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VMware Server Installation on Linux Hypervisor (Free Version)
Choosing a Linux Distribution for the HOST (Hypervisor)
Choose and install a Linux server distribution. I recommend using Debian Linux
as it is a very clean and stable distribution which many other distributions
are built on. If you learn how to configure a Debian system, you are learning
how to configure Ubuntu, Knoppix, and Mepis among others.
http://www.debian.org/misc/children-distros
Using the recent Dell workstation equipment, I had to use Ubuntu as the stable
version of Debian does not currently support the onboard NICs (Intel PCIe).
Ubuntu is a very cutting edge distribution which is a modification of Debian
and should be choosen if your hardware is very current.
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Installing and Using Debian based Distributions
The installation of Debian or Ubuntu should be straitforward, download the
server CDROM, burn the ISO, boot to the CDR and install. If you have a dual
or quad core machine, Ubuntu will automatically install the SMP kernel, Debian
will not. If you don't feel comfortable changing kernels after a Linux
distribution is installed, go ahead and choose Ubuntu regardless of your
hardware's maturity.
Synax Note:
In the following commands, sudo is used each time to proceed a command that
requires root privledges. If you want to change accounts to the root account
and omit the sudo prefix each time you need to su root; in Ubuntu, type the
following command:
$ sudo su -
When you see a command that has the $ prompt, this means non-privledged user,
when you see the # prompt, this means privledged user, or root. Therefore you
will usually see $ and sudo together for privledged commands and will not see
the sudo command when a # prompt is used.
# id
uid=0(root) gid=0(root) groups=0(root)
$ id
uid=1000(user) gid=1000(user)
Once you have your Debian based distirubion installed, you use "apt-get" to
install packages. This is like Red Hat's RPM package manager. To install a
package after the installation, first you need to update the apt database:
$ sudo apt-get update
This command uses /etc/apt/sources.list to find your package sources (CDROM) if
inside the ISA firewall. This file should not require any modifications unless
you understand why you are changing it. To install a package using apt-get,
type the following as root (in this example, we are installing nmap):
$ sudo apt-get install nmap # this is a random example
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Installing VMware Server
Before performing the following steps, please read and ensure that the VMware
Prerequisite have been fulfilled.
Download the free version of VMware server from vmware.com. Register
your name and email address in order to receive the necessary registration
keys (these keys are free but required).
Copy the VMware server download to the Linux server. This can be done by burning
the downloaded files to a CDROM and copying from a CDROM. Below are the commands
to mount the CDROM device, copy the files, uncompress the files and install the
VMware server files:
$ sudo mount /cdrom
$ sudo cp /cdrom/vmware-server-1.x.tgz /tmp
$ sudo tar xvfz /tmp/vmware-server-1.x.tgz
$ sudo cd /tmp/vmware-server-distrib/
$ sudo ./vmware-install.pl
To configure VMware Server
$ sudo vmware-config.pl
You can configure the VMX guest OS files to be located anywhere you want. This
decision will be based on how you formated your drive partitions. A good
location is /home/vmware/vmx. The VMware configuration will create this location
if it does not already exist. All VMX files need the executable bit configured:
$ cd /home/vmware/vmx
$ sudo chmod -R 755 *.vmx
Important Note on Ubuntu
VMware server does not work well if you choose the guest OS to have multiple
processors. Choose to only use one. The VMware hypervisor will still use both
cores while running the SMP kernel for execution of the VMware processes so
you will still be getting the benefits of your dual or quad core architecture.
