!place.!You!do!not!need!to!take!any!special!
action.!

!old!VMware!product!again.!

Migrating to VMware Server on a Windows Host

In!most!cases,!migrating!to!VMware!Server!from!VMware!GSX!Server!is!a!four‐step!
process.

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To migrate to VMware Server on a Windows host

1Uninstall!VMware!GSX!Server!on!your!system.!

NOTE The!uninstaller!might!offer!to!remove!licenses!from!your!registry.!Do!not!

remove!the!licenses.

2If!you!are!prompted,!reboot!your!computer.

3Install!the!latest!version.

4If!you!are!prompted,!reboot!your!computer.

Removing Versions 2 or 3

To!uninstall!versions!2!or!3,!use!the!VMware!GSX!Server!master!installer.!You!must!
keep!your!existing!license!in!the!Windows!registry.

After!you!reboot,!follow!the!instructions!in!“Installing!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!

Host”!on!page 26.

Removing Version 1

To!uninstall!VMware!GSX!Server!1,!use!Add/Remove!Programs!in!the!Windows!
Control!Panel.!Be!sure!to!uninstall!VMware!GSX!Server,!the!VMware!Management!
Interface,!and!the!Remote!Console.

After!you!remove!the!three!packages,!reboot!your!host!and!follow!the!instructions!in!

“Installing!VMware!Server!on!a!Windows!Host”!on!

NOTE If!you!have!VMware!Workstation!(or!any!other!VMware!product)!installed!on!

your!host!system,!you!must!remove!it!before!you!install!VMware!Server.!See!
the!VMware!Workstation!product!documentation!for!information!on!how!to!
remove!Workstation.

page 26.

Migrating to VMware Server on a Linux Host

To!migrate!from!VMware!GSX!Server!to!VMware!Server,!you!must!have!the!full!
VMware!Server!product.!You!must!uninstall!VMware!GSX!Server!before!installing!
VMware!Server.!

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To uninstall VMware GSX Server on a Linux host

1Open!a!terminal!and!log!on!as!the!root!user.!

2If!you!used!the!RPM!installer!to!install!VMware!GSX!Server,!remove!the!software!

from!your!system!by!running:

rpm -e VMware-gsx

If!you!used!the!tar!installer!to!install!VMware!Server,!remove!the!software!from!
your!system!by!running:

vmware-uninstall.pl

NOTE Uninstalling!the!server!software!removes!the!VmPerl!API!installed!with!it.

! To!uninstall!the!VMware!Management!Interface!components,!run!the!program:

/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-mui.pl

! To!uninstall!a!Linux!console!that!was!installed!from!an!RPM!package,!type:

rpm -qa | grep -i vm!to!query!the!package!name,!and!then!type:

rpm -e VMware-server-console

! To!uninstall!a!Linux!console!that!was!installed!from!a!tar!package,!run!the!

program:

/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-console.pl

! To!uninstall!the!VmPerl!API!that!was!installed!on!a!remote!client!from!a!client!

package,!type:

/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-api.pl

Using Virtual Machines Created with VMware GSX Server

The!following!sections!describe!how!to!set!up!older!virtual!machines!to!work!with!
VMware!Server.

! “Creating!Everything!New!from!the!Start”!on!page 65

! “Using!a!Legacy!Virtual!Machine!Without!Upgrading!Virtual!Hardware”!on!

page 65

! “Upgrading!the!Virtual!Hardware!on!a!Legacy!Virtual!Machine”! on!page 65

! “Upgrading!Virtual!Hardware”!on!page 66

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Chapter 3 Migrating from GSX Server to VMware Server

Creating Everything New from the Start

Create!a!new!virtual!machine!and!install!a!guest!operating!system!in!the!virtual!
machine!as!described!in!“Creating!a!New!Virtual!Machine!with!the!Virtual!Machine!

Wizard”.!Creating!new!virtual!machines!is!the!easiest!way!to!ensure!the!best!possible!

virtual!machine!performance.

Using a Legacy Virtual Machine Without Upgrading Virtual Hardware

A!legacy!virtual!machine!is!a!virtual!machine!created!in!VMware!GSX!Server!3!that!can!
run!on!both!VMware!GSX!Server!3!and!VMware!Server.

Upgrade!VMware!Tools!to!the!new!version,!following!the!instructions!in!“Installing!

VMware!Tools”.!You!do!not!need!to!remove!the!older!version!of!VMware

installing!the!new!version.

A!legacy!virtual!machine!set!up!in!this!way!should!run!without!problems.!However,!
you!do!not!have!the!benefits!of!certain!new!features,!including!better!performance,!
improved!networking,!and!Virtual!SMP.!Also,!the!VMware!Server!Console!interface!
changes!to!accommodate!older!virtual!machine!features.

“Connecting!to!VMware!GSX!Server!and!Older!Virtual!Machines”.

!For!more!information,!see!

!Tools!before!

Upgrading the Virtual Hardware on a Legacy Virtual Machine

If!you!use!an!existing!virtual!machine!and!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware,!you!gain!
access!to!new!features,!including:

! Two‐way!Virtual!SMP!(experimental)

! Support!for!64‐bit!guest!operating!systems

! The!ability!to!take!and!revert!to!snapshots!in!the!background

NOTE You!cannot!reverse!the!process!of!upgrading!the!virtual!hardware.!Virtual!

Machines!upgraded!to!VMware!Server!are!incompatible!with!VMware!GSX!
Server.!You!must!upgrade!all!virtual!machines!created!under!VMware!GSX!
Server!2!to!use!with!VMware!Server.!It!is!recommended!that!you!make!backup!
copies!of!your!virtual!disks!before!beginning!the!upgrade.

Start!by!using!an!existing!configuration!file!(.vmx)!and!virtual!disk!(.vmdk!or!.dsk).!

Upgrade!VMware!Tools!to!the!new!version!by!following!the!instructions!in!“Installing!

VMware!Tools”.!You!do!not!need!to!remove!the!older!version!of!VMware!Tools!before!

installing!the!new!version.

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NOTE When!you!update!the!virtual!hardware!for!a!Windows!XP!Professional!or!

Windows!Server!2003!virtual!machine,!the!Microsoft!product!activation!
feature!might!require!you!to!reactivate!the!guest!operating!system.

Upgrading Virtual Hardware

Upgrading!a!virtual!machine’s!virtual!hardware!gives!it!access!to!new!features!in!
VMware!Server.!VMware!Server!supports!upgrading!virtual!machines!created!with!
VMware!GSX!Server!2!and!above!and!Workstation!3!and!4.!VMware!Server!does!not!
support!upgrading!the!hardware!of!virtual!machines!created!with!VMware!GSX!Server!

1.x.

!Before!you!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware,!however,!consider!the!following:

! The!virtual!hardware!upgrade!is!irreversible!–!The!process!of!upgrading!the!

virtual!hardware!is!irreversible!and!makes!the!disks!attached!to!this!virtual!
machine!incompatible!with!VMware!GSX!Server.!You!should!make!backup!copies!
of!your!virtual!disks!before!starting!the!upgrade.

! VMware!Server!updates!the!CMOS!–!If!you!are!using!a!virtual!machine!created!

with!VMware!GSX!Server!3,!the!first!time!you!power!on!the!virtual!machine!with!
VMware!Server,!the!CMOS!is!updated.!As!a!result,!your!guest!operating!system!
might!detect!hardware!changes!and!install!new!drivers!for
if!you!do!not!choose!to!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware.!

!the!new!hardware!even!

! An!error!might!appear!when!upgrading!from!a!physical!disk!–!If!you!are!

upgrading!a!virtual!machine!that!runs!from!a!physical!disk,!rather!than!a!virtual!
disk,!you!might!see!the!following!error!message!while!VMware!Server!is!
upgrading!the!virtual!hardware:!“Unable to upgrade <drivename>. One of the
supplied parameters is invalid.”!You !can!safely!click!OK!
upgrade!process.

