VMware Workstation 5.5 User manual

User’s Manual

Powerful Virtual Machine Software for the Technical Professional

VMware, Inc.

3145 Porter Drive

Palo Alto, CA 94304

www.vmware.com

Please note that you can always find the most up-to-date technical documen-

tation on our Web site at http://www.vmware.com/support/.

The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.

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Revision: 20061116 Version: 5.5.3 Item: WS-ENG-Q406-137

Table of Contents

3

Introduction and System Requirements __________________________ 17

Product Overview ______________________________________________ 18

Powerful Virtual Machine Software for the Technical Professional _______ 18

Overview of This Manual ______________________________________ 20

About the Host and Guest Computers ____________________________ 20

What’s New in Version 5 _________________________________________ 21

Multiple Snapshots ___________________________________________ 21

Enhanced Snapshot Management (New in v5.5) ____________________ 21

Teams _____________________________________________________ 21

Clones_____________________________________________________ 22

VMware Player (New in v5.5)____________________________________ 22

Improved Performance for Virtual Machines Running Concurrently _____ 22

Improved Networking Performance______________________________ 23

Improved Suspend/Resume and Snapshot Operations _______________ 23

New Host Operating System Support_____________________________ 23

New Guest Operating System Support____________________________ 24

Full Support for 64-Bit Guest Operating Systems (New in v5.5) _________ 25

Improved 64-Bit Host Support __________________________________ 25

New Gigabit Virtual Adapter for 64-Bit Guests (New in v5.5)____________ 25

Experimental Support for Two-Way Virtual SMP (New in v5.5) __________ 25

Isochronous USB support ______________________________________ 26

Command Line Interface ______________________________________ 26

Enhanced Command Line Interface (New in v5.5) ___________________ 26

Autodetect Functionality for More Devices (New in v5.5)______________ 26

Enhanced Autoconnect Automatically Reconnects Manually Connected USB

Devices (New in v5.5) _________________________________________ 26

Movie Record and Playback ____________________________________ 26

Improved Linux User Interface __________________________________ 27

Easier Upgrades and VMware Tools Installation Improvements _________ 27

Support for NX bit____________________________________________ 27

Experimental Support for Direct3D_______________________________ 27

Experimental Support for Guest ACPI S1 Sleep______________________ 27

VMware Virtual Machine Importer (Windows Hosts Only) _____________ 27

Virtual Machine Importer Incorporated into Workstation (New in v5.5,

Windows Hosts Only) _________________________________________ 28

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Virtual Machine Importer Imports LiveState Recovery System Images (New in

v5.5) ______________________________________________________ 28

Toolbar Customization (New in v5.5) _____________________________ 28

Disable Memory Page Trimming in the User Interface (New in v5.5) _____ 28

Support on Linux Hosts for Wireless Ethernet Adapters Used in Bridged

Networking (New in v5.5) ______________________________________ 28

Support for Display Resizing Features for Linux Guests (New in v5.5)_____ 29

Enhanced Product Update Checking (New in v5.5) __________________ 29

Host System Requirements _______________________________________ 30

PC Hardware________________________________________________ 30

Memory ___________________________________________________ 31

Display ____________________________________________________ 31

Disk Drives _________________________________________________ 31

Local Area Networking (Optional) _______________________________ 31

Host Operating System________________________________________ 32

Virtual Machine Specifications_____________________________________ 35

Processor __________________________________________________ 35

Chip Set ___________________________________________________ 35

BIOS ______________________________________________________ 35

Memory ___________________________________________________ 35

Graphics ___________________________________________________ 35

IDE Drives __________________________________________________ 35

SCSI Devices ________________________________________________ 36

Floppy Drives _______________________________________________ 36

Serial (COM) Ports ____________________________________________ 36

Parallel (LPT) Ports____________________________________________ 36

USB ports __________________________________________________ 36

Keyboard __________________________________________________ 36

Mouse and Drawing Tablets ____________________________________ 37

Ethernet Card _______________________________________________ 37

Sound _____________________________________________________ 37

Virtual Networking ___________________________________________ 37

Supported Guest Operating Systems _______________________________ 38

Support for 64-Bit Guest Operating Systems _______________________ 38

Microsoft Windows 32-Bit______________________________________ 39

Microsoft Windows 64-Bit______________________________________ 39

Microsoft MS-DOS ___________________________________________ 39

Linux 32-Bit_________________________________________________ 40

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Linux 64-Bit_________________________________________________ 40

Novell NetWare 32-Bit_________________________________________ 41

Novell Open Enterprise Server 32-Bit _____________________________ 41

FreeBSD 32-Bit ______________________________________________ 41

FreeBSD 64-Bit ______________________________________________ 41

Sun Solaris 32-Bit ____________________________________________ 41

Sun Solaris 64-Bit ____________________________________________ 41

Technical Support Resources______________________________________ 42

Self-Service Support __________________________________________ 42

Online and Telephone Support _________________________________ 42

Support Offerings ____________________________________________ 42

Reporting Problems __________________________________________ 42

Experimental Support_________________________________________ 44

Where to Go Next ______________________________________________ 45

Installing VMware Workstation __________________________________ 47

Selecting Your Host System_______________________________________ 48

Upgrading from Previous Versions _______________________________ 48

Workstation Cannot Share a Host with Other VMware Products ________ 48

Installing VMware Workstation 5 on a Windows Host ___________________ 49

Installing Workstation on a Windows Host _________________________ 50

Installing VMware Workstation Silently____________________________ 53

Uninstalling VMware Workstation 5 on a Windows Host ______________ 55

Installing VMware Workstation 5 on a Linux Host ______________________ 56

Before Installing on a Linux Host_________________________________ 57

Installing Workstation on a Linux Host ____________________________ 57

Configuring with vmware-config.pl ______________________________ 59

Web Browser Required ________________________________________ 59

Uninstalling VMware Workstation 5 on a Linux Host _________________ 60

Where to Go Next ______________________________________________ 61

Upgrading VMware Workstation ________________________________ 63

Preparing for the Upgrade________________________________________ 64

Before You Install VMware Workstation 5 __________________________ 64

Upgrading on a Windows Host ____________________________________ 67

Upgrading from Version 4 or an Earlier Version 5 Release______________ 67

Upgrading from Version 3 to Version 5 ____________________________ 67

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Upgrading on a Linux Host _______________________________________ 68

Using Workstation 4 Virtual Machines in Workstation 5__________________ 69

Create Everything New from the Start ____________________________ 69

Use a Legacy Virtual Machine without Upgrading ___________________ 69

Use a Legacy Virtual Machine with Upgrade _______________________ 70

Where to Go Next ______________________________________________ 72

Learning VMware Workstation Basics ____________________________ 73

Launching VMware Workstation ___________________________________ 74

Launching VMware Workstation on a Windows Host_________________ 74

Launching VMware Workstation on a Linux Host ____________________ 75

Overview of the VMware Workstation Window________________________ 76

The Home Page, Summary View, and Console View__________________ 78

The Toolbar_________________________________________________ 81

The Favorites List_____________________________________________ 85

Checking for Product Updates_____________________________________ 88

Setting Preferences for VMware Workstation__________________________ 89

Workspace _________________________________________________ 90

Input ______________________________________________________ 91

Hot Keys ___________________________________________________ 91

Display ____________________________________________________ 92

Memory ___________________________________________________ 93

Priority ____________________________________________________ 94

Lockout (Windows Hosