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VMware 4 User Manual

Powerful virtual machine software for the technical professional
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V E R S I O N 4 . 0 . 1
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  • Page 1 V E R S I O N 4 . 0 . 1 User’s Manual...
  • Page 2 3145 Porter Drive Palo Alto, CA 94304 Copyright © 1998–2003 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. www.vmware.com 6,397,242 and 6,496,847; patents pending. VMware, the VMware boxes logo, GSX Server and ESX Server are trademarks of VMware, Inc.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Preparing for the Upgrade ________________________________________41 Before You Install VMware Workstation 4 ___________________________41 When You Remove Version 2 or 3 and Install Version 4 ________________42 Upgrading from Version 2 or 3 to Version 4 _________________________44 Using Virtual Machines Created with Version 3 under Version 4 ___________47...

  • Page 4: In Vmware Workstation

    Using Virtual Machines Created with Version 2 under Version 4 ___________58 Upgrading Virtual Hardware in the Guest Operating System ___________58 Creating a New Virtual Machine _________________________________ 63 Setting Up a New Virtual Machine __________________________________65 What’s in a Virtual Machine? ____________________________________65...
  • Page 5 Preparing Your Virtual Machine for the Move ______________________119 Moving a Virtual Machine to a New Host Machine __________________120 Moving a VMware Workstation 3.1 or 3.2 Virtual Machine _______________121 Virtual Machines May Have Relative or Absolute Paths _______________121 Preparing Your Virtual Machine for the Move ______________________121...
  • Page 6 Do Not Use Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Dynamic Disks as Raw Disks ____________________________________ 161 Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot SCSI Systems to Run with VMware Workstation on a Linux Host ___________________________________ 161 Installing an Operating System onto a Raw Partition from a Virtual Machine _ 166...
  • Page 7 Configuring Bridged Networking Options on a Windows Host _________196 Enabling, Disabling, Adding and Removing Host Virtual Adapters ______200 Advanced Networking Topics ____________________________________203 Selecting IP Addresses on a Host-Only Network or NAT Configuration ___203 Avoiding IP Packet Leakage in a Host-Only Network _________________205 Maintaining and Changing the MAC Address of a Virtual Machine ______207 Controlling Routing Information for a Host-Only Network on a Linux Host 209 Other Potential Issues with Host-Only Networking on a Linux Host _____209...
  • Page 8 The Longer Story ____________________________________________ 266 V-Scan Code Table ___________________________________________ 269 Using USB Devices in a Virtual Machine _____________________________ 274 Notes on USB Support in Version 4 ______________________________ 274 Enabling and Disabling the USB Controller ________________________ 274 Connecting USB Devices ______________________________________ 274 Using USB with a Windows Host ________________________________ 275 Replacing USB 2.0 Drivers on a Windows 2000 Host _________________ 275...
  • Page 9 Memory Usage Notes ___________________________________________292 Virtual Machine Memory Size __________________________________292 Reserved Memory ___________________________________________293 Using More Than 1GB of Memory on a Linux Host __________________294 Improving Performance for Guest Operating Systems __________________296 Windows 95 and Windows 98 Guest Operating System Performance Tips 296 Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Guest Operating System Performance Tips ______________________________________298 Linux Guest Operating System Performance Tips ___________________300...
  • Page 10 www.vmware.com...

  • Page 11: Introduction And System Requirements

    C H A P T E R 1 Introduction and System Requirements...
  • Page 12 If you’re new to VMware Workstation, this is the place to start. If you’re a veteran user of VMware products, take a few minutes to see what’s new in version 4 and check out the notes on upgrading your installation.

  • Page 13: Powerful Virtual Machine Software For The Technical Professional

    Using VMware Workstation, you can run multiple operating systems — including Microsoft® Windows®, Linux, and Novell® NetWare® — simultaneously on a single PC in fully networked, portable virtual machines. With more than 1.4 million users, VMware Workstation has revolutionized software development by simplifying and accelerating the process so dramatically that it has become a corporate standard for developers and IT professionals worldwide.

  • Page 14: What's New In Version 4

    Whether you’re a long-time power user of VMware Workstation or a beginning user who is just learning what you can do with virtual machines, the new features in VMware Workstation 4 extend its capabilities and make it easier to use. This release features •...
  • Page 15 Get the freedom to choose the operating systems and applications that work best for you. VMware Workstation 4 provides support for Microsoft® Windows® Server 2003; Red Hat™ Linux 8.0 and 9.0, Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 2.1, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux Workstation 2.1;...

  • Page 16: Host System Requirements

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Host System Requirements What do you need to get the most out of VMware Workstation 4? Take the following list of requirements as a starting point. Remember that the virtual machines running under VMware Workstation are like physical computers in many ways — and, like physical computers, they generally perform better if they have faster processors and more memory.
  • Page 17 Windows NT® Workstation 4.0 Service Pack 6a, Windows NT Server 4.0 Service Pack 6a, Windows NT 4.0 Terminal Server Edition Service Pack 6 Caution: Do not install VMware Workstation on a Windows NT 4.0 Server system that is configured as a primary or backup domain controller.
  • Page 18 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, upgrade 2.4.9-7, upgrade 2.4.9-13, upgrade 2.4.9-21, upgrade 2.4.9-31 • Red Hat Linux 7.1 — stock 2.4.2-2, upgrade 2.4.3-12 •...

  • Page 19: Virtual Machine Specifications

    C H A P T E R 1 Introduction and System Requirements Virtual Machine Specifications Each virtual machine created with VMware Workstation 4 provides a platform that includes the following devices that your guest operating system can see. Processor •...
  • Page 20 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Floppy Drives • Up to two 1.44MB floppy devices • Physical drives or floppy image files Serial (COM) Ports • Up to four serial (COM) ports • Output to serial ports, Windows or Linux files, or named pipes Parallel (LPT) Ports •...
  • Page 21 C H A P T E R 1 Introduction and System Requirements • Built-in NAT supports client software using TCP/IP, FTP, DNS, HTTP and Telnet...

  • Page 22: Supported Guest Operating Systems

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Supported Guest Operating Systems The operating systems listed here have been tested in VMware Workstation 4 virtual machines and are officially supported. For notes on installing the most common guest operating systems, see the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide, available from the VMware Web site or from the Help menu.
  • Page 23 • FreeBSD 4.0–4.6.2, 4.8 Note: If you use SCSI virtual disks larger than 2GB with FreeBSD 4.0–4.3, there are known problems, and the guest operating system does not boot. To work around this issue, see the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide,...

  • Page 24: Technical Support Resources

    If a virtual machine exits abnormally or crashes, please save the log file before you launch another virtual machine. The key log file to save is the VMware log file for the affected virtual machine — on a Windows host, the vmware.log file in the same directory as the configuration file (.vmx) of the virtual machine...
  • Page 25 My Computer, go to Tools > Folder Options, click the View tab and select Show Hidden Files and Folders. Be sure to register your serial number. You may then report your problems by submitting a support request at www.vmware.com/requestsupport.
  • Page 26 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 27: Installing Vmware Workstation

    C H A P T E R 2 Installing VMware Workstation...

  • Page 28: Selecting Your Host System

    Linux host if you have licensed the software for a Windows host — purchase a license on the VMware Web site. You may also get an evaluation license at no charge for a 30-day evaluation of the software. For more information, see www.vmware.com/download/.

  • Page 29: Installing Vmware Workstation 4 On A Windows Host

    Creating a New Virtual Machine on page 4. 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 and VMware Tools on page 5.
  • Page 30 <xxxx>.exe, where <xxxx> is a series of numbers representing the version and build numbers.) 3. The Welcome dialog box appears. Click Next. 4. Acknowledge the end user license agreement (EULA). Select the Yes, I accept the terms in the license agreement option, then click Next. www.vmware.com...
  • Page 31 C H A P T E R 2 Installing VMware Workstation 5. Choose the directory in which to install VMware Workstation. 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.
  • Page 32 8. You may see one or more Digital Signature Not Found dialog boxes when the installer begins to install the VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapters. You can safely ignore these warnings and click Yes or Continue to approve installation of the drivers.

  • Page 33: Uninstalling Vmware Workstation 4 On A Windows Host

    C H A P T E R 2 Installing VMware Workstation company information you enter here is then made available in the About box (Help > About VMware Workstation). If you skip this step, you are prompted to enter your serial number the first time you run VMware Workstation.

  • Page 34: Installing Vmware Workstation 4 On A Linux Host

    Creating a New Virtual Machine on page 4. 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 and VMware Tools on page 5.

  • Page 35: Installing The Vmware Workstation Software

    (VMware-<xxx>.rpm is the installation file on the CD; in place of <xxx> the filename contains numbers that correspond to the version and build.) Note: If you are upgrading from VMware Workstation 3.0, you must take a special step before you install the RPM package. You need to remove the prebuilt modules RPM package included in the 3.0 release.
  • Page 36 Answer Yes when you see the prompt. Use this script to reconfigure VMware Workstation whenever you upgrade your kernel. It is not necessary to reinstall VMware Workstation after you upgrade your kernel. You can also use vmware-config.pl to reconfigure the networking options for VMware Workstation —...

  • Page 37: Configuring Your Web Browser

    Configuring Your Web Browser To use the VMware Workstation Help system, you must have a Web browser installed on your host computer. VMware Workstation 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.
  • Page 38 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 39: Upgrading Vmware Workstation

    C H A P T E R 3 Upgrading VMware Workstation...
  • Page 40 Workstation 2 and 3 The following sections describe how to upgrade VMware Workstation from version 2 and 3 to version 4 on your Linux or Windows host system and how to use existing virtual machines under VMware Workstation 4: •...

  • Page 41: Preparing For The Upgrade

    Preparing for the Upgrade Before You Install VMware Workstation 4 There are a few steps you should take — while your previous version of VMware Workstation is still on your computer and before you install VMware Workstation 4 — to ensure the best possible upgrade experience.