To upgrade the virtual machine’s hardware

1Shut!down!the!guest!operating!system!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

2Upgrade!the!host!running!GSX!2!or!3!to!VMware!Server.

3 Choose!VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Machine.

A!dialog!box!appears!with!a!warning!that!the!upgrade!process!cannot!be!reversed.

4Click!Yes!to!continue,!and

5Power!on!the!virtual!machine!in!VMware!Server.

6Upgrade!VMware!Tools!to!the!new!version.

66 VMware, Inc.

!follow!the!on‐screen!directions.

to!continue!the!

Chapter 3 Migrating from GSX Server to VMware Server

Do!not!remove!the!older!version!of!VMware!Tools!before!installing!the!new!
version.

When!you!upgrade!the!virtual!hardware!on!a!virtual!machine!created!using!VMware!
GSX!Server!2,!you!might!then!need!to!take!several!steps!to!be!sure!that!the!new!virtual!
hardware!is!recognized!properly!by!the!

guest!operating!system.!If!your!guest!operating!
system!is!listed!below,!the!instructions!for!that!guest!operating!system!provide!
examples!of!the!steps!you!might!need!to!take!to!perform!these!updates.!

These!instructions!do!not!apply!to!a!virtual!machine!created!using!VMware!GSX!Server!

3.

Windows 2000 Guest

The!following!steps!provide!examples!of!what!you!might!see!as!your!guest!operating!
system!recognizes!the!new!virtual!hardware.!The!specific!steps!may!vary!depending!on!
the!configuration!of!the!virtual!machine.

To ensure the virtual hardware is recognized by a Windows 2000 guest

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!let!it!update!the!CMOS.

Windows!automatically!installs!the!software!for!any!devices

!it!detects.!

2Install!the!new!version!of!VMware!Tools.!

3Shut!down!the!Windows!guest!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

4 Choose!VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Hardware.!

A!message!cautions!you!that!the!operation!is!irreversible!and!recommends!that!
you!back!up!the!virtual!disks!before!proceeding.!

5To!continue,!click!Yes.

A!message!describes!what!is!about!to!happen.!

6Click!OK!to!continue.

7Power!on!the!virtual!machine.

Windows!detects!the!PCI!SVGA!adapter,!then!it!detects!the!VMware!SVGA!II!
adapter.!

8Click!Yes!to!continue!the!installation.

A!message!asks!you!to!insert!a!disk.!

9 Navigate!to:C:\Program Files\VMware\drivers!to!install!the!VMware!SVGA

adapter.!

!II!

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10 If!you!have!serial!ports!configured!in!the!virtual!machine,!go!to!the!Windows!

Device!Manager!and!uninstall!all!the!COM!ports!listed!there.

11 Restart!the!virtual!machine.

Windows!detects!the!COM!ports!and!installs!them!properly.

Windows NT 4.0 Guest

The!following!steps!provide!examples!of!what!you!might!see!as!your!guest!operating!
system!recognizes!the!new!virtual!hardware.!The!specific!steps!may!vary!depending!on!
the!configuration!of!the!virtual!machine.

To ensure the virtual hardware is recognized by a Windows NT 4.0 guest

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!let!it!update!the!CMOS.

Windows!displays!a!message!about!the!video!driver

2Click!OK.

3Install!the!new!version!of!VMware!Tools.

4Restart!the!Windows!guest!and!confirm!that!it!is!operating!correctly.

5Shut!down!the!Windows!guest!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

6 Choose!VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Hardware.!

A!message!cautions!you!that!the!operation!is!irreversible!and!recommends!that!
you!back!up!the!virtual!disks!before!proceeding.

7To!continue,!click!Yes.

A!message!describes!what!is!about!to!happen.!

8Click!OK!to!continue.

You!can!now!power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!use!the!new!configuration.!
Windows!NT!does!not!have!a!Plug!and!Play!process,!so!no
required.

!in!the!guest!operating!system.!

!additional!steps!are!

Windows XP Guest

The!following!steps!provide!examples!of!what!you!might!see!as!your!guest!operating!
system!recognizes!the!new!virtual!hardware.!The!specific!steps!may!vary!depending!on!
the!configuration!of!the!virtual!machine.

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Chapter 3 Migrating from GSX Server to VMware Server

To ensure the virtual hardware is recognized by a Windows XP guest

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!let!it!update!the!CMOS.

2Install!the!new!version!of!VMware!Tools.!

3Shut!down!the!Windows!guest!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

4 Choose!VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Hardware.!

A!message!cautions!you!that!the!operation!is!irreversible!and!recommends!that!
you!back!up!the

!virtual!disks!before!proceeding.!

5To!continue,!click!Yes.

A!message!describes!what!is!about!to!happen.!

6Click!OK!to!continue.

7Power!on!the!virtual!machine.

Windows!detects!the!VMware!SVGA!adapter.!

8 Select!Install!the!software!automatically!and!follow!the!on‐screen!instructions.

A!message!asks!you!to!insert!a!disk.

9 Navigate!to:!C:\Program Files\VMware\drivers!to!install!the!VMware!SVGA!II!

adapter.!

10 If!you!have!serial!ports!configured!in!the!virtual!machine,!go!to!the!Windows!

Device!Manager!and!uninstall!all!the!COM!ports!listed!there.

11 Restart!the!virtual!machine.

Windows!detects!the!COM!ports!and!installs!them!properly.

Windows Me Guest

The!following!steps!provide!examples!of!what!you!might!see!as!your!guest!operating!
system!recognizes!the!new!virtual!hardware.!The!specific!steps!may!vary!depending!on!
the!configuration!of!the!virtual!machine.

To ensure the virtual hardware is recognized by a Windows Me guest

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!let!it!update!the!CMOS.

Plug!and!Play!detects!an!Intel!82371!EB

2 Select!Automatic!search!and!click!Next.!

Windows!finds!and!installs!the!driver!automatically.

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Plug!and!Play!detects!an!Intel!82443!BX!Pentium!II!Processor!to!PCI!bridge.!

3 Select!Automatic!search!and!click!Next.!

Windows!finds!and!installs!the!driver!automatically.!

4Restart!the!guest!operating!system.

Plug!and!Play!detects!an!Intel!82371!AB/EB!PCI!Bus!Master!IDE!controller.!

5 Select!Automatic!search!and!click!Next

Windows!finds!and!install!the!driver!automatically.!

6Install!the!new!version!of!VMware!Tools.!

7Shut!down!the!Windows!guest!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

8 Choose!VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Hardware.!

A!message!cautions!you!that!the!operation!is!irreversible!and!recommends!that!
you!back!up!the!virtual!disks!before

9To!continue,!click!Yes.

A!message!describes!what!is!about!to!happen.!

10 Click!OK!to!continue.

11 Power!on!the!virtual!machine.

Windows!detects!the!PCI!Multimedia!Audio!device!and!installs!the!driver!for!the!
Creative!AudioPCI.

Windows!detects!an!AMD!PCNet!adapter.!

12 Select!Automatic!search!and!click!Next.!

Windows!automatically!

13 Click!Finish!to!restart!the!virtual!machine.

installs!the!driver!for!the!adapter.!

.!

!proceeding.!

Windows!detects!a!Creative!game!port!device!and!installs!the!driver!
automatically.

Windows!detects!a!game!port!joystick!and!installs!the!driver.

Windows!detects!the!PCI!SVGA!adapter,!which!it!then!identifies!as!the!VMware!
SVGA!II!adapter!and!

14 Click!Yes!to!restart!the!virtual!machine.

15 If!you!have!serial!ports!configured!in!the!virtual!machine,!go!to!the!Windows!

Device!Manager!and!uninstall!all!the!COM!ports!listed!there.

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installs!the!driver!automatically.