Misc Notes
cp /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 /usr/lib/vmware/lib/libgcc_s.so.1
cp /usr/lib/libpng12.so.0 /usr/lib/vmware/lib/libpng12.so.0
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VMware Prerequisites (for an Ubuntu Distribution base install)
sudo apt-get install gcc g++ make
sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r`
sudo apt-get install xinetd
sudo apt-get install libx11-6 libxtst6 libxt6 libxrender1
--install vmware--
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VMware Management User Interface (MUI) (for an Ubuntu base install):
VMware MUI Prerequisites
$ sudo apt-get install xfsprogs libxi6 #--> ubuntu: worked for mui
$ sudo ln -s -f /bin/bash /bin/sh #--> ubuntu: worked for mui (httpdx failed)
VMware MUI Installation
$ cp /cdrom/vmware-mui-x.x.tgz /tmp
$ tar xvfz vmware-mui-x.x.tgz
$ cd /tmp/vmware-mui-distrib
$ sudo vmware-install.pl
$ sudo vmware-config-mui.pl
HTTP Connection to VMware Server MUI
https://vmware.local.lan:8333/
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To install an FTP Server:
$ sudo apt-get install vsftpd
$ sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
$ sudo /etc/init.d/vsftpd restart
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If you are running the AMD64 distribution port:
apt-get install ia32-libs
Debian Etch AMD64 Base Install
packages:
build-essential, linux-headers-`uname -r`, x-window-system-core,
x-window-system, libx11-6, libxtst6, libx11-dev, xspecs, psmisc
apt-get upgrade
apt-get ia32-libs
--install VMware Server--
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Misc Notes:
Links:
http://howtoforge.com/debian_etch_vmware_server_howto
http://users.piuha.net/martti/comp/ubuntu/en/server.html
http://www.linuxscrew.com/2007/08/21/vmware-server-ubuntu-feisty-fawn-704-linux/
Ubuntu Notes:
sudo apt-get install ubuntu-desktop
Install VMware Package (requires internet access):
sudo apt-get install vmware-server vmware-tools-kernel-modules
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Ubuntu SMP Notes:
WMWare does not really work out of the box on Ubuntu.
There is an issue concerning the ACPI, which makes the guest machine so
slow that it is barely usable. If you do on your terminal:
cat /sys/module/processor/parameters/max_cstate
To have it set on boot, edit the /etc/init.d/acpid file.
Add this line at the end of the function named load_modules():
echo 3 > /sys/module/processor/parameters/max_cstate
-or-
echo 1 > /sys/module/processor/parameters/max_cstate
/etc/init.d/vmware restart
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VMware Server and Guest Clock
When you start a virtual machine, check if the clock is running too fast or too
slow. My clock was running too fast. That's because VmWare-Server is not set to
the correct speed of your CPU. I did so manually by adding to the
/etc/vmware/config the following lines:
host.cpukHz = 1830000
host.cpukHz = 2000000
hostinfo.noTSC = TRUE
tools.syncTime = TRUE
Try to set this value slighty above your real CPU frequency.
For example instead of 2000000 try 2001000!
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Ubuntu and VMware MUI
If you receive a "starting httpd.vmware:-ne failed" error at the end of
running vmware-config-mui.pl you will need to run the following command:
sudo ln -s -f /bin/bash /bin/sh
sudo vmware-config-mui.pl
MUI:
sudo apt-get install xfsprogs --> ubuntu: not sure
sudo apt-get install libxi6 --> ubuntu: worked for mui
ln -s -f /bin/bash /bin/sh --> ubuntu: worked for mui (httpdx failed)
vmware-config-mui.pl
starting httpd.vmware:-ne failed
Ubuntu Packages (MUI):
libxi6
I received the following error: "VMware Server must be installed on this
machine for the VMware Management Interface to work Execution aborted."