  • Page 42: When You Remove Version 2 Or 3 And Install Version 4

    After you upgrade to VMware Workstation 4, you can use the snapshot feature to preserve the state of a virtual machine and return to that state at a later time. For more information on the snapshot...
  • Page 43 VMware Workstation from your machine. On a Windows host, the uninstaller may offer to remove licenses from your registry. Do not remove the licenses. You can safely keep licenses for multiple VMware products on the computer at the same time.

  • Page 44: Upgrading From Version 2 Or 3 To Version 4

    You may upgrade from version 3 to version 4 using the VMware Workstation 4 upgrade product. To upgrade from version 2 to version 4, you must have the full VMware Workstation 4 product. 1. Uninstall the version now installed on your computer. For details, see...
  • Page 45 Windows Host on page Upgrading on a Windows 2000 Host with Host-Only Networking If you have set up host-only networking for VMware Workstation 2 on a Windows 2000 host, the upgrade process has five steps. 1. Uninstall your host-only adapter (or adapters).

  • Page 46: Upgrading On A Linux Host

    If you used the tar installer to install version 2 or 3 and you plan to use the tar installer for version 4, you do not need to take any special steps to uninstall the older version. Just follow the installation instructions...

  • Page 47: Using Virtual Machines Created With Version 3 Under Version 4

    Note: The first time you power on the virtual machine under VMware Workstation 4, Workstation updates the CMOS. As a result, your guest operating system may detect hardware changes and install new drivers for the new hardware even if you do not choose File >...

  • Page 48: Use An Existing Virtual Machine And Upgrade The Virtual Hardware

    Linux hosts: The first time you run a virtual machine after installing VMware Workstation 4, Workstation offers to convert virtual disk .dsk filenames to use the .vmdk extension introduced with version 3. If you still have virtual disks using the .dsk extension and if you are storing virtual disk files on a Windows XP or Windows...

  • Page 49: Upgrading Virtual Hardware In The Guest Operating System

    2003 virtual machine, the Microsoft product activation feature requires you to reactivate the guest operating system. Windows hosts: At the time you install VMware Workstation 4, the installer offers to convert virtual disk .dsk filenames to use the .vmdk extension introduced with version 3.
  • Page 50 ROM, you can run the guest operating system’s Add Hardware Wizard and allow it to detect new hardware and install the appropriate drivers. You need to install the new version of VMware Tools. If you have decided to upgrade the virtual hardware, do that after you finish installing VMware Tools.
  • Page 51 C H A P T E R 3 Upgrading VMware Workstation 9. A dialog box asks you to insert a disk. 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.
  • Page 52 16. Windows detects a game port joystick and installs the driver automatically. 17. Windows detects the PCI SVGA adapter, then it detects the VMware SVGA II adapter and installs the driver automatically. 18. Click Yes to restart the virtual machine.
  • Page 53 C H A P T E R 3 Upgrading VMware Workstation 10. A dialog box asks you to insert a disk. Navigate to C:\Program Files\VMware\drivers to install the VMware SVGA II adapter. 11. If you have serial ports configured in the virtual machine, go to the Windows Device Manager and uninstall all the COM ports listed there.
  • Page 54 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 for it automatically. 21. Windows detects PCI Multimedia Audio and offers to install a driver for it. Click Cancel.
  • Page 55 C H A P T E R 3 Upgrading VMware Workstation 22. Windows detects an AMD PCNET Family Ethernet adapter. Click Next. 23. Select Search for the best driver and click Next. 24. Select Specify a location, enter C:\Windows\System and click Next.
  • Page 56 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual 4. Windows asks for the file lpt.vxd. Enter the location C:\Windows\System, then click OK. 5. Windows detects a PCI standard host bridge and other devices. Click OK to dismiss these dialog boxes. You do not need to install these drivers.

  • Page 57: Upgrading The Virtual Hardware In An Existing Virtual Machine

    Note: If you are upgrading a virtual machine that runs from a physical disk, rather than a virtual disk, you may see the following error message while VMware Workstation is upgrading the virtual hardware: “Unable to upgrade <drivename>. One of the supplied parameters is invalid.”...

  • Page 58: Using Virtual Machines Created With Version 2 Under Version 4

    VMware Workstation or .vmdk if you do convert). The first time you power on the virtual machine under Workstation 4, a dialog box appears, offering the choice of upgrading the virtual hardware or powering off. If you want to make a backup copy of the virtual machine before upgrading the virtual hardware, power off and make the backup.
  • Page 59 2. Allow Workstation to upgrade the virtual hardware. 3. Click OK to dismiss the message “A legacy SVGA driver has been detected.” 4. Log on to Windows 98. You see a number of Plug and Play messages. You may need to insert your Windows 98 installation CD.
  • Page 60 Standard host CPU bridge, PCI bridge and PCI Universal bus. 9. A VMware SVGA II adapter is detected and Windows installs it. 10. Restart Windows 95. 11. Once again, you see a number of Plug and Play messages. Again, click Cancel for those listing the following devices: Standard host CPU bridge, PCI bridge and PCI Universal bus.
  • Page 61 C H A P T E R 3 Upgrading VMware Workstation Check Windows 2000 Guest Operating System Selection If your guest operating system is Windows 2000, update the setting in the Virtual Machine Control Panel (Edit > Virtual Machine Settings > Options) to reflect the...
  • Page 62 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 63: Creating A New Virtual Machine

    C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine...
  • Page 64 VMware Tools for FreeBSD Guests on page 83 • Installing VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine on page 85 • VMware Tools Configuration Options on page 86 • Using the System Console to Configure VMware Tools in a NetWare Guest Operating System on page 88 www.vmware.com...

  • Page 65: Setting Up A New Virtual Machine

    C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine Setting Up a New Virtual Machine The New Virtual Machine Wizard guides you through the key steps for setting up a new virtual machine, helping you set various options and parameters. You can then use the Virtual Machine Control Panel (Edit >...

  • Page 66: Simple Steps To A New Virtual Machine

    Linux hosts: In a terminal window, enter the command vmware & 2. If this is the first time you have launched VMware Workstation and you did not enter the serial number when you installed the product (an option available on a Windows host), you are prompted to enter it.
  • Page 67 C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine 3. Linux hosts: If this is the first time you have launched VMware Workstation, a dialog box asks if you want to rename existing virtual disks using the new .vmdk extension.
  • Page 68 The remaining steps assume you plan to install a Windows XP Professional guest operating system. You can find detailed installation notes for this and other guest operating systems in the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide, available from the VMware Web site or from the Help menu.
  • Page 69 C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine The name specified here is used if you add this virtual machine to the VMware Workstation Favorites list. This name is also used as the name of the folder where the files associated with this virtual machine are stored.
  • Page 70 Windows hosts). It also allows for the sharing of files between the virtual machine and the host operating system. For more details about VMware Workstation networking options, see Networking on page 183.
  • Page 71 C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine Virtual disks are the best choice for most virtual machines. They are quick and easy to set up and can be moved to new locations on the same host computer or to different host computers.
  • Page 72 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual If you do not select this option, the virtual disk’s files start small and grow as needed, but they can never grow larger than the size you set here. You can set a size between 2GB and 256GB for a SCSI virtual disk or 128GB for an IDE virtual disk.
  • Page 73 C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine Caution: The independent disk option should be used only by advanced users who need it for special-purpose configurations. You have the following options for an independent disk: •...

  • Page 74: Installing A Guest Operating System And Vmware Tools

    The screen shots illustrate the process on a Windows host. The steps are the same on a Linux host. For information on installing other guest operating systems, see the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide, available from the VMware Web site or from the Help menu. www.vmware.com...

  • Page 75: Installing Windows Xp As A Guest Operating System

    C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine Installing Windows XP as a Guest Operating System You can install Windows XP Home Edition or Windows XP Professional in a virtual machine using the full installation CD.
  • Page 76 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual 3. Follow the Windows XP installation steps as you would for a physical computer. www.vmware.com...

  • Page 77: Installing Vmware Tools

    The detailed steps for installing VMware Tools depend on the version of Windows you • Other tools in the are running. The steps that follow show how to install VMware Tools in a Windows XP package support guest. Some steps that are automated in newer versions of Windows must be...
  • Page 78 Additional Steps for Some Versions of Windows When Migrating from Old Disk Versions If you are migrating a VMware Workstation 2 disk to VMware Workstation 4 and your guest operating system is Windows NT, Windows Me, Windows 98 or Windows 95, you need to configure the video driver by hand.
  • Page 79 C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine Notepad at the end of the installation process. If the Notepad window is hidden, bring it to the front by clicking the Notepad button on the Windows taskbar.
  • Page 80 VMware SVGA Properties. 3. Click the Adapter tab. 4. Click the Change button. This starts the Update Device Driver Wizard. Click Next. 5. The wizard presents two options. Choose the option to Display a list of all drivers in a specific location.

  • Page 81: Vmware Tools For Linux Guests

    3. Be sure the guest operating system is running in text mode. You cannot install VMware Tools while X is running. 4. As root (su -), mount the VMware Tools virtual CD-ROM image, change to a working directory (for example, /tmp), uncompress the installer, then unmount the CD-ROM image.
  • Page 82 8. In an X terminal, launch the VMware Tools background application. vmware-toolbox & Note: You may run VMware Tools as root or as a normal user. To shrink virtual disks, you must run VMware Tools as root (su -). Starting VMware Tools Automatically You may find it helpful to configure your guest operating system so VMware Tools starts when you start your X server.

  • Page 83: Vmware Tools For Freebsd Guests

    3. Be sure the guest operating system is running in text mode. You cannot install VMware Tools while X is running. 4. As root (su -), mount the VMware Tools virtual CD-ROM image, change to a working directory (for example, /tmp), uncompress the installer, then unmount the CD-ROM image.
  • Page 84 Shared object 'libc.so.3' not found. The required library was not installed. This does not happen with full installations of FreeBSD 4.5, but does occur for minimal installations. To fix the problem of the missing library, take the following steps: 1. Insert and mount the FreeBSD 4.5 installation CD or access the ISO image file.

  • Page 85: Installing Vmware Tools In A Netware Virtual Machine

    3. Load the CD9660.NSS driver so the CD-ROM device mounts the ISO image as a volume. In the system console, type LOAD CD9660.NSS 4. When the driver finishes loading, you can begin installing VMware Tools. In the system console, type vmwtools:\setup.ncf 5.

  • Page 86: Vmware Tools Configuration Options

    To open the VMware Tools control panel, double-click the VMware Tools icon in the system tray. If the VMware Tools icon does not appear in the system tray, go to Start > Control Panel. The Options tab shows the Miscellaneous Options.
  • Page 87 C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine The Scripts tab lets you enable, disable and run scripts that are associated with the Suspend, Resume, Power On and Power Off buttons. Windows hosts: If the virtual machine is configured to use DHCP, the script executed when suspending a virtual machine releases the IP address of the virtual machine.

  • Page 88: Using The System Console To Configure Vmware Tools In A Netware Guest Operating System

    NetWare Guest Operating System You can configure certain virtual machine options such as time synchronization, CPU idling and device configuration with VMware Tools in a NetWare virtual machine using the system console. The VMware Tools command line program is called vmwtool.
  • Page 89 C H A P T E R 4 Creating a New Virtual Machine vmwtool Command Definition Lists each removable device in the virtual machine, its devicelist device ID and whether the device is enabled or disabled. Removable devices include the virtual network adapter, CD- ROM and floppy drives.
  • Page 90 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 91: Running Vmware Workstation

    C H A P T E R 5 Running VMware Workstation...
  • Page 92 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual A Quick Guide to Running VMware Workstation After you have installed VMware Workstation, a guest operating system and VMware Tools, how do you run your virtual machine? The following sections give you highlights of the most common tasks.

  • Page 93: Overview Of The Vmware Workstation Window

    Overview of the VMware Workstation Window machines in the same Think of your VMware Workstation virtual machine as a separate computer that runs Workstation window. in a window on your physical computer's desktop. The Workstation window lets you Or you can launch run multiple virtual machines and switch easily from one to another.
  • Page 94 VMware Workstation main window on a Linux host Instead of using physical buttons to turn this computer on and off, you use buttons on the toolbar at the top of the VMware Workstation window. Toolbar when virtual machine is powered off (as seen on a Windows host)
  • Page 95 C H A P T E R 5 Running VMware Workstation Toolbar when virtual machine is suspended (as seen on a Linux host) There are separate Power Off and Power On buttons. When you suspend a virtual machine, the Power On button becomes a Resume button.

  • Page 96: Starting A Virtual Machine On A Windows Host

    When you have finished making changes, click OK to save the changes and close the Virtual Machine Control Panel. An alert appears in the status bar — at the bottom left corner of the VMware Workstation window — when your virtual machine is not running the version of VMware Tools that matches your version of VMware Workstation.
  • Page 97 (.vmx) file for the virtual machine you want to use. (On a Linux host, a virtual machine created with an earlier VMware product may have a configuration file with a .cfg extension.) To add that virtual machine to the Favorites list so you can open it easily the next time you want to use it, choose File >...

  • Page 98: Starting A Virtual Machine On A Linux Host

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual 4. If VMware Tools is not running in the virtual machine, click anywhere inside the virtual machine window to give the virtual machine control of your mouse and keyboard. 5. If you need to log on, type your name and password just as you would on a physical computer.

  • Page 99: Using Full Screen Mode

    After you install VMware Tools in a Windows virtual machine, the VMware Tools services start automatically when you start the guest operating system. When VMware Tools is running in a Windows virtual machine, the VMware Tools icon appears in the system tray unless you disable the icon.

  • Page 100: Using Quick Switch Mode

    You do not need to take any special steps if VMware Tools is running in both guest operating systems and if you are using the default settings for grabbing input. If...

  • Page 101: Fitting The Vmware Workstation Window To The Virtual Machine

    If Autofit is off, you can choose View > Fit to adjust the VMware Workstation window so it fits the virtual machine’s display.

  • Page 102: Simplifying The Screen Display

    640 x 480 or larger. Simplifying the Screen Display If you prefer, you can turn off display of many of the controls visible in the VMware Workstation window. Use the View menu to toggle the following controls on or off: •...

  • Page 103: Installing New Software In The Virtual Machine

    VMware Workstation window. Installing New Software in the Virtual Machine Installing new software in a VMware Workstation virtual machine is just like installing it on a physical computer. For example, to install software in a Windows virtual machine, take the following steps: 1.

  • Page 104: Cutting, Copying And Pasting Text

    Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text When VMware Tools is running, you can cut (or copy) and paste text between applications in the virtual machine and the host computer or between two virtual machines. Use the normal hot keys or menu choices to cut, copy and paste.
  • Page 105 Neighborhood in a Windows NT virtual machine) under VMware Shared Folders. For example, if you specify the name Test files for one of your shared folders, you can navigate to it by opening My Network Places > VMware Shared Folders > .host > Shared Folders > Test files.
  • Page 106 For example, if you are running VMware Workstation as a user named User, the virtual machine can read and write files in the shared folder only if User has permission to read and write them.

  • Page 107: Using Drag And Drop

    C H A P T E R 5 Running VMware Workstation Using Drag and Drop With the drag and drop features of VMware Workstation 4, you can move files easily between a Windows host and a Windows virtual machine. You can drag and drop individual files or entire directories.

  • Page 108: Taking And Reverting To A Snapshot

    175. Taking and Reverting to a Snapshot VMware Workstation lets you take a snapshot of a virtual machine at any time and revert to that snapshot at any time. You can take a snapshot while a virtual machine is powered on, powered off or suspended.

  • Page 109: Adding, Configuring And Removing Devices In A Virtual Machine

    If you are using a different guest operating system, the procedure is similar. Follow the usual steps to shut down the guest operating system inside your virtual machine, then turn off the virtual machine with the Power Off button and exit VMware Workstation.

  • Page 110: Connecting And Disconnecting Removable Devices

    The Preferences dialog box allows you to change a number of settings that apply to VMware Workstation itself, no matter what virtual machine you are running. The settings under Preferences apply to the user currently logged on to the host computer.
  • Page 111 Ctrl-Shift-Alt-<key> to prevent Ctrl-Alt-Delete from being intercepted by VMware Workstation instead of being sent to the guest operating system. Note: Because Ctrl-Alt is the key combination used to tell VMware Workstation to release (ungrab) mouse and keyboard input, combinations that include Ctrl-Alt are not passed to the guest operating system.

  • Page 112: Setting Application Settings For Vmware Workstation

    The Application Settings dialog box allows you to change a number of settings that apply to VMware Workstation itself. The settings on the Memory and Lockout tabs apply no matter what virtual machine is running or who is logged on to the host computer.
  • Page 113 C H A P T E R 5 Running VMware Workstation Process priorities — The Priority tab on a Windows host lets you determine the priority that the Windows process scheduler gives to your virtual machines when mouse and keyboard input are going to a particular virtual machine and when input is not going to that virtual machine.

  • Page 114: Command Reference

    [X toolkit options ] -x automatically powers on the virtual machine when VMware Workstation starts. This is equivalent to clicking the Power On button in the VMware Workstation toolbar. -X automatically powers on the virtual machine, then switches the VMware Workstation window to full screen mode.

  • Page 115: Keyboard Shortcuts

    Switch among open virtual machines while using full screen mode. Fx is a function key corresponding to the virtual machine you want to use. The key combination to use for a virtual machine is shown in the VMware Workstation title bar when that virtual machine is active and in normal (windowed) mode.
  • Page 116 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 117: Moving And Sharing Virtual Machines

    C H A P T E R 6 Moving and Sharing Virtual Machines...
  • Page 118 Preparing Your Virtual Machine for the Move on page 119 • Moving a Virtual Machine to a New Host Machine on page 120 • Moving a VMware Workstation 3.1 or 3.2 Virtual Machine on page 121 • Virtual Machines May Have Relative or Absolute Paths on page 121 •...

  • Page 119: Moving A Vmware Workstation 4 Virtual Machine

    Moving a VMware Workstation 4 Virtual Machine What do you do if you have created a virtual machine using VMware Workstation and you want to move it to a different computer? Or even somewhere else on the same computer? The process is not difficult, and in most cases you can even move your virtual machine from a Windows host to a Linux host —...

  • Page 120: Moving A Virtual Machine To A New Host Machine

    (.vmx) file. Moving a Virtual Machine to a New Host Machine 1. Make sure VMware Workstation is installed and working correctly on the new host computer. 2. Create a directory for the virtual machine you are moving. Locate the virtual disk files you are moving and copy them into the new directory.

  • Page 121: Moving A Vmware Workstation 3.1 Or 3.2 Virtual Machine

    VMware Workstation 4 before moving it. To do so, run the virtual machine under VMware Workstation 4 and use File > Upgrade Virtual Hardware. If you upgrade the virtual hardware, you can then...

  • Page 122: Moving A Virtual Machine To A New Host Machine

    Start VMware Workstation 4 and open the virtual machine you just moved. Choose File > Open, then browse to the virtual machine’s configuration (.vmx) file.
  • Page 123 Considerations for Moving Disks in Undoable Mode on page 126. 3. Start VMware Workstation 4 and open the virtual machine you just moved. Choose File > Open, then browse to the virtual machine’s configuration (.vmx) file.

  • Page 124: Moving An Older Virtual Machine

    Note: Do not move a suspended virtual machine from one host to another. 4. If your virtual machine is using disks in undoable mode, it is best to commit or discard the changes when the guest operating system shuts down. If you cannot...

  • Page 125: Preparing The New Host Machine

    3. In the directory just created for the new virtual machine, delete the brand new .vmdk files that were just created. 4. Locate the virtual disk files you are moving and copy them into the new virtual machine directory. Note: If your virtual machine is using disks in undoable mode and you did not commit or discard your changes before the move, you must also move the redo- log (.REDO) file to the new host computer.

  • Page 126: Considerations For Moving Disks In Undoable Mode

    3. Open the Virtual Machine Control Panel. 4. Examine the entry for your virtual disk to see whether it includes a full path to the first virtual disk file. For example, on a Windows host, you might see a disk file listing like this: My Documents\My Virtual Machines\Windows Me\Windows Me.vmdk...
  • Page 127 C H A P T E R 6 Moving and Sharing Virtual Machines If your disk file information resembles the example above (with a full path to the first disk file) and you have not committed or discarded changes to the undoable disk, the following rules apply: •...

  • Page 128: Sharing Virtual Machines With Other Users

    • If your virtual machine was created under VMware Workstation 3 or another VMware product and uses disks in nonpersistent mode, you should consider changing the location of the redo-log file, since by default it is placed in your temp directory, to which other users may not have access (redo-log files for disks in undoable mode are placed in the same directory as the virtual machine’s...

  • Page 129: Using Disks

    C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks...
  • Page 130 • Disk Types: Virtual and Physical on page 131 • File Locations on page 133 • Updating Filenames for Virtual Disks Created with Earlier VMware Products on page 135 • Defragmenting and Shrinking Virtual Disks on page 136 • Adding Drives to a Virtual Machine on page 138 •...

  • Page 131: Configuring Hard Disk Storage In A Virtual Machine

    IDE virtual disks can be as large as 128GB. SCSI virtual disks can be as large as 256GB. Depending on the size of the virtual disk and the host operating system, VMware Workstation creates one or more files to hold each virtual disk.
  • Page 132 You can also use VMware Workstation on a Windows host to create virtual disks, then move them to a Linux computer and use them under VMware Workstation for Linux — or vice versa.

  • Page 133: File Locations

    C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks machine. For details, see Configuring a Dual-Boot Computer for Use with a Virtual Machine on page 146. You can also create a new virtual machine using a raw disk. For details, see Installing an Operating System onto a Raw Partition from a Virtual Machine on page 166.
  • Page 134 — for example, Windows XP Professional- f001.vmdk. If your virtual machine uses files created under earlier VMware products, with a .dsk extension, the filenames can be updated automatically on a Windows host. For...

  • Page 135: Updating Filenames For Virtual Disks Created With Earlier Vmware Products

    Raw disk partitions are also protected by locks. However, the host operating system is not aware of this locking convention and thus does not respect it. For this reason, VMware strongly recommends that the raw disk for a virtual machine not be installed on the same physical disk as the host operating system.

  • Page 136: Defragmenting And Shrinking Virtual Disks

    When a virtual machine is powered on, you can shrink its virtual disks from the VMware Tools control panel. You cannot shrink virtual disks if a snapshot exists. To remove the snapshot if one exists, choose Snapshot > Remove Snapshot.
  • Page 137 For best disk performance, you can take the following three actions, in the order listed: 1. Run a disk defragmentation utility inside the virtual machine. 2. Use the VMware Workstation defragmentation tool. Go to Edit > Virtual Machine Settings, click the listing for the virtual disk you want to defragment, then click Defragment.

  • Page 138: Adding Drives To A Virtual Machine

    If it is not, shut down the guest operating system normally, then click Power Off on the VMware Workstation toolbar. Note: If you have a Windows NT 4.0 guest with a SCSI virtual disk, you cannot add both an additional SCSI disk and an IDE disk to the configuration.
  • Page 139 C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks Allocating all the space at the time you create the virtual disk gives somewhat better performance, but it requires as much disk space as the size you specify for the virtual disk. If you do not select this option, the virtual disk’s files start small and grow as needed, but they can never grow larger than the size you set here.

  • Page 140: Adding Raw Disks To A Virtual Machine

    2. Click Hard Disk, then click Next. 3. Select Use a physical disk, then click Next. 4. Choose the physical hard disk to use from the drop-down list. Select whether you want to use the entire disk or use only individual partitions on the disk. Click Next.
  • Page 141 C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks 5. If you selected Use individual partitions in the previous step, select which partitions you want to use in the virtual machine. If you selected Use entire disk, this step does not appear. Only the partitions you select in this step are visible to the virtual machine.

  • Page 142: Adding Dvd Or Cd Drives To A Virtual Machine

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual On the advanced settings screen, you can also specify a disk mode. This is useful in certain special-purpose configurations in which you want to exclude disks from the snapshot. For more information on the snapshot feature, see...
  • Page 143 Select Use ISO Image if you want to connect the virtual machine’s drive to an ISO image file. 4. Do one of the following: • If you selected Use physical drive, choose the drive you want to use from the drop-down list or choose Auto detect.

  • Page 144: Adding Floppy Drives To A Virtual Machine

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual 5. The drive is set up initially so it appears to the guest operating system as an IDE drive. If you want it to appear to the guest operating system as a SCSI drive, click the drive’s entry in the Virtual Machine Control Panel and make that change in...

  • Page 145: Connecting A Cd-Rom Or Floppy Drive To An Image File

    C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks 4. If you selected Use a physical floppy drive, choose the drive’s letter (on a Windows host) or device name (on a Linux host) from the drop-down list, then click Finish.

  • Page 146: Configuring A Dual-Boot Computer For Use With A Virtual Machine

    To support such installations, VMware Workstation makes it possible for you to use a physical IDE disk or partition, also known as a raw disk, inside a virtual machine.
  • Page 147 Windows Server 2003 raw disk configuration in a production environment. • Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot Systems to Run with VMware Workstation on page 148 • Running a Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 Virtual Machine from an Existing Multiple-Boot Installation on page 157 •...

  • Page 148: Configuring Dual- Or Multiple-Boot Systems To Run With Vmware Workstation

    Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot Systems to Run with VMware Workstation VMware Workstation uses description files to control access to each raw IDE device on the system. These description files contain access privilege information that controls a virtual machine's access to certain partitions on the disks. This mechanism prevents users from accidentally running the host operating system again as a guest or running a guest operating system that the virtual machine was not configured to use.
  • Page 149 C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks rerun the wizard to create a separate configuration for each guest operating system installed on a raw partition. If a boot manager is installed on the computer system, the boot manager runs inside the virtual machine and presents you with the choice of guest operating systems to run.
  • Page 150 Custom. 3. When you reach the Select a Disk step, select Use a physical disk. 4. Complete the wizard steps, specifying the appropriate disk or partition to use for this virtual machine. Note: The maximum size of an IDE disk in a virtual machine is 128GB.
  • Page 151 Secondary master Secondary slave If you have multiple SCSI drives configured on a system, the VMware BIOS normally attempts to boot them in the order of the SCSI device number. If you have both SCSI and IDE drives configured, the VMware BIOS normally attempts to boot SCSI drives followed by IDE drives, in the order described above.
  • Page 152 /dev/hda (IDE raw disk) and /dev/sda (SCSI raw disk) belong to group-id disk. If this is the case, you can add VMware Workstation users to the disk group. Another option is to change the owner of the device. Please think carefully about security issues when exploring different options here.
  • Page 153 Linux host. 9. Complete the remaining steps in the wizard. 10. If you have multiple IDE drives configured on a system, the VMware BIOS normally attempts to boot them in this sequence: Primary master...

  • Page 154: Setting Up Hardware Profiles In Virtual Machines

    “physical” and “virtual” hardware profiles. Only users who are familiar with VMware Workstation virtual machines and the Windows hardware profiles concept should attempt this.
  • Page 155 Microsoft Windows operating systems, beginning with Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, allow you to create hardware profiles. Each hardware profile is associated with a set of known devices. If more than one hardware profile exists, the system prompts the user to choose between different hardware profiles at boot time.
  • Page 156 3. Reboot the computer into your intended host operating system — for example, into Linux if you are running VMware Workstation on a Linux host. 4. Use the New Virtual Machine Wizard to configure your virtual machine as described in...

  • Page 157: Running A Windows 2000, Windows Xp Or Windows Server 2003 Virtual Machine From An Existing Multiple-Boot Installation

    If you have installed Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 on a computer, then try to run that same installation of the operating system as a VMware Workstation virtual machine running from a raw disk, the virtual machine may fail with...

  • Page 158: Setting Up The Svga Video Driver For A Windows 95 Guest Operating System Booted From A Raw Disk

    IDE drivers. The Windows plug and play feature, which handles drivers for many hardware devices, does not install new IDE drivers. If you encounter this problem, VMware recommends that you install your Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 guest operating system in a virtual disk, rather than running it from a raw disk.

  • Page 159: Setting Up The Svga Video Driver For Use With A Windows 98 Guest Operating System Booted From A Raw Disk

    Guest Operating System Booted from a Raw Disk This section explains how to configure the video driver in a Windows 98 raw disk installation using VMware Workstation. The steps below assume you are using Windows 98 as one of the operating systems in a dual-boot or multiple-boot configuration.
  • Page 160 19. After all devices have been detected, click the Details button to list the detected non-Plug and Play devices. 20. Click Finish, then reboot the virtual machine when prompted. 21. Select the VMware Workstation configuration profile. Notice that an unknown monitor is detected and installed. 22. Install VMware Tools as outlined in...

  • Page 161: Do Not Use Windows 2000, Windows Xp And Windows Server 2003 Dynamic Disks As Raw Disks

    Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot SCSI Systems to Run with VMware Workstation on a Linux Host It may be possible to configure VMware Workstation so that you can use an operating system already installed and configured on a SCSI disk as a guest operating system inside a VMware Workstation virtual machine.
  • Page 162 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual with a different SCSI adapter so the same operating system can be booted both natively and inside a virtual machine, but this approach is not supported by VMware. For details on some of the key issues involved, see...
  • Page 163 C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks /dev/hdb) belong to group-id disk. If this is the case, you can add VMware Workstation users to the disk group. Another option is to change the owner of the device. Please think carefully about security issues when you explore different options here.
  • Page 164 SCSI adapter in the physical computer and the BusLogic adapter in the virtual machine describe the drive in different ways. The virtual machine might hang during the boot, VMware Workstation might crash or VMware Workstation might fail with an ASSERT or other error message.
  • Page 165 SCSI ID. So if you had a raw disk configured as SCSI ID 3 on the host and as SCSI ID 0 in your VMware Workstation configuration file, it would move if you were running Solaris, and most likely Solaris would not boot.

  • Page 166: Installing An Operating System Onto A Raw Partition From A Virtual Machine

    Caution: Raw disks are an advanced feature and should be configured only by expert users. VMware Workstation uses description files to control access to each raw disk on the system. These description files contain access privilege information that controls a virtual machine’s access to certain partitions on the disks.
  • Page 167 C H A P T E R 7 Using Disks Configuring the Virtual Machine to Use a Raw Disk Use the following steps to run a guest operating system from a raw disk. Note: If you use a Windows host’s IDE disk in a raw disk configuration, it cannot be configured as the slave on the secondary IDE channel if the master on that channel is a CD-ROM drive.
  • Page 168 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual 4. Choose the physical hard disk to use from the drop-down list. Select whether you want to use the entire disk or use only individual partitions on the disk. Click Next. 5. If you selected Use individual partitions in the previous step, select which partitions you want to use in the virtual machine.

  • Page 169: Configuring A Linux Host

    /dev/hda (IDE raw disk) and /dev/sdb (SCSI raw disk) belong to group-id disk. If this is the case, you can add VMware Workstation users to the disk group. Another option is to change the owner of the device. Please think...
  • Page 170 /boot on a Linux partition to boot a non-Linux operating system that may be on another drive. 4. Start the New Virtual Machine Wizard (File > New > New Virtual Machine) and select Custom. 5. When you reach the Select a Disk step, select Use a physical disk.

  • Page 171: Disk Performance In Windows Nt Guests On Multiprocessor Hosts

    Some users have seen slower than expected disk input and output performance when running Windows NT guest operating systems. They see the problem in a VMware Workstation virtual machine using IDE virtual disks on a multiprocessor host computer. The I/O issue is especially noticeable when the virtual machine is booting.
  • Page 172 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 173: Preserving The State Of A Virtual Machine

    C H A P T E R 8 Preserving the State of a Virtual Machine...
  • Page 174 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Preserving the State of a Virtual Machine VMware Workstation 4 offers two ways to preserve the state of a virtual machine. The following sections describe these features and help you understand which is appropriate in particular situations: •...

  • Page 175: Using Suspend And Resume

    1. If your virtual machine is running in full screen mode, return to window mode by pressing the Ctrl-Alt key combination. 2. Click Suspend on the VMware Workstation toolbar. 3. When VMware Workstation has completed the suspend operation, it is safe to exit VMware Workstation. File > Exit To resume a virtual machine that you have suspended: 1.

  • Page 176: Using The Snapshot

    Note: If you are using a legacy virtual machine — a virtual machine created under VMware Workstation 3 and not upgraded to use the new VMware Workstation 4 virtual hardware — you must power off the virtual machine before taking a snapshot.

  • Page 177: Settings For The Snapshot

    Settings for the Snapshot You can also specify what you want VMware Workstation to do with the snapshot any time the virtual machine is powered off. To do so, go to Edit > Virtual Machine Settings > Options > Snapshot and select one of the choices under When powering off.

  • Page 178: Updating The Snapshot When You Change Virtual Machine Settings

    Virtual Machine Control Panel. If this option is selected, when you click OK in the Virtual Machine Control Panel, VMware Workstation updates the snapshot of the virtual machine. To avoid updating the snapshot, click Cancel or deselect Update the snapshot after changing settings before you click OK.

  • Page 179: The Snapshot And Legacy Disk Modes

    The Snapshot and Legacy Disk Modes If you are familiar with the disk modes used in earlier versions of VMware Workstation, you can use the snapshot to achieve equivalent results. •...

  • Page 180: The Snapshot And Legacy Virtual Machines

    The Snapshot and Legacy Virtual Machines If you are using a legacy virtual machine — a virtual machine created under VMware Workstation 3 and not upgraded to use the new VMware Workstation 4 virtual hardware — and you have disks in undoable or nonpersistent mode, you have a snapshot.

  • Page 181: The Snapshot And Other Activity In The Virtual Machine

    C H A P T E R 8 Preserving the State of a Virtual Machine base disk. Then any subsequent changes are, once again, accumulated in the redo-log files. The Snapshot and Other Activity in the Virtual Machine When you take a snapshot, be aware of other activity going on in the virtual machine and the likely impact of reverting to the snapshot.
  • Page 182 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 183: Networking

    C H A P T E R 9 Networking...
  • Page 184 On a Windows host, the software needed for all networking configurations is installed when you install VMware Workstation. On a Linux host, all components are available if you choose to have both bridged and host-only networking available to your virtual machines at the time you install VMware Workstation.
  • Page 185 C H A P T E R 9 Networking • Avoiding IP Packet Leakage in a Host-Only Network on page 205 • Maintaining and Changing the MAC Address of a Virtual Machine on page 207 • Controlling Routing Information for a Host-Only Network on a Linux Host on page 209 •...

  • Page 186: Components Of The Virtual Network

    Virtual switch — Like a physical switch, a virtual switch lets you connect other networking components together. Virtual switches are created as needed by the VMware Workstation software, up to a total of nine switches. You can connect one or more virtual machines to a switch.
  • Page 187 Ethernet adapter. NAT is also useful when you need to connect to a non-Ethernet network, such as Token Ring or ATM. The NAT device is set up automatically when you install VMware Workstation. (On a Linux host, you must choose to make NAT available to your virtual machines.) DHCP server —...

  • Page 188: Common Networking Configurations

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Common Networking Configurations The following sections illustrate the networking configurations that are set up for you automatically when you choose the standard networking options in the New Virtual Machine Wizard or Virtual Machine Control Panel.

  • Page 189: Network Address Translation (Nat)

    C H A P T E R 9 Networking and other network details automatically from a DHCP server, or you may need to set the IP address and other details manually in the guest operating system. If you use bridged networking, the virtual machine is a full participant in the network. It has access to other machines on the network and can be contacted by other machines on the network as if it were a physical computer on the network.

  • Page 190: Host-Only Networking

    Instead, a separate private network is set up on the host computer. Your virtual machine gets an address on that network from the VMware virtual DHCP server. The VMware NAT device passes network data between one or more virtual machines and the external network.
  • Page 191 TCP/IP network. Addresses on this network are provided by the computer, you can VMware DHCP server. establish a connection between the host If you make some other selection in the New Virtual Machine Wizard and later decide...

  • Page 192: Custom Networking Configurations

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Custom Networking Configurations The virtual networking components provided by VMware Workstation make it possible for you to create sophisticated virtual networks. The virtual networks can be connected to one or more external networks, or they may run entirely on the host computer.
  • Page 193 Connect the adapter to Custom (VMnet2). Click OK to save the configuration and close the Virtual Machine Control Panel. 4. If VMware Workstation is not running, start it. Open virtual machine 3. Do not power on the virtual machine.
  • Page 194 Assign each adapter an IP address in the range you are using with the virtual network to which it is connected. In virtual machine 4, assign an IP address in the range you are using with VMnet3. 9. Install the necessary application software in each virtual machine.

  • Page 195: Changing The Networking Configuration

    2. Open the Virtual Machine Control Panel (Edit > Virtual Machine Settings). 3. Click Add. 4. The Add Hardware Wizard starts. Select Network Adapter. Click Next. 5. Select the network type you want to use — Bridged, NAT, Host-only or Custom.

  • Page 196: Configuring Bridged Networking Options On A Windows Host

    2. Select the adapter you want to modify. 3. Select the network type you want to use — Bridged, NAT, Host-only or Custom. 4. If you select Custom, choose the VMnet virtual network you want to use for the network from the drop-down list.
  • Page 197 C H A P T E R 9 Networking 4. To exclude one or more physical Ethernet adapters from the list to which VMnet0 may be bridged, click the Automatic Bridging tab. To exclude an Ethernet adapter, click Add to add it to the list of excluded devices.
  • Page 198 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual 5. To designate a physical Ethernet adapter to be used for bridged networking on virtual switches named VMnet2–VMnet7, click the Host Virtual Network Mapping tab. Choose an adapter from the drop-down list beside the name of the virtual switch you want to use.
  • Page 199 Certain virtual network services may not work as well with a customized subnet mask. When you modify the network address or subnet mask, VMware Workstation automatically updates the IP address settings for other components — such as DHCP, NAT and host virtual adapter — on that virtual network to reflect the new settings.

  • Page 200: Enabling, Disabling, Adding And Removing Host Virtual Adapters

    Enabling, Disabling, Adding and Removing Host Virtual Adapters When you install VMware Workstation, two network adapters are added to the configuration of your host operating system — one that allows the host to connect to the host-only network and one that allows the host to connect to the NAT network.
  • Page 201 C H A P T E R 9 Networking 4. Choose All adapters. 5. Select the VMware Virtual Ethernet Adapter you want to disable. The host-only network is VMnet1; the NAT network is VMnet8. Click Disable. Disabling a Host Virtual Adapter on a Windows Host Follow these steps to disable a host virtual adapter on a Windows host.
  • Page 202 (wizard/ editor/help) [wizard] editor 4. You see a list of virtual networks that have been configured. Select the network corresponding to the adapter you wish to disable. The following virtual networks have been defined: .

  • Page 203: Advanced Networking Topics

    On a Linux host, run ifconfig in a terminal. A NAT configuration also uses an unused private network automatically selected when you install VMware Workstation. To find out what network is used on a Windows host, choose Edit > Virtual Network Settings and check the subnet number associated with the virtual network.
  • Page 204 In general, if you have virtual machines you intend to use frequently or for extended periods of time, it is probably most convenient to assign them static IP addresses or configure the VMware DHCP server to always assign the same IP address to each of these virtual machines.

  • Page 205: Avoiding Ip Packet Leakage In A Host-Only Network

    For each host-only or NAT network, the available IP addresses are split up using the conventions shown in the tables below, where <net> is the network number assigned to your host-only or NAT network. VMware Workstation always uses a Class C address for host-only and NAT networks.
  • Page 206 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition hosts. If you find packets leaking out of a host-only network on a Windows NT or Windows 2000 host computer, check to see if forwarding has been enabled on the host machine.