Chapter 3 Migrating from GSX Server to VMware Server

16 Restart!the!virtual!machine.

Windows!detects!the!COM!ports!and!installs!them!properly.

Windows 98 Guest

The!following!steps!provide!examples!of!what!you!might!see!as!your!guest!operating!
system!recognizes!the!new!virtual!hardware.!The!specific!steps!may!vary!depending!on!
the!configuration!of!the!virtual!machine.

To ensure the virtual hardware is recognized by a Windows 98 guest

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!let!it!update!the!CMOS.

Windows!detects!a!PCI!to!ISA!bridge.!

2Go

!to!C:\Windows\System!and!let!Windows!select!the!necessary!driver.

Windows!detects!an!Intel!82371EB!Power!Management!Controller.!

3Go!to!C:\Windows\System!and!let!Windows!select!the!necessary!file.

Windows!detects!lpt.vxd.!

4Go!to!C:\Windows\System!and!let!Windows!select!the!necessary!file.

Windows!detects!an!Intel!82443BX!Pentium!Processor!to!PCI!bridge.!

5Go!to!C:\Windows\System!and!let!Windows!select!the!necessary!file.

Windows!detects!an!Intel!82371AB/EB!PCI!Bus!Master!IDE!controller.!

6Go!to!C:\Windows\System!and!let!Windows!select!the!necessary!file.

Windows!asks!for!the!file!uhcd.sys.!

7Enter!the!location!C:\Windows\System32\drivers,!and!click!OK.

Windows!detects!an!Intel!82371AB/EB!PCI!to!USB!Universal!host!controller.!

8Go!to!C:\Windows\System!and!let!Windows!select!the!necessary!file.

Windows!detects!an!AMD!PCNET!Family!Ethernet!Adapter.!

9Go!to!C:\Windows\System!and!let!Windows!select!the!necessary!file.

Windows!asks!for!the!file!inetmib1.dll.!

10 Enter!the!location!C:\Windows,!then!click!OK.

Windows!asks!for!the!file!locproxy.exe.

11 Enter!

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the!location!C:\Windows\System,!then!click!OK.

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Windows!asks!for!the!file!ndishlp.sys.!

12 Enter!the!location!C:\Windows,!then!click!OK.

Windows!asks!for!the!file!wsock.vxd.!

13 Enter!the!location!C:\Windows\System,!then!click!OK.

14 When!you!finish!installing!the!AMD!Family!Ethernet!Adapter,!restart!Windows!

98.

Plug!and!Play!detects!multiple!devices!and!restarts!Windows!98.

15 After!the

details,!see!“Installing!VMware!Tools” .

16 Shut!down!the!Windows!guest!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

17 Choose!VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Hardware.!

A!message!cautions!you!that!the!operation!is!irreversible!and!recommends!that!
you!back!up!the!virtual!

18 To!continue,!click!Yes.

A!message!describes!what!is!about!to!happen.

19 Click!OK!to!continue.

20 Power!on!the!virtual!machine.!

When!Windows!boots,!it!detects!the!PCI!SVGA!adapter.!Later,!it!detects!the!
VMware!SVGA!II!adapter!and!installs!the!driver.!

Windows!detects!PCI!Multimedia!Audio!and!offers

21 Click!Cancel.

Windows!detects!an!AMD!PCNET!Family!Ethernet!adapter.

22 Click!Next.!

23 Select!Search!for!the!best!driver!and!click!Next.

24 Select!Specify!a!location,!and!enter!C:\Windows\System.!Click!Next.

!virtual!machine!restarts,!install!the!new!version!of!VMware!Tools.!For!

disks!before!proceeding.!

!to!install!a!driver!for!it.!

25 Select!The!updated!driver!(Recommended)!AMD!PCNET!Family!Ethernet!

Adapter!(PCI‐ISA).!Click

Windows!finds!the!.inf!file!for!the!adapter.

26 Click!Next.!

Windows!asks!for!the!file!dhcpsvc.dll.!

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!Next.

Chapter 3 Migrating from GSX Server to VMware Server

27 Enter!the!location!C:\Windows\System,!and!click!OK.

Windows!asks!for!the!file!inetmib1.dll.!

28 Enter!the!location!C:\Windows,!and!click!OK.

Windows!asks!for!the!file!locproxy.exe.!

29 Enter!the!location!C:\Windows\System,!and!click!OK.

Windows!asks!for!the!file!ndishlp.sys.

30 Enter!the!location!C:\Windows,!and!click!OK.

31 Windows!asks

!for!the!file!wshtcp.vxd.!Enter!the!location!C:\Windows\System,!then!

click!OK.

A!dialog!box!indicates!that!Windows!has!finished!installing!the!software.!

32 Click!Finish.

33 To!install!the!sound!adapter,!follow!the!directions!in!“Installing!Sound!Drivers!in!

Windows!9x!and!NT!Guest!OS”.

34 If!you!have!serial!ports!configured!

in!the!virtual!machine,!go!to!the!Windows!

Device!Manager!and!uninstall!all!the!COM!ports!listed!there.

35 Restart!the!virtual!machine.

Windows!detects!the!COM!ports!and!installs!them!properly.

Windows 95 Guest

The!following!steps!provide!examples!of!what!you!might!see!as!your!guest!operating!
system!recognizes!the!new!virtual!hardware.!The!specific!steps!may!vary!depending!on!
the!configuration!of!the!virtual!machine.

To ensure the virtual hardware is recognized by a Windows 95 guest

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!let!it!update!the!CMOS.

Windows!detects!new!devices!and!automatically!installs!the

2Restart!the!guest!operating!system!after!this!process!is!complete.

!drivers.

When!Windows!restarts,!it!detects!more!new!devices.!

Windows!asks!for!the!file!lpt.vxd.

3Enter!the!location!C:\Windows\System,!then!click!OK.

Windows!detects!a!PCI!standard!host!bridge!and!other!devices.!

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4Click!OK!to!dismiss!these!messages.!You!do!not!need!to!install!these!drivers.

5Click!Finish.

6Install!the!new!version!of!VMware!Tools.!For!details,!see!“Installing!VMware!

Tools”.

7Shut!down!the!Windows!guest!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

8 Choose!VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Hardware.!

A!message!cautions!you!that!
you!back!up!the!virtual!disks!before!proceeding.!

9To!continue,!click!Yes.

A!message!describes!what!is!about!to!happen.!

10 Click!OK!to!continue.

Windows!detects!a!PCI!Multimedia!Audio!device.!

11 Click!Cancel.

Windows!detects!a!PCI!Ethernet!adapter,!then!the!AMD!Ethernet!adapter.!
Windows!automatically!installs!the!driver.

12 To!install!the!sound!adapter,!follow!the!directions!in!“Installing!Sound!Drivers!in!

Windows!9x!and!NT!Guest!OS”.

13 If!you!have!serial!ports!configured!in!the!virtual!machine,!go!to!the!Windows!

Device!Manager!and!uninstall!all!the!COM!ports!listed!there.

14 Restart!the!virtual!machine.

Windows!detects!the!COM!ports!and!installs!them!properly.

the!operation!is!irreversible!and!recommends!that!

Mandrake Linux, Red Hat Linux, or SUSE Linux Guest

The!following!steps!provide!examples!of!what!you!might!see!as!your!guest!operating!
system!recognizes!the!new!virtual!hardware.!The!specific!steps!may!vary!depending!on!
the!configuration!of!the!virtual!machine.

To ensure the virtual hardware is recognized by a

Linux, or SUSE Linux

1Power!on!the!virtual!machine!and!let!it!update!the!CMOS.

2When!Kudzu!appears,!follow!the!instructions!to!detect!new!hardware!and!install!

the!proper!drivers.!

3Shut!down!the!Linux!guest!and!power!off!the!virtual!machine.