Type this "vmware -v" to see what lib is missing. The following solved
that problem:
sudo apt-get install libXi6
Then I had problems installing vmware-mui. It would not recognise the
libdb.so.3. The following solved that:
sudo apt-get install libdb2
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/libdb-4.3.so /usr/lib/libdb.so.3
sudo ln -s -f /bin/bash /bin/sh
http://users.piuha.net/martti/comp/ubuntu/server.html
The VMware Management Interface's startup scripts (/etc/init.d/httpd.vmware
and /usr/lib/vmware-mui/src/lib/httpd.vmware) have a bug which makes the
Apache server start fail after reboot. To fix the script apply the
following patch:
# cd /tmp
## two links, one may not work:
# wget http://users.piuha.net/martti/comp/ubuntu/httpd.vmware.diff
# wget http://www.iki.fi/kuparine/comp/ubuntu/en/httpd.vmware.diff
# cd /
# patch -b -p0 < /tmp/httpd.vmware.diff
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Ubuntu VMware Checklist
sudo apt-get install gcc g++ make
sudo apt-get install build-essential
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r`
sudo apt-get install xinetd
sudo apt-get install libx11-6 libxtst6 libxt6 libxrender1
other people: libdb3
--install vmware--
sudo vmware-config.pl
mui:
sudo apt-get install xfsprogs libxi6
--install mui--
vmware-config-mui.pl
ftp:
sudo apt-get install vsftpd
nano /etc/vsftpd.conf
anonymous_enable=NO
local_enable=YES
write_enable=YES
sudo /etc/init.d/vsftpd restart
chmod 755 *.vmx
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Ubuntu VMware Packages Needed:
o The process exited with an error:
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx: error while loading shared libraries:
libX11.so.6: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx: error while loading shared libraries:\
libXtst.so.6: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx: error while loading shared libraries:
libXt.so.6: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx: error while loading shared libraries:
libXrender.so.1: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
o Unable to view the virtual machine's screen: You need execute access in order
to connect with the VMware Server Console. Access denied for config file:
/home/vmware/vmx/dc1/win2k3sp1e.vmx
--> chmod 755 *.vmx
Ubuntu Packages (VMware Server):
file --> package
libX11.so.6 --> libx11-6
libXtst.so.6 --> libxtst6
libXt.so.6 --> libxt6
libXrender.so.1 --> libxrender1
apt-get install libx11-6 libxtst6 libxt6 libxrender1
Starting httpd.vmware:-ne failed
After a fresh ubuntu 6.06 server install, I had to install the following libraries:
$ sudo apt-get install libx11-6 libxtst6 libXt6 libXrender1 libXi6
$ sudo apt-get install libstdc++5 libssl0.9.7 libcrypto++5.2c2a
So I basically ran ldd on every bin starting with vm. :)
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USB devices not working, eh? Here the fix by having these lines uncommented:
gksudo gedit /etc/init.d/mountdevsubfs.sh
mkdir -p /dev/bus/usb/.usbfs
domount usbfs "" /dev/bus/usb/.usbfs -obusmode=0700,devmode=0600,listmode=0644
ln -s .usbfs/devices /dev/bus/usb/devices
mount --rbind /dev/bus/usb /proc/bus/usb
Uncomment no. 42-45 lines starting with #mkdir -p /dev/bus/usb/.usbfs and then
reboot. That should do it, if not get back here with us.
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VMware on Debian (etch):
apt-get update
apt-get install libx11-6 libx11-dev libxtst6 xinetd wget
apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r` build-essential
apt-get install binutils-doc make manpages-dev autoconf automake1.9
apt-get install libtool flex bison gdb libc6-dev-amd64 lib64gcc1 gcc-2.95-doc
apt-get install gcc g++
-or-
apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r` libx11-6 libx11-dev
apt-get install x-window-system-core x-window-system xspecs libxtst6
apt-get install psmisc build-essential
Automatic start vmware at start
update-rc.d vmware defaults 20
if you have a hard time loading your iso, and vmware giving lots of useless errors:
in the directory
/usr/lib/vmware/lib/libgcc_s.so.1/ remove the libgcc_s.so.1
/usr/lib/vmware/lib/libpng12.so.0/ remove the libpng12.so.0
sudo ln -s /lib/libgcc_s.so.1 /usr/lib/vmware/lib/libgcc_s.so.1/libgcc_s.so.1
sudo ln -s /libpng12.so.0 /usr/lib/vmware/lib/libpng12.s.so.0
I'd like to add that with my install of etch I had to additionally install the package 'psmisc'
because I didn't have killall for some reason.
I ran this to install all the packages I needed to get everything (including the MUI) installed:
apt-get install x11-common libxtst6 libxi6 libxext6 lvm2 xfsprogs libx11-6 libxt6 libxrender1
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VMware on Ubuntu Desktop
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/VMware/Workstation
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=826624
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=779934
The any-any update is no longer required with VMWare Server 1.0.6
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