  • Page 207: Maintaining And Changing The Mac Address Of A Virtual Machine

    (the path and filename for the virtual machine’s configuration file must remain the same) and no changes are made to certain settings in that file. In addition, VMware Workstation does its best, but cannot guarantee, to automatically assign unique MAC addresses for virtual machines running on multiple host systems.
  • Page 208 MAC address for each virtual machine within a networked environment, you can assign the address manually instead of allowing VMware Workstation to assign it automatically.

  • Page 209: Controlling Routing Information For A Host-Only Network On A Linux Host

    If you need to run virtual machines on a host-only network on a multihomed system where gated is used and have problems doing so, please contact VMware technical support by submitting a support request at www.vmware.com/requestsupport.

  • Page 210: Setting Up A Second Bridged Network Interface On A Linux Host

    The DHCP server in VMware Workstation 4 does not provide a means to dynamically establish a relationship between the IP address it assigns and a client’s name (that is, to update a DNS server using DDNS).

  • Page 211: Setting Up Two Separate Host-Only Networks

    4. When you have set up all the bridged networks you want, enter no. Setting Up Two Separate Host-Only Networks For some configurations, you may need to set up more than one host-only network on the same host computer.
  • Page 212 Repeat this step until you have as many host-only networks as you want. Then answer No. 4. Complete the remaining steps in the wizard. When it is finished, it restarts all services used by VMware Workstation. 5. Run ifconfig. You should see at least four network interfaces — eth0, lo, vmnet1 and vmnet2.
  • Page 213 1. Create the virtual machine using the New Virtual Machine Wizard or use an existing virtual machine. 2. Launch VMware Workstation and open the virtual machine. 3. Edit the configuration using the Virtual Machine Control Panel (Edit > Virtual Machine Settings).
  • Page 214 1. Create the virtual machine using the New Virtual Machine Wizard or use an existing virtual machine. 2. Launch VMware Workstation and open the virtual machine. 3. Edit the configuration using the Virtual Machine Control Panel (Edit > Virtual Machine Settings).

  • Page 215: Routing Between Two Host-Only Networks

    On Windows hosts, the first host-only network is set up automatically when you install VMware Workstation. On Linux hosts, the first host-only network was set up when you ran the vmware- config.pl script after you installed VMware Workstation, provided you agreed to install host-only networking.
  • Page 216 Repeat this step until you have as many host-only networks as you want. Then answer No. 4. Complete the wizard. When it is finished, it restarts all services used by VMware Workstation. 5. Run ifconfig. You should see at least four network interfaces — eth0, lo, vmnet1 and vmnet2.
  • Page 217 C H A P T E R 9 Networking 2. Launch VMware Workstation and open the virtual machine. 3. Edit the configuration using the Virtual Machine Control Panel (Edit > Virtual Machine Settings). Windows host: Select Network Adapter and select Custom (VMnet2) from the drop-down list on the right.
  • Page 218 3. Install the router software — on the host computer or in the third virtual machine, depending on the approach you are using. 4. Configure networking in the first two virtual machines to use addresses on the appropriate host-only network.

  • Page 219: Using Virtual Ethernet Adapters In Promiscuous Mode On A Linux Host

    To set the virtual machine’s Ethernet adapter to promiscuous mode, you must launch VMware Workstation as root because you must have read and write access to the VMnet device. For example, if you are using bridged networking, you must have access to /dev/vmnet0.

  • Page 220: Understanding Nat

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Understanding NAT Network address translation — or NAT — is a networking option that first appeared in VMware Workstation 3.0. NAT provides a simple way for virtual machines to use most client applications over almost any type of network connection available to the host. The only requirement is that the network connection must support TCP/IP.

  • Page 221: Dhcp On The Nat Network

    IP addresses in the range of <net>.128 through <net>.254, where <net> is the network number assigned to your NAT network. VMware Workstation always uses a Class C address for NAT networks. IP addresses <net>.3 through <net>.127 can be used for static IP addresses. IP address <net>.1 is reserved for the host adapter;...

  • Page 222: Advanced Nat Configuration

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual On the external network to which the host is connected, any virtual machine on the NAT network appears to be the host itself, because its network traffic uses the host’s IP address. It is able to send and receive data using TCP/IP to any machine that is accessible from the host.
  • Page 223 DNS servers the virtual NAT device should use. Linux host: Use the NAT configuration file on the host to configure the NAT device. This file is /etc/vmware/vmnet8/nat/nat.conf. The configuration file is divided into sections. Each section configures a part of the NAT device.
  • Page 224 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual netmask The subnet mask to use for the NAT. DHCP addresses are allocated from this range of addresses. configport A port that can be used to access status information about the NAT. device The VMnet device to use. Windows devices are of the form VMnet<x> where <x> is the number of the VMnet.
  • Page 225 C H A P T E R 9 Networking nameserver3 IP address of a DNS server to use. If autodetect is on and some name servers are specified, the DNS servers specified in nameserver1, nameserver2 and nameserver3 are added before the list of detected DNS servers.

  • Page 226: Custom Nat And Dhcp Configuration On A Windows Host

    DHCP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\vmnetdhcp.conf Note: In VMware Workstation 4, you can change many key NAT and DCHP settings using the Virtual Network Editor (Edit > Virtual Network Settings). However, if you have made manual changes to the configuration files, some or all of those changes may be lost when you use the Virtual Network Editor.

  • Page 227: Using Nat With Netlogon

    Properties. 3. In the Properties dialog box, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), then click Properties. 4. In the TCP/IP Properties dialog box, click Advanced. 5. Click the WINS tab, then under NetBIOS setting, select Use NetBIOS setting from DHCP Server.

  • Page 228: Sample Linux Vmnetnat.conf File

    3. In the Properties dialog box, select Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), then click Properties. 4. In the TCP/IP Properties dialog box, click Advanced. 5. Click the WINS tab, then click Add. 6. In the TCP/IP WINS Server dialog box, enter the IP address for the WINS server in the WINS server field, then click OK.
  • Page 229 = 1 # List of DNS servers to use. Up to three may be specified #nameserver1 = 208.23.14.2 #nameserver2 = 63.93.12.3 #nameserver3 = 208.23.14.4 [netbios] # This section applies only to Windows. # Timeout for NBNS queries. nbnsTimeout = 2 # Number of retries for each NBNS query.
  • Page 230 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual # Timeout for NBDS queries. nbdsTimeout = 3 [incomingtcp] # Use these with care - anyone can enter into your virtual machine through # these... # FTP (both active and passive FTP is always enabled) ftp localhost 8887 #8887 = 192.168.27.128:21...

  • Page 231: Using Samba On A Linux Host

    — just as you would with files on physical computers that share a network connection. The lightly modified Samba server installed by VMware Workstation runs over the VMware Workstation virtual Ethernet, and the Samba traffic between different operating systems is isolated from actual local area networks.
  • Page 232 Sample smb.conf for Host-Only Networking The following sample Samba configuration file is for use with host-only networking. This configuration is for the 2.0.6 version of Samba installed by VMware Workstation. The configuration files are placed in /etc/vmware/vmnet1/smb by default. # This is the VMware(TM) Samba configuration file. You should read the # smb.conf(5) manual page in order to understand the options listed...
  • Page 233 C H A P T E R 9 Networking # VMware extension to use a different shared memory access key on each # Samba server running on this host sysv shm key = /dev/vmnet1 ; log file = /etc/vmware/vmnet1/smb/var/log.smb ; log level = 1 ;...
  • Page 234 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual # may wish to enable # NOTE: Whenever you modify this file you should run the command # "testparm" to check that you have not many any basic syntactic # errors. # Global Settings [global]...
  • Page 235 Samba password file must be the same as those used for logging on to the guest operating system. You may add user names and passwords to the VMware Workstation Samba password file at any time from a terminal window on your Linux host computer.
  • Page 236 You may use the Samba server of your choice — either the existing Samba server from your host operating system’s distribution or the one provided with VMware Workstation — for both host-only and bridged networking. To do so, you must...
  • Page 237 Using VMware Workstation’s Samba with an Existing Installation It may also be possible to run both your existing Samba server and the VMware Workstation Samba server at the same time. In order to do this, your current Samba server must be version 2.0.6 or higher and must be configured correctly. However, this approach is not recommended.
  • Page 238 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual ; Access ; Allow connections from ; hosts allow = <your real subnet>/<your real netmask> ; Authentication scheme security = user encrypt passwords = yes ; Options ; Automatically load the printer list (from /etc/printcap ;...

  • Page 239: Video And Sound

    C H A P T E R 1 0 Video and Sound...
  • Page 240 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Configuring Video and Sound in VMware Workstation 4 The following sections provide information on configuring the video display and sound for VMware Workstation. • Setting Screen Color Depth in a Virtual Machine on page 241 •...

  • Page 241: Setting Screen Color Depth In A Virtual Machine

    VMware Workstation. Follow standard procedures for changing the color settings on your host operating system, then restart VMware Workstation and the virtual machines. Changing Screen Color Depth in the Virtual Machine If you choose to change the color settings in the guest operating system, the...
  • Page 242 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Follow the normal process for changing screen colors in your guest operating system. In a Windows guest, the Display Properties control panel offers only those settings that are supported. In a Linux or FreeBSD guest, you must change the color depth before you start the X server or restart the X server after making the changes.

  • Page 243: Changing Xfree86 Video Resolutions On A Linux Host

    Changing XFree86 Video Resolutions on a Linux Host You can configure VMware Workstation on a Linux host to change the full screen display resolution to better match the resolution set in the guest operating system. On a Windows host, this is done by default and you do not need to change any configuration settings.
  • Page 244 However, the mode-switching code in VMware Workstation has no way of knowing this and a virtual machine that tries to use a resolution with a bad mode line can cause your display to fail to display correctly.

  • Page 245: Configuring Sound

    Installing Sound Drivers in Windows 9x and Windows NT Guest Operating Systems Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 98SE and Windows NT 4.0 do not have drivers for the Sound Blaster Ensoniq AudioPCI adapter. To use sound in these guest operating systems, you must download the driver from the Creative Labs Web site (www.creative.com) and install it in the guest operating system.
  • Page 246 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 247: Connecting Devices

    C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices...
  • Page 248 V-Scan Code Table on page 269 • Using USB Devices in a Virtual Machine on page 274 • Notes on USB Support in Version 4 on page 274 • Enabling and Disabling the USB Controller on page 274 • Connecting USB Devices on page 274 •...
  • Page 249 C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices • Generic SCSI on a Windows Host Operating System on page 279 • Generic SCSI on a Linux Host Operating System on page 281...

  • Page 250: Using Parallel Ports

    On Linux hosts, VMware Workstation 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”). VMware Workstation is unable to use parallel port devices if CONFIG_PARPORT_PC is built directly (compiled) into the kernel. This limitation exists because CONFIG_PARPORT_PC does not correctly export its symbols.

  • Page 251: Configuring A Parallel Port On A Linux Host

    Using Parallel Ports on page 250. The vmppuser module is supplied by VMware Workstation to give virtual machines user-level access to the parallel port. To see if these modules are installed and running on your system, run the lsmod command as the root user.
  • Page 252 /etc/modules.conf or /etc/conf.modules file: alias parport_lowlevel parport_pc Linux kernels in the 2.4.x series also use a special arbitrator that allows access to the parallel port hardware. If the parallel port is in use by the host, the guest cannot use it.

  • Page 253: Special Notes For The Iomega Zip Drive

    C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices are not given access to the device. VMware Workstation puts a lock on the device, and this lock restricts access so only the virtual machine can use the port.

  • Page 254: Using Serial Ports

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Using Serial Ports A VMware Workstation virtual machine can use up to four virtual serial ports. The virtual serial ports can be configured in several ways. • You can connect a virtual serial port to a physical serial port on the host computer.

  • Page 255: Using A File On The Host Computer

    C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices 5. Choose the port on the host computer that you want to use for this serial connection. By default, the device status setting is Connect at power on. You may deselect this setting if you wish.

  • Page 256: Connecting An Application On The Host To A Virtual Machine

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual 4. Select Output to file, then click Next. 5. Browse to the file on the host computer that you want to use to store the output of the virtual serial port. By default, the device status setting is Connect at power on.
  • Page 257 2. Click Add to start the Add Hardware Wizard. 3. Select Serial Port, then click Next. 4. Select Output to named pipe, then click Next. 5. Use the default pipe name, or enter another pipe name of your choice. The pipe name must follow the form \\.\pipe\<namedpipe>...

  • Page 258: Connecting Two Virtual Machines

    2. Click Add to start the Add Hardware Wizard. 3. Select Serial Port, then click Next. 4. Select Output to named pipe, then click Next. 5. In the Path field, enter /tmp/<socket> or another Unix socket name of your choice.
  • Page 259 2. Click Add to start the Add Hardware Wizard. 3. Select Serial Port, then click Next. 4. Select Output to named pipe, then click Next. 5. Use the default pipe name, or enter another pipe name of your choice. The pipe name must follow the form \\.\pipe\<namedpipe>...
  • Page 260 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual communicate over a serial connection. For more information, see Special Configuration Options for Advanced Users on page 262. 9. Click Finish, then click OK to close the Virtual Machine Control Panel. In the client virtual machine 1.
  • Page 261 2. Click Add to start the Add Hardware Wizard. 3. Select Serial Port, then click Next. 4. Select Output to named pipe, then click Next. 5. In the Path field, enter /tmp/<socket> or another Unix socket name of your choice.

  • Page 262: Special Configuration Options For Advanced Users

    Changing the Input Speed of the Serial Connection To use the second option, power off the virtual machine and close the VMware Workstation window, then use a text editor to add the following line to your virtual machine’s configuration file:...

  • Page 263: Examples: Debugging Over A Virtual Serial Port

    • With the debugging application in another virtual machine on the same VMware Workstation host (useful on a Linux host and can also be done on a Windows host) Using either of these methods lets you debug kernel code on one system, without the need for two physical computers, a modem or serial cable.
  • Page 264 Debugger (KD) in another virtual machine (called the debugger virtual machine) on the same host. This is useful if you are running VMware Workstation on a Linux host. The debugger virtual machine must be running Debugging Tools for Windows (WinDbg) or Kernel Debugger (KD) in a Windows guest operating system.
  • Page 265 C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices when you configure the target virtual machine’s virtual serial port that you select the Yield CPU on poll check box, as the kernel in the target virtual machine uses the virtual serial port in polled mode, not interrupt mode.

  • Page 266: Keyboard Mapping On A Linux Host

    Most keys have one-byte scan codes, but some keys have two-byte scan codes with prefix 0xe0. Internally, VMware Workstation uses a simplified version of the PC scan code that is a single nine-bit numeric value, called a v-scan code. A v-scan code is written as a three- digit hexadecimal number.
  • Page 267 X key codes to v-scan codes. This mapping is keyboard independent and should be correct for most, if not all, languages. In other cases (not an XFree86 server or not a local server), VMware Workstation must map keysyms to v-scan codes, using a set of keyboard-specific tables.
  • Page 268 • xkeymap.language = <keyboard-type> Use this if VMware Workstation has a table in xkeymap for your keyboard but can’t detect it. <keyboard-type> must be one of the tables in the www.vmware.com...

  • Page 269: V-Scan Code Table

    C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices xkeymap directory. (See above for location.) However, the failure to detect the keyboard probably means the table isn’t completely correct for you. • xkeymap.keysym.<sym> = <v-scan code> If you use keysym mapping, map keysym <sym> to <v-scan code>. When you do, <sym>...
  • Page 270 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Symbol Shifted symbol Location V-scan code 0x009 0x00a 0x00b 0x00c 0x00d Backspace 0x00e 0x00f 0x010 0x011 0x012 0x013 0x014 0x015 0x016 0x017 0x018 0x019 0x01a 0x01b Enter 0x01c Ctrl left 0x01d 0x01e 0x01f 0x020 0x021...
  • Page 271 C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices Symbol Shifted symbol Location V-scan code 0x02c 0x02d 0x02e 0x02f 0x030 0x031 0x032 < 0x033 > 0x034 0x035 Shift right 0x036 numeric pad 0x037 left 0x038 Space bar 0x039 Caps Lock 0x03a 0x03b...
  • Page 272 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Symbol Shifted symbol Location V-scan code numeric pad 0x04f Down arrow 2 numeric pad 0x050 PgDn numeric pad 0x051 numeric pad 0x052 numeric pad 0x053 0x057 0x058 Break Pause 0x100 Enter numeric pad 0x11c Ctrl...
  • Page 273 C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices Keyboards outside the U.S. usually have an extra key (often < > or < > | ) next to the left shift key: Symbol Shifted symbol Location V-scan code <...

  • Page 274: Using Usb Devices In A Virtual Machine

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Using USB Devices in a Virtual Machine VMware Workstation 4 provides a two-port USB 1.1 controller. You can use up to two USB devices in your virtual machine if both your host operating system and your guest operating system support USB.

  • Page 275: Using Usb With A Windows Host

    Replacing USB 2.0 Drivers on a Windows 2000 Host To use VMware Workstation 4 on a Windows 2000 host that has USB 2.0 ports, you must use the Microsoft USB 2.0 drivers for the USB controller in the host operating system.

  • Page 276: Using Usb With A Linux Host

    2. Expand the listing for Universal Serial Bus controllers. 3. Right-click the listing for the controller and choose Properties. 4. Click the Driver tab. If the driver provider shown on that page is Microsoft, you have the correct driver already.

  • Page 277: Disconnecting Usb Devices From A Virtual Machine

    C H A P T E R 1 1 Connecting Devices Device Control on a Linux Host On Linux hosts, guest operating systems can use devices that are not already in use by the host — that is, devices that are not claimed by a host operating system driver. If your device is in use by the host and you try to connect it to the guest using the Edit >...

  • Page 278: Human Interface Devices

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Human Interface Devices USB human interface devices, such as the keyboard and mouse, are not handled though the virtual machine’s USB controller. Instead, they appear in the virtual machine as a standard PS/2 keyboard and mouse, even though they are plugged into USB ports on the host.

  • Page 279: Connecting To A Generic Scsi Device

    SCSI device in the virtual machine. On Windows NT 4.0, however, you may need to install the driver manually, if it is not already installed for a virtual SCSI disk. You should do so before you add a...
  • Page 280 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual To install the BusLogic driver in a Windows NT 4.0 guest, have your Windows NT installation CD available and follow these steps. 1. Open the SCSI Adapters control panel. Start > Settings > Control Panel > SCSI Adapters 2.

  • Page 281: Generic Scsi On A Linux Host Operating System

    — already have a designated /dev entry (traditionally, st, sd and scd, respectively). When the SCSI Generic driver is installed, Linux also identifies these devices with corresponding sg entries in /dev — in addition to their traditional entries. VMware Workstation ensures that multiple programs are not using the same /dev/sg entry at the same time but cannot always ensure that multiple programs are not using the /dev/sg and the traditional /dev entry at the same time.
  • Page 282 3. Click Add to start the Add Hardware Wizard. Select Generic SCSI Device, then click Next. 4. Choose the name of the physical device you want to use. Then choose the virtual device node where you want this device to appear in the virtual machine.

  • Page 283: Performance Tuning

    C H A P T E R 1 2 Performance Tuning...
  • Page 284 Configuring VMware Workstation on page 286 • General VMware Workstation Options on page 286 • VMware Workstation on a Windows Host on page 289 • VMware Workstation on a Linux Host on page 290 • Memory Usage Notes on page 292 •...

  • Page 285: Configuring And Maintaining The Host Computer

    C H A P T E R 1 2 Performance Tuning Configuring and Maintaining the Host Computer You may see slower virtual machine performance if the physical disk that holds the virtual machine’s working directory or the physical disk that holds the virtual disk files is badly fragmented.