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guest

Mandrake Linux, Red Hat

Chapter 3 Migrating from GSX Server to VMware Server

4 Choose!VM!>!Upgrade!Virtual!Hardware.!

A!message!cautions!you!that!the!operation!is!irreversible!and!recommends!that!
you!back!up!the!virtual!disks!before!proceeding.!

5To!continue,!click!Yes.

A!message!describes!what!is!about!to!happen.!

6Click!OK!to!continue.

7Power!on!the!virtual!machine.

When!Kudzu!runs,!it!

8Click!Configure.

NOTE When!using!Kudzu!in!a!Mandrake!Linux!guest,!do!not!migrate!the!

existing!network!configuration.!If!you!try!to!do!so,!you!see!a!blank!screen.!
Instead,!click!No!when!asked!if!you!want!to!migrate!the!existing!network!
configuration.

detects!an!Ensoniq:ES1371![AudioPCI‐97]!sound!device.

Using Virtual Machines Created with Workstation 5.x

You!can!run!virtual!machines!created!using!Workstation!5.x!on!VMware!Server.!Virtual!
machines!created!using!VMware!Server!are!compatible!with!Workstation!5.x.!
However,!virtual!machines!created!using!Workstation!5.x!do!not!include!support!for!
multiple!snapshots!or!teams!when!they!are!running!on!VMware!Server.!

You!cannot!open!or!configure
machine!on!VMware!Server.!You!cannot!remotely!connect!from!a!VMware!Server!host!
to!a!host!running!Workstation.!

!teams!when!you!are!running!a!Workstation!5.x!virtual!

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76 VMware, Inc.

CHAPTER 4 Managing Virtual Machines and

the VMware Server Host

This!chapter!describes!how!to!manage!your!virtual!machines!and!the!VMware!Server!
host!and!covers!the!following!topics:

! “Remotely!Managing!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 77

! “Securing!Virtual!Machines!and!the!Host”!on!page 82

! “Identifying!a!Virtual!Machine!by!Its!UUID”!on!page 92

! “Logging!VMware!Server!Events!on!Windows”!on!page 94

! “Backing!Up!Virtual!Machines!and!the!VMware!Server!Host”!on!page 95

! “Using!the!VMware!Management!Interface”!on!page 97

! “Deleting!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 111

! “Configuring!the!VMware!Server!Host”!on!page 112

! “Using!VirtualCenter!to!Manage!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 131

Remotely Managing Virtual Machines

VMware!Server!allows!you!to!manage!your!virtual!machines!remotely.!Any!machine!
that!can!connect!to!your!VMware!Server!host!over!an!IP!network!can!interact!with!
virtual!machines!running!on!it.

Remote!management!has!many!components!and!levels.!For!a!high‐level!view!of!your!
VMware!Server!host,!use!the!
managing!your!virtual!machines!and!the!server!host.!For!more!information,!see!“Using!

the!VMware!Management!Interface”!on!page 97.!

To!interact!with!a!virtual!machine!directly!from!a!remote!location—!for!example,!to!
maintain!a!database!stored!in!a!virtual!machine—use!the!VMware
VMware!Server!Console!displays!your!virtual!machine!in!a!window!where!you!interact!
with!the!virtual!machine!as!you!would!interact!with!a!physical!computer.

For!an!automated!way!to!remotely!manage!virtual!machines!and!the!VMware!Server!
host,!use!the!VMware!Scripting!APIs.!If!you!are!connecting

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VMware!Management!Interface,!a!Web‐based!tool!for!

!Server!Console.!The!

!to!a!VMware!Server!host!

VMware Server Administration Guide

from!a!Windows!remote!machine,!you!can!use!the!VmCOM,!the!VmPerl!API,!and!the!
Programming!API.!If!you!are!connecting!to!a!VMware!Server!host!from!a!Linux!remote!
machine,!you!can!use!the!VmPerl!API!and!the!Programming!API.!

Another!automated!way!to!manage!virtual!machines!is!to!use
For!more!information,!visit!the!VMware!Web!site!at!

www.vmware.com/support/developer.

Finally,!you!can!use!third‐party!tools!to!remotely!manage!your!virtual!machines.!You!
can!use!applications!like!VNC!Viewer,!Windows!Terminal!Services,!or!Windows!XP!
Remote!Desktop.!To!view!a!virtual!machine!with!VNC!Viewer,!you!
virtual!machine’s!configuration!manually.!

The!following!sections!further!explore!remotely!managing!virtual!machines:

! “Changing!the!Port!Number!for!VMware!Server!Console!Connections”!on!page 78

! “Downloading!the!VMware!Server!Console”!on!page 81

!the!vmware-cmd!utility.!

must!modify!the!

Changing the Port Number for VMware Server Console Connections

By!default,!the!VMware!Server!Console!connects!to!virtual!machines!via!port!902.!If!this!
port!assignment!poses!a!conflict!for!your!site—for!example,!if!you!use!the!
ideafarm-chat!program—you!can!change!the!port!number!that!the!console!uses.

Changing!the!port!number!involves!manually!adding!a!variable!to!certain!preference!
files.!The!steps!you!must!take!vary!depending!upon!the!server!host!operating!system,!
the!host!on!which!the!console!is!running,!and!whether!you!are!making!this!change!to!
VMware!Server!itself!(by!assigning!the!new!port!number!to!a!variable!called!

authd.port)!or!to!the!console!(by!assigning!
authd.client.port).

the!new!port!number!to!a!variable!called!

The!authd.port!setting!is!different!from!the!authd.client.port!setting.!The!authd.port!
variable!tells!VMware!Server!(the!server!side)!which!port!to!listen!on!for!console!
connections!from!remote!hosts!or!clients.!The!authd.client.port!variable!tells!the!
console!(the!client!side)!the!port
to!a!different!port!number,!such!as!9902,!and!you!try!to!connect!to!a!virtual!machine!on!
that!host!with!a!console!on!a!remote!host!or!client,!the!console!still!tries!to!connect!to!
port!902.!

You!can!
In!the!Connect!to!VMware!Server!dialog!box,!in!the!Host!name!field,!enter!the!port!
number!along!with!the!name!of!the!VMware!Server!host!name!and!configuration!file!
path,!like!this:

<server name>:<port> <config file>

78 VMware, Inc.

substitute!this!new!port!number!manually!when!you!connect!with!a!console.!

!with!which!to!connect.!Thus,!if!you!set!only!authd.port!

Chapter 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware ServerHost

Depending!upon!your!site’s!needs!or!configuration,!for!example!if!you!have!multiple!
VMware!Server!hosts!and!they!use!different!ports,!then!this!might!be!acceptable.!
However,!setting!authd.client.port!to!the!same!port!number!you!use!for!authd.port!
allows!for!seamless!integration!between!the!server!and!the!client.!It!also!lets

!you!avoid!

manually!entering!the!port!number!every!time!you!connect!to!the!server!with!a!client.

To change the port number on a Windows host or client

Add!the!following!line!to!config.ini!in!C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Server:

authd.port = <portNumber>

where!<portNumber>!is!the!port!number!that!all!clients!connecting!to!virtual!machines!
on!this!host!must!use.

To!change!the!port!number!that!is!used

!by!the!console!installed!on!a!Windows!machine,!

you!must!create!a!file!called!config.ini!and!place!it!in!C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Server Console.!In!this!file,!add!the!
following!line:!

authd.client.port = <portNumber>

where!<portNumber>!is!the!default!port!number!that!all!clients!on!this!machine!
connecting!to!virtual!machines!on!the!VMware!Server!host!

must!use.!The!VMware!

Server!host!must!have!this!port!number!set!to!the!authd.port!variable!in!its!config.ini!
file!(Windows!host)!or!vmware-authd!file!(Linux!host).!

To!change!the!port!number!for!a!specific!user!who!is!using!the!VMware!Server!Console!
installed!on!a!Windows!host,!add!the!following

!line!to!the!preferences.ini!file!located!

in!C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\VMware:

authd.client.port = <portNumber>

where!<portNumber>!is!the!port!number!to!use!only!when!this!user!is!logged!on!and!
using!a!VMware!Server!Console!to!connect!to!a!virtual!machine!on!the!VMware!Server!
host.!

The!VMware!Server!host!must!have!this!port!number!set!

to!the!authd.port!variable!in!

its!config.ini!file!(Windows!host)!or!vmware-authd!file!(Linux!host).

To change the port number on a Linux host or cl ient

Determine!whether!your!host!is!configured!to!use!xinetd!or!inetd.!

If!your!host!is!configured!to!use!xinetd,!look!for!the!following!line!in!

/etc/xinetd.d/vmware-authd:

port = 902

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VMware Server Administration Guide

Change!the!port!number!902!in!this!case!to!the!desired!number.

If!your!host!is!configured!to!use!inetd,!look!for!the!following!line!in!/etc/inetd.conf:

902 … vmware-authd

Change!the!port!number!902!in!this!case!to!the!desired!number.!All!clients!connecting!
to!virtual!machines!on!this!host!must!use!this

To!change!the!port!number!used!by!the!VMware!Server!Console!installed!on!a!Linux!
host!or!client,!add!the!following!line!to!either!/etc/vmware-server-console/config!or!

/usr/lib/vmware-server-console/config:

authd.client.port = <portNumber>

where!<portNumber>!is!the!port!number!that!all!clients!on!this!machine!connecting!to!
virtual!machines!on!the!VMware!Server!host!must
have!this!port!number!set!to!the!authd.port!variable!in!its!config.ini!file!(Windows!
host)!or!vmware-authd!file!(Linux!host).!

NOTE If!the!port!numbers!specified!in!these!files!are!different,!the!port!number!

specified!in!/etc/vmware-server-console/config!takes!precedence.

To!change!the!port!number!for!a!specific!user!who!is!using!the!VMware!Server!Console!
installed!on!a!Linux!host,!add!the!following!line!to!~/.vmware/preferences:

!port!number.

!use.!The!VMware!Server!host!must!

authd.client.port = <portNumber>

where!<portNumber>!is!the!port!number!to!use!only!when!this!user!is!logged!on!and!
using!a!VMware!
host.!

The!VMware!Server!host!must!have!this!port!number!set!to!the!authd.port!variable!in!
its!config.ini!file!(Windows!host)!or!vmware-authd!file!(Linux!host).!

When!this!user!is!logged!on,!the!port!number!specified!in!~/.vmware/preferences!
supersedes
/usr/lib/vmware-server-console/config.

Server!Console!to!connect!to!a!virtual!machine!on!the!VMware!Server!

!the!port!number!specified!in!/etc/vmware-server-console/config!or!

Substituting a Port Number with the VMware Scripting APIs

With!the!VMware!Scripting!APIs,!you!can!supply!a!different!port!number!when!you!
create!a!new!virtual!machine!object.!This!port!number!must!match!the!port!number!set!
on!the!VMware!Server!host,!which!is!set!by!the!authd.port!variable!in!the!config.ini!
file!(Windows!host)!or!vmware-authd!file!(Linux

80 VMware, Inc.

!host).

Chapter 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware ServerHost

If!you!specify!0!as!the!port!number,!the!console!connects!with!the!port!number!specified!
by!authd.client.port!instead.!If!authd.client.port!is!not!specified,!the!console!
connects!with!the!default!port!902.

For!more!information!about!the!VMware!Scripting!APIs,!visit!the!VMware!Web!site!at!

www.vmware.com/support/developer.

Downloading the VMware Server Console

You!can!download!installation!packages!for!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!the!
VMware!Management!Interface.!Packages!are!available!for!Linux!and!Windows!hosts;!
download!the!package!appropriate!to!the!host!machine!on!which!the!VMware!Server!
Console!is!to!be!installed.!

Downloading!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!installing!it!allows!you

!to!quickly!

manage!virtual!machines!from!the!management!interface.

Downloading!the!installer!from!the!Status!Monitor!page!allows!you!to!access!the!
console!you!need!without!logging!off!of!the!management!interface.

CAUTION Do!not!install!the!VMware!Server!Console!from!the!client!installer!

package!onto!a!host!where!VMware!Server!is!installed.!Do!not!download!
and!install!a!console!from!VMware!GSX!Server!or!VMware!ESX!Server!
onto!any!client.

To download and install a VMware Server Console package from the Login or
Status Monitor page

1 Connect!to!the!VMware!Server!host!with!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!

For!information!on!connecting!to!the!management!interface,!see!“Logging!On!to!

the!VMware!Management!Interface”!on!page 99.

2On!the!Status!Monitor!page,!download!the!installer!by!clicking!the!link!for!the!

package!appropriate!to!the!operating

!system!on!which!the!VMware!Server!

Console!is!to!be!installed.

3On!the!Login!page,!select!the!installer!appropriate!to!the!operating!system!of!the!

computer!where!you!are!installing!the!VMware!Server!Console,!and!click!
Download.

If!you!are!installing!the!VMware!Server!Console!on!a!Linux!host,!you!can

!further!

choose!between!tar!and!RPM!installation!packages.

4Run!the!installation!package.

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VMware Server Administration Guide

! To!install!the!console!on!a!Windows!system,!see!“Installing!the!VMware!

Server!Console!on!a!Windows!Host”!on!page 49.

! To!install!the!console!on!a!Linux!system,!see!“Installing!the!VMware!Server!

Console!on!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 50.

Customizing the Download Menu

You!can!customize!the!download!menu!on!the!Login!page!to!suit!your!users’!needs.!For!
example,!if!your!site!uses!the!VMware!Scripting!APIs,!you!can!add!the!API!installers!to!
the!download!menu.!Client!packages!containing!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!the!
VMware!Scripting!APIs!are!available!in!the
VMware!Web!site.!The!client!packages!are:

! VMware-server-win32-client-<xxxx>.zip!

! VMware-server-linux-client-<xxxx>.zip!

You!can!expand!these!archives!and!place!the!API!installer!files!in!a!readily!available!
area.!Then!modify!the!download!menu!on!the!Login!page!to!point!to!them.

You!can!add!more!files!to!the!download!menu,!hide!items!already!listed!and!even!hide!
the!link!or!the!menu!
there.

On!a!Windows!host!with!the!VMware!Management!Interface!installed,!you!can!find!the!
installers!for!the!console!and!scripting!APIs!in!C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware

Management Interface\htdocs\vmware\bin.!This!folder!contains:

!packages!you!downloaded!from!the!

itself.!Click!Help!on!the!Login!page!and!follow!the!instructions!

! VMware-server-console-<xxxx>.exe!–!The!installer!for!the!VMware!Server!

Console!to!run!on!Windows!clients.

! VMware-server-console-<xxxx>.i386.rpm!–!The!RPM!installer!for!the!VMware!

Server!Console!to!run!on!Linux!clients.

! VMware-server-console-<xxxx>.tar.gz!–!The!tar!installer!for!the!VMware!Server!

Console!to!run!on!Linux!clients.

! VMware-VmCOMAPI-<xxxx>.exe!–!The!installer!for!the!VmCOM!API!for!Windows!

hosts!only.

! VMware-VmPERLAPI-<xxxx>.exe!–!The!installer!for!the!VmPerl!API!for!Windows!

hosts.

Securing Virtual Machines and the Host

This!section!describes!how!you!can!set!permissions!and!implement!security!features!for!
your!virtual!machines!and!the!server!host.!It!includes!the!following!topics:

82 VMware, Inc.

Chapter 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware ServerHost

! “Understanding!Permissions!and!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 83

! “Authenticating!Users!and!Running!Virtual!Machines!for!a!Windows!Host”!on!

page 85

! “Authenticating!Users!and!Running!Virtual!Machines!for!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 88

! “Checking!Permissions!in!the!VMware!Management!Interface”!on!page 90

! “Securing!Your!Remote!Sessions”!on!page 90

The!VMware!knowledge!base!has!an!article!about!best!practices!to!improve!security!for!
the!VMware!Server!host!and!virtual!machines.!For!information,!see!

http://www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?&p_faqid=1042.