  • Page 286: Configuring Vmware Workstation

    Note: In addition to the VMware Workstation configuration options discussed below, you should always install VMware Tools in any guest operating system for which a VMware Tools package exists. Installing VMware Tools provides better video and mouse performance and also greatly improves the usability of the virtual machine.
  • Page 287 Memory Usage Notes on page 292. Debugging Mode VMware Workstation can run in two modes — normal mode and a mode that provides extra debugging information. The debugging mode is slower than normal mode. For normal use, check to be sure you are not running in debugging mode. Go to Edit >...
  • Page 288 DMA. The easiest way to configure a Linux guest to use DMA for IDE drive access is to install VMware Tools (File > Install VMware Tools). Among other things, the installation process automatically sets IDE virtual drives to use DMA.

  • Page 289: Vmware Workstation On A Windows Host

    Snapshot > Remove Snapshot. VMware Workstation on a Windows Host Note: The items in this section describe performance of VMware Workstation on a Windows host. For tips on configuring VMware Workstation on a Linux host, see VMware Workstation on a Linux Host on page 290.

  • Page 290: Vmware Workstation On A Linux Host

    The grabbed: HIGH – ungrabbed: NORMAL setting is useful if you have many background processes or applications and you do not care if they run with fairly low relative priority while VMware Workstation is in the foreground. In return, you get a very noticeable performance boost using a VMware Workstation virtual machine while another virtual machine is running or while some other processor-intensive task (a compile, for example) is running in the background.
  • Page 291 C H A P T E R 1 2 Performance Tuning it to maintain a high interrupt rate increases the load on the host, even when the virtual machine does not appear to be busy. To run without /dev/rtc, disconnect it using theVMware Workstation menu. While the virtual machine is running, go to Edit >...

  • Page 292: Memory Usage Notes

    VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual Memory Usage Notes VMware Workstation allows users to set the memory size of each virtual machine and the amount of physical host memory reserved for virtual machines. By adjusting the memory sizes of each virtual machine and the amount of reserved memory, users can affect both virtual machine and overall system performance.

  • Page 293: Reserved Memory

    Reserved Memory The second configuration parameter that users can set is the amount of memory that VMware Workstation is allowed to reserve for all running virtual machines. To set this parameter, go to Edit > Application Settings > Memory. This setting specifies a maximum amount of memory that VMware Workstation is allowed to reserve.

  • Page 294: Using More Than 1Gb Of Memory On A Linux Host

    CONFIG_BIGMEM option enabled. Workarounds If you are using a 1GB kernel with CONFIG_BIGMEM enabled and have 960MB to 1983MB of memory, VMware Workstation does not run. To work around this issue, you can either: •...
  • Page 295 If you are using a 2GB kernel with CONFIG_BIGMEM enabled and have 1984MB or more memory, VMware Workstation does not run. You can either pass the boot-time switch mem=1983M at the LILO prompt, or add it to lilo.conf to disable CONFIG_BIGMEM and thus allow you to run VMware Workstation.

  • Page 296: Improving Performance For Guest Operating Systems

    VMware Tools Make certain VMware Tools is installed. VMware Tools provides an optimized SVGA driver and sets up the VMware Tools service to run automatically when the system starts. Among other things, the VMware Tools service allows you to synchronize the virtual machine’s clock with the host computer’s clock, which can improve...
  • Page 297 C H A P T E R 1 2 Performance Tuning 4. Under Settings, check the box labeled DMA and accept any warning Windows displays. 5. Restart Windows for the new settings to take effect. Full Screen Mode Run your virtual machine in full screen mode. Click the Full Screen button on the VMware Workstation toolbar.

  • Page 298: Windows 2000, Windows Xp And Windows Server 2003 Guest Operating System Performance Tips

    VMware Tools Make certain VMware Tools is installed. VMware Tools provides an optimized SVGA driver and sets up the VMware Tools service to run automatically when the system starts. Among other things, the VMware Tools service allows you to synchronize the virtual machine’s clock with the host computer’s clock, which can improve...
  • Page 299 C H A P T E R 1 2 Performance Tuning Full Screen Mode Run your virtual machine in full screen mode. Click the Full Screen button on the VMware Workstation toolbar.

  • Page 300: Linux Guest Operating System Performance Tips

    VMware Tools Make certain VMware Tools is installed. VMware Tools provides an optimized SVGA driver and sets up the VMware Tools service to run automatically when the system starts. Among other things, the VMware Tools service allows you to synchronize the virtual machine’s clock with the host computer’s clock, which can improve...

  • Page 301: Special-Purpose Configuration Options

    C H A P T E R 1 3 Special-Purpose Configuration Options...
  • Page 302 The administrative lockout and restricted user interface features available on Windows hosts meet these needs. Administrative lockout is a global setting for VMware Workstation itself and affects all virtual machines. Restricted user interface affects only the specific virtual machines for which the setting has been made.

  • Page 303: Locking Out Interface Features

    Password field and again in the Confirm password field. 4. Click OK to save the settings. Removing a Forgotten Password If you cannot remember the password and want to remove it, you must uninstall...
  • Page 304 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual lockout settings. After you reinstall Workstation, you may enable the administrative lockout features again and set a new password. www.vmware.com...

  • Page 305: Restricting The User Interface

    • All functions on the Snapshot menu and snapshot functions on the toolbar are disabled. • There is no access to the Virtual Machine Control Panel from the VMware Workstation window. • The user cannot change virtual networking settings. •...

  • Page 306: Automatically Returning To A Snapshot With A Restricted User Interface

    (.vmx file) in Notepad or another text editor. Add the following line anywhere in the file. gui.restricted = "true" 4. You may wish to set file permissions on the configuration file to give normal users of the system only read access to the file, so they cannot manually modify the configuration.
  • Page 307 To remove the restriction on the interface, take the following steps. 1. Power off the virtual machine and close the VMware Workstation window. 2. Open the configuration file (.vmx) file and do one of the following: •...
  • Page 308 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 309: Glossary

    C H A P T E R 1 4 Glossary...
  • Page 310 See also Quick switch mode. Favorites list — A list in the left panel of the main VMware Workstation screen that shows the names of virtual machines that a user has added to the list. The Favorites list makes it easy to launch a virtual machine or to connect to the virtual machine’s configuration file in order to make changes in the virtual machine settings.
  • Page 311 Instead, a separate private network is set up on the host computer. Your virtual machine gets an address on that network from the VMware virtual DHCP server. The VMware NAT device passes network data between one or more virtual machines and the external network.
  • Page 312 Virtual machine configuration file — A file containing a virtual machine configuration. It is created by the New Virtual Machine Wizard. It is used by VMware Workstation to identify and run a specific virtual machine. Virtual Machine Control Panel — A point-and-click control panel used to view and modify the settings of a virtual machine.
  • Page 313 C H A P T E R 1 4 Glossary driver, a mouse driver, the VMware Tools control panel and support for such features as shared folders, drag and drop in Windows guests, shrinking virtual disks, time synchronization with the host, VMware Tools scripts, and connecting and...
  • Page 314 VMware Workstation 4 User’s Manual www.vmware.com...

  • Page 315: Index

    19 .vmx 65 Boot loader LILO 149, 152, 163 Access Boot sequence to raw disks 148, 166 in VMware BIOS 150, 153 Adapter Bridge 186 host virtual 186 Bridged networking in promiscuous mode on a Linux configuring options 196...
  • Page 316 Linux host 209 virtual network 184, 188, 192, 195 dhcpd 209 virtual network subnet settings 198 Dial-up connection 207 VMware Tools 86 Direct memory access Web browser on Linux host 37 See DMA X server 243 Disable...
  • Page 317 USB devices 277 Dual-monitor display 100 Disk space required on host computer 17 adding drive to virtual machine 142 Disk files 133 Dynamic disk 161 Disk modes Dynamic domain name service 210 compared to snapshot 179 Disks Enable adding virtual disks 138 host virtual adapter 200 available in virtual machine 19 Ethernet...
  • Page 318 104 basic configuration 190 FreeBSD defined 310 supported guest operating systems enabling on Linux host 36 selecting IP addresses 203 VMware Tools for 83 Hot keys 111 FTP 221 Full screen mode ICMP 221 defined 310 switching between virtual machines...
  • Page 319 118 uninstalling Workstation on Linux MS-DOS host 37 supported guest operating systems upgrading on Linux host 46 VMware Tools for 81 Lock files 134 Lockout advanced configuration 222 for some interface features 303 and DHCP 221 Log files 24, 65...
  • Page 320 Novell NetWare Linux host 36 supported guest operating systems hardware address 207 host virtual adapter 186 VMware Tools for 85 host virtual network mapping 198 nvram 65 host-only 190, 310 host-only subnet 203 Operating system Internet connection sharing 191...
  • Page 321 disk options 288 configuring virtual machine on dual- DMA and disks 296 boot computer 146 guest operating system selection controlling access 148 defined 311 Linux guest 300 do not use Windows dynamic disks memory settings 286 memory usage 292 installing guest operating system on process scheduling on a Windows host 289 SCSI issues 161...
  • Page 322 Linux disk geometry 164 host 210 driver for Windows NT guest 279 shared folder 104 driver for Windows Server 2003 software in virtual machine 103 guest 162, 279 sound 245 driver for Windows XP guest 162, USB controller 274 www.vmware.com...
  • Page 323 Token Ring 190, 191 Sound Toolbar configuring 245 hide 102, 305 drivers for Windows 9x and Win- power buttons on 94 dows NT guest operating systems Tools installing VMware Tools 77 Specifications starting VMware Tools 98 virtual machine platform 19 VMware Tools 312...
  • Page 324 78 window size 101 virtual hardware 57 Virtual Machine Control Panel virtual machine 47, 58 defined 312 VMware Workstation 39 restricting access 303, 305 using 109 connecting devices 274 Virtual Network Editor 312 control of devices by host and guest...
  • Page 325 Zip drives uninstalling on Windows host 33 on a parallel port 253 upgrading on Windows host 44 VMware Tools for 77 Windows 95 sound driver 245 SVGA driver in a raw disk configura- tion 158 upgrading guest 60...
  • Page 326 www.vmware.com...

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