Understanding Permissions and Virtual Machines

Access!to!a!virtual!machine!is!based!on!the!permissions!you,!as!a!user,!are!granted!to!
the!virtual!machineʹs!configuration!file!(.vmx).!Different!permissions!let!you!access!
virtual!machines!in!different!ways.!These!ways!include:

! Browsing!virtual!machines.

! Interacting!with!virtual!machines.

! Configuring!virtual!machines.

! Administering!virtual!machines!and!the!host.

If!the!virtual!machine!is!on!a!Windows!host,!permissions!on!more!virtual!machine!files!
might!be!needed,!depending!upon!the!user!account!the!virtual!machine!uses!while!
running.!For!information,!see!“Authenticating!Users!and!Running!Virtual!Machines!for!

a!Windows!Host”!on!page 85.

Browsing a Virtual Machine

Browsing!a!virtual!machine!lets!you!connect!to!it!with!a!console,!but!you!can!see!only!
the!virtual!machine’s!power!state.!The!virtual!machine!display!is!blank,!even!if!the!
virtual!machine!is!running.!You!cannot!interact!with!the!virtual!machine!at!all.

To!browse!a!virtual!machine,!you!need!

Read!permission!for!the!virtual!machine’s!

configuration!file!on!a!Windows!host,!or!read!(r)!permission!on!a!Linux!host.!

Interacting with a Virtual Machine

Interacting!with!a!virtual!machine!lets!you!change!its!power!state!(power!on!or!off,!
suspend,!or!resume)!and!connect!or!disconnect!removable!devices.!You!cannot!change!
the!virtual!machine’s!configuration.!Among!other!restrictions,!this!means!you!cannot!
add!or!remove!virtual!hardware.

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Your!user!name!appears!in!the!VMware!Management!Interface!and!in!the!Connected!
Users!dialog!box,!which!you!access!in!the!VMware!Server!Console!by!choosing!VM!>!
Connected!Users.

To!interact!with!a!virtual!machine,!you!must!have!Read!&!Execute!permission!for!the!
virtual!machine’s!configuration!file!on!a
permissions!on!a!Linux!host.!

Configuring a Virtual Machine

Configuring!a!virtual!machine!lets!you!add!and!remove!virtual!hardware!to!and!from!
the!virtual!machine.

To!configure!a!virtual!machine,!you!must!have!Read!and!Write!permissions!for!the!
virtual!machine’s!configuration!file!and!virtual!machine!resources!(such!as!a!physical!
disk!or!certain!devices)!on!a!Windows!host,!
a!Linux!host.

Administering Virtual Machines and the VMware Server Host

An!administrator!or!root!user!can!configure!the!VMware!Server!host!and!any!virtual!
machines!on!the!host.!For!example,!you!can!enable!SSL!for!client!connections!or!change!
the!amount!of!host!memory!allocated!for!all!virtual!machines.

!Windows!host,!or!read!and!execute!(r!and!x)!

or!read!and!write!(r!and!w)!permissions!on!

To!administer!a!virtual!machine!on!a!Windows!host,!your!user!account!
member!of!the!host’s!Administrators!group.!On!a!Linux!host,!you!should!have!root!
access!to!the!directories!containing!virtual!machine!files.!

Alternatively,!your!user!account!can!have!Read!&!Execute!and!Write!permissions!on!a!
Windows!host,!or!read,!write,!and!execute!(r,!w,!and!x
a!particular!virtual!machine.

)!permissions!on!a!Linux!host!to!

must!be!a!

If You Have No Permissions

If!you!have!no!permissions!for!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration!file,!you!cannot!
connect!to!the!virtual!machine!at!all.!On!a!Windows!host,!if!a!permission!is!both!
allowed!and!denied,!the!denial!takes!precedence.!If!permissions!are!neither!allowed!
nor!denied,!you!are!considered!to!have!no!permissions.

Only You Can See Virtual Machines You Create

When!you!create!a!new!virtual!machine,!the!virtual!machine!by!default!is!private;!other!
users!cannot!see!or!use!the!virtual!machine.!For!all!users!to!be!able!to!use!the!virtual!
machine,!follow!the!custom!path!when!you!create!the!virtual!machine.!You!can!also!
change!the!private!setting

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!in!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor.

Chapter 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware ServerHost

When!a!virtual!machine!is!private,!it!appears!in!the!inventory!of!the!console!of!the!user!
who!created!it.!The!virtual!machine!does!not!appear!in!the!inventory!of!consoles!for!
other!users!connected!to!the!host.!The!virtual!machine!appears!in!the!VMware!
Management!Interface!only!when!you!are
virtual!machine.

Other!users!cannot!browse!to!the!virtual!machine!and!add!it!to!the!inventory.

If!the!virtual!machine!is!made!private!after!it!has!been!created,!it!disappears!from!other!
usersʹ!inventories.

To specify whether a virtual ma c hine is private

!logged!on!with!the!account!that!created!the!

1 Select!the!virtual!machine!in!a!console!and!choose!VM

The!virtual!machine!settings!editor!appears.

2Click!the!Options!tab,!and!click!Permissions.

3To!make!the!virtual!machine!private,!select!Make!this!virtual!machine!private.!

To!allow!all!users!to!see!and!use!this!virtual!machine,!deselect!the!check!box.

4Click!OK!to!save!your!settings!and!close!

the!virtual!machine!settings!editor.

!>!Settings.!

Authenticating Users and Running Virtual Machines for a Windows Host

Every!time!you!connect!to!a!VMware!Server!for!Windows!host!with!the!VMware!Server!
Console!or!VMware!Management!Interface,!the!VMware!Authorization!Service!
requests!a!user!name!and!password!and!authenticates!only!valid!users.

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After!you!are!authenticated,!the!console!starts!or!the!management!interface’s!Status!
Monitor!page!appears.!Access!to!a!virtual!machine!is!based!on!your!permissions.!See!

“Understanding!Permissions!and!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 83.

Each!virtual!machine!runs!as!one!of!the!following!three!user!accounts:

! The!user!who!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

! The!local!system!account!–!The!virtual!machine!runs!as!the!local!system!account.!

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

! A!specific!user!account!–!The!virtual!machine!runs!as!the!user!account!specified!

in!the!New!Virtual!Machine!Wizard!or!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor.!This!
account!must!be!able!to!access!the!VMware!Server!host.

!virtual!machine.

The!user!account!is!specified!when!you!create!the!virtual!machine!and!you!can!

change!

it!in!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor.

Understanding Permissions and User Acc ounts

If!the!virtual!machine!is!configured!to!run!as!the!user!who!powers!it!on,!the!user!must!
have!Read!and!Write!permissions!to!the!virtual!machine!files,!such!as!the!configuration!
file,!virtual!disk!files,!and!snapshot!files.!You!must!have!an!administrator!account!to!
access!devices!like!physical!disks,

An!easy!way!to!allow!this!user!to!access!a!virtual!machine!is!to!set!the!permissions!for!
the!directory!containing!the!virtual!machine!files!and!let!the!user!inherit!the!rights!for!
that!directory.

If!another!user!connects!to!this!virtual!machine!while!it!
permissions!for!the!configuration!file.

For!virtual!machines!configured!to!run!as!a!specific!user!account!or!run!as!the!local!
system!user,!any!user!connecting!to!the!virtual!machine!needs!permissions!only!for!the!
configuration!file.

An!easy!way!to!allow!these!users!to!access
Write!permissions!to!all!the!files!in!the!virtual!machine’s!directory!except!for!the!
configuration!file.!Grant!Read!&!Execute!permission!to!the!configuration!file!and!
disallow!the!inheritance!of!permissions!on!the!file.

!USB!controllers,!and!generic!SCSI!devices.

is!running,!that!user!only!needs!

!the!virtual!machine!is!to!grant!Read!and!

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Chapter 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware ServerHost

Changing the User Account

You!can!change!the!user!account!for!a!virtual!machine!by!choosing!VM!>!Settings!>!
Options!>!Startup/Shutdown!and!changing!the!user!account!information!there.

If!the!virtual!machine!is!configured!to!run!as!the!user!account!who!powers!it!on,!you!
need!to!make!sure!the!virtual!machine!is!
you!need!to!locate!the!virtual!machines!in!a!different!area,!or!on!another!system!on!the!
network,!make!sure!the!user!has!access!to!the!virtual!machine!resources!(such!as!virtual!
disks,!physical!disks,!devices!and!snapshot!files).

in!a!location!that!is!accessible!to!that!user.!If!

To!change!

the!location!where!virtual!machines!are!created,!see!“Specifying!Where!

Virtual!Machines!Are!Created”!on!page 123.

Permissions and Virtual Machine Devices

To!configure!a!virtual!machine!to!use!a!physical!disk!or!generic!SCSI!device,!the!user!
must!be!a!member!of!the!Administrators!group.

Configuring Permissions to Access a Virtual Machine

The!system!administrator!(that!is,!the!administrator!responsible!for!setting!up!the!host!
running!VMware!Server,!not!necessarily!the!Windows!Administrator!login)!can!set!the!
access!permissions!on!the!configuration!file!using!the!following!procedure.!In!general,!
VMware!Server!users!should!have!Read!permission!to!virtual!machine!configuration!
files;!you!can
permissions.!

To configure permissions to access a virtual machine

1 Locate!the!configuration!file!on!the!host!system.!Right‐click!the!configuration!file!

and!select!Properties.!

The!Properties!dialog!box!appears.

2Click!the!Security!tab.!

NOTE If!the!virtual!machine!is!stored!on!a!Windows!XP!client!system!and!is!

!add!any!specific!users!that!should!have!Read!&!Execute!and!Write!

configured!to!use!Workgroup!mode,!the!Security!tab!is!hidden!by!default.!
To!show!the!tab,!on!the!Windows!XP!system,!choose!Start!>!Control!

Panel!>!Folder!Options,!click!Advanced,!and!clear!the!Simple!File

!

Sharing!check!box.

3In!the!Properties!dialog!box,!select!each!user!or!group!and!select!the!appropriate!

permission,!typically!Read.!

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If!you!want!to!limit!access!to!the!virtual!machine,!clear!the!Allow!inheritable!
permissions!from!parent!to!propagate!to!this!object!check!box.

4To!specify!that!a!user!or!group!that!should!not!have!access!to!the!configuration!file,!

either!click!Remove!or!check!all!permissions!in!the!Deny!column!
permissions!to!that!user!or!group.!

5To!add!more!users!or!groups,!click!Add.!

The!Select!Users,!Computers!and!Groups!dialog!box!appears.

6In!the!dialog!box,!select!the!groups!or!users!that!you!want!to!access!the!virtual!

machine,!then!click!Add.!

to!deny!all!

7After!you!finish!adding!

The!users!and!groups!are!added!with!default!Read!and!Write!permissions.!

8In!the!Properties!dialog!box,!change!the!type!of!access!for!the!user!or!group!to!the!

configuration!file.!Choose!either!Read!or!Read!&!Execute!and!Write.!

9Click!OK!to!set

!the!permissions!to!the!configuration!file.!

the!users!or!groups,!click!OK.!

Authenticating Users and Running Virtual Machines for a Linux Host

VMware!Server!for!Linux!uses!Pluggable!Authentication!Modules!(PAM)!for!user!
authentication!in!the!VMware!Server!Console!and!the!VMware!Management!Interface.!
The!default!installation!of!VMware!Server!uses!standard!Linux!/etc/passwd!
authentication,!but!can!be!configured!to!use!LDAP,!NIS,!Kerberos!or!another!
distributed!authentication!mechanism.!

Every!time!you!connect
or!VMware!Management!Interface,!the!inetd!or!xinetd!process!runs!an!instance!of!the!
VMware!authentication!daemon!(vmware-authd).!The!vmware-authd!process!requests!a!
username!and!password,!and!hands!them!off!to!PAM,!which!performs!the!
authentication.

After!you!are!authenticated,
Monitor!page!appears.!What!you!can!now!do!with!the!virtual!machines!is!based!on!
your!permissions.!See!“Understanding!Permissions!and!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 83.

!to!the!VMware!Server!host!with!the!VMware!Server!Console!

!the!console!starts!or!the!management!interface’s!Status!

The!vmware-authd!process!starts!a!virtual!machine!process!as!the!owner!of!the!
configuration!file,!not!as!the
is!still!restricted!by!his!or!her!permissions!on!the!configuration!file.

88 VMware, Inc.

!user!connecting!to!the!virtual!machine.!However,!the!user!

Chapter 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware ServerHost

NOTE If!you!have!full!permissions!on!a!configuration!file!but!do!not!have!execute!

permission!to!the!directory!in!which!the!configuration!file!resides!or!any!of!its!
parent!directories,!then!you!cannot!connect!to!the!virtual!machine!with!a!
VMware!Server!Console!or!a!VMware!Scripting!API.!Furthermore,!you!cannot
see!the!virtual!machine!in!the!VMware!Management!Interface!or!in!the!
VMware!Server!Console.!Nor!can!you!delete!any!files!in!the!virtual!machine’s!
directory.

Virtual!machines!and!their!resources,!such!as!virtual!disks,!physical!disks,!devices!and!
snapshot!files,!should!be!located!in!areas!accessible!to!their!users.

If!a!vmware!process!is!not!running!for!this!configuration!file,!vmware-authd!checks!to!see!
if!this!virtual!machine!is!in!the!inventory.!If!the!virtual!machine

!is!in!the!inventory,!

vmware-authd!becomes!the!owner!of!the!configuration!file!(not!necessarily!the!user!that!
is!currently!authenticated)!and!starts!the!console!with!this!configuration!file!as!an!
argument!(for!example,!vmware /<path_to_config>/<configfile>.vmx).

The!vmware-authd!process!exits!as!soon!as!a!connection!is!established!to!a!vmware!
process!and!

at!least!one!user!has!connected.!Each!vmware!process!shuts!down!

automatically!after!the!last!user!disconnects.

Default Permissions

When!you!create!a!virtual!machine!with!VMware!Server!on!a!Linux!host,!its!
configuration!file!is!assigned!the!following!default!permissions,!based!on!the!user!
accessing!it:!

!

! Read,!execute!and!write!(7)!–!For!the!user!who!created!the!configuration!file!(the!

owner).

! Read!and!execute!(5)!–!For!the!primary!group!to!which!the!owner!belongs.

! Read!(4)!–!For!users!other!than!the!owner!or!a!member!of!the!ownerʹs!group.

When!you!first!install!the!VMware!Server!software!and!run!the!configuration!program!
vmware-config.pl,!you!can!set!these!permissions!for!any!existing!virtual!machine!
configuration!files.

If!you!plan!to!use!a!virtual!machine!

and!its!configuration!file!you!created!in!other!

VMware!products!with!VMware!Server,!you!must!open!the!configuration!file!(choose!
File!>!Open)!to!connect!to!the!virtual!machine!from!the!VMware!Server!Console!or!the!
VMware!Management!Interface.!Then!set!the!default!permissions!as!above.

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Creating Virtual Machines on NFS Shares

If!the!virtual!machine!is!located!on!an!NFS!share,!make!sure!the!root!user!has!access!to!
the!location!of!the!virtual!machine!files.!Otherwise,!you!may!encounter!problems!
configuring!the!virtual!machine.

If!you!create!a!virtual!machine!on!an!NFS!share!to!which!the!root!user!has!no!
certain!operations!do!not!work!when!the!virtual!machine!is!not!running.!For!example,!
you!cannot!revert!to!a!snapshot,!add!or!remove!devices!to!or!from!the!virtual!machine,!
or!otherwise!change!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration.

access,!

Checking Permissions in the VMware Management Interface

The!VMware!Management!Interface!lists!the!permissions!you!have!for!each!
configuration!file!on!the!host!machine!to!which!you!are!connected.!The!permissions!
appear!on!the!Users!and!Events!page!for!each!virtual!machine.!For!more!information,!
see!“Viewing!a!List!of!Connected!Users”!on!page 109.

Only!virtual!machines!for!
Management!Interface.

which!you!have!read!access!are!visible!to!you!in!the!VMware!

Securing Your Remote Sessions

The!username,!password,!and!network!packets!sent!to!the!VMware!Server!host!over!a!
network!connection!when!using!the!VMware!Server!Console!or!the!VMware!
Management!Interface!are!encrypted!in!VMware!Server!by!default.!As!the!
Administrator!user!(Windows!hosts)!or!root!user!(Linux!hosts),!you!can!disable!Secure!
Sockets!Layer

With!SSL!enabled,!VMware!Server!creates!security!certificates!and!stores!them!on!your!
host.!However,!the!certificates!used!to!secure!your!VMware!Management!Interface!
sessions!are!not!signed!by!a!trusted!certificate!authority.!Therefore!they!do!not!provide!
authentication.!To!use
purchasing!a!certificate!from!a!trusted!certificate!authority.

!(SSL)!if!you!do!not!want!to!encrypt!these!sessions.

!encrypted!remote!connections!externally,!you!should!consider!

With!SSL!enabled,!the!console!and!management!interface!perform!exactly!as!they!do!
when!SSL!is!disabled.

When!SSL!is!enabled!for!the!VMware!Server!Console,!a!lock!icon!appears!in!the!lower!
right!corner!of!
is!enabled!do!not!become!encrypted,!and!the!lock!icon!does!not!appear!in!these!console!
windows.!You!must!close!these!consoles!and!start!new!console!sessions!to!ensure!
encryption.

When!SSL!is!enabled!for!the!VMware!Management!
management!interface!is!https://<hostname>:8333.!The!management!interface!

90 VMware, Inc.

the!console!window.!Any!consoles!that!are!already!open!at!the!time!SSL!

Interface,!the!URL!to!connect!to!the!

Chapter 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware ServerHost

automatically!redirects!users!to!this!URL!if!they!use!the!insecure!URL!
(http://<hostname>:8222)!to!connect.!A!lock!icon!appears!in!the!status!bar!of!the!
browser!window.

If!you!disable!SSL,!users!are!automatically!redirected!to!http://<hostname>:8222!if!
they!use!https://<hostname>:8333!to!connect!to!the!management!interface.

NOTE If!SSL!is!disabled!and!then!enabled!again,!any!new!management!interface!

connections!to!the!non!secure!port!(8222)!are!not!redirected.

Using Your Own Security Certificates

You!can!use!your!own!security!certificate!when!you!enable!SSL.

On!a!Windows!host,!run!the!Microsoft!Management!Console!(mmc.exe)!and!select!your!
certificate.!When!you!upgrade!the!VMware!Management!Interface!on!a!VMware!Server!
for!Windows!host,!you!must!reassign!your!certificate!to!the!VMware!Management!
Interface.

On!a

!Linux!host,!the!VMware!Management!Interface!certificate!must!be!placed!in!

/etc/vmware-mui/ssl.!The!certificate!consists!of!two!files:!the!certificate!file!(mui.crt)!
and!the!private!key!file!(mui.key).!The!private!key!file!should!be!readable!only!by!the!
root!user.

When!you!upgrade!the!VMware!Management!Interface!on!

a!Linux!host,!the!certificate!
remains!in!place.!In!case!you!removed!the!VMware!Management!Interface,!the!
directory!is!not!removed!from!your!host.

Enabling and Disabling SSL for Remote Sessions

You!enable!and!disable!SSL!for!VMware!Server!Console!connections!in!the!console!or!
the!management!interface.!You!enable!SSL!for!VMware!Management!Interface!
connections!in!the!management!interface.!By!default,!SSL!is!enabled!for!all!remote!
connections.

The!certificates!used!in!these!secure!sessions!are!not!signed!by!a!trusted!
authority.!Therefore!they!do!not!provide!authentication.To!use!encrypted!remote!
connections!externally,!consider!purchasing!a!certificate!from!a!trusted!certificate!
authority.

To!change!SSL!settings!for!console!and!management!interface!connections!from!the!
VMware!Management!Interface,!see!“Securing!Remote!Connections!with!SSL”!on!
page 112.

To!change!the!SSL!setting!for!console

!connections!from!the!VMware!Server!Console,!

see!“Enabling!SSL!for!VMware!Server!Console!Connections”!on!page 125.

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Identifying a Virtual Machine by Its UUID

Each!virtual!machine!is!automatically!assigned!a!universally!unique!identifier!(UUID),!
which!is!stored!in!the!SMBIOS!system!information!descriptor.!The!UUID!can!be!
accessed!by!standard!SMBIOS!scanning!software,!for!example!SiSoftware!Sandra!or!the!
IBM!utility!smbios2,!and!used!for!system!management!in!the!same!way!you!use!
UUID!of!a!physical!computer.

The!UUID!is!a!128‐bit!integer.!The!16!bytes!of!this!value!are!separated!by!spaces,!except!
for!a!dash!between!the!eighth!and!ninth!hexadecimal!pairs.!So!a!sample!UUID!looks!
like!this:

00 11 22 33 44 55 66 77-88 99 aa bb cc dd ee ff

the!

The!UUID!is!based!on!the!physical!computer’s!identifier!and!the
machine’s!configuration!file.!This!UUID!is!generated!when!you!power!on!or!reset!the!
virtual!machine.!As!long!as!you!do!not!move!or!copy!the!virtual!machine!to!another!
location,!the!UUID!remains!constant.

If!you!move!or!copy!the!virtual!machine,!you!have!the!choice
the!first!time!you!power!on!the!virtual!machine.!This!new!UUID!is!based!on!the!
physical!computer’s!identifier!and!path!to!the!virtual!machine’s!configuration!file!in!its!
new!location.

When!you!power!on!a!virtual!machine!that!was!moved!or!copied!to!a!new
message!appears.

If!you!moved!this!virtual!machine,!you!can!choose!to!keep!the!UUID.!Select!Keep,!then!
click!OK!to!continue!powering!on!the!virtual!machine.

If!you!copied!this!virtual!machine!to!a!new!location,!you!should!create!a!new!UUID,!
since!the!copy!of!the!virtual
machine.!Select!Create,!then!click!OK!to!continue!powering!on!the!virtual!machine.

If!the!original!virtual!machine!is!being!used!as!a!template!for!more!virtual!machines,!
you!can!choose!to!create!a!new!UUID!the!first!time!you!
configure!the!virtual!machine!and!are!ready!to!make!it!a!template,!move!it!to!a!new!
location!and!power!it!on.!When!the!message!appears!after!you!power!on,!select!Always!
Create,!then!click!OK!to!continue!powering!on!the!virtual!machine.!The!
machine!is!set!up!to!create!a!new!UUID!every!time!it!is!moved.!Power!off!the!virtual!

!machine!is!using!the!same!UUID!as!the!original!virtual!

power!on!each!copy.!After!you!

!path!to!the!virtual!

!of!creating!a!new!UUID!

!location,!a!

virtual!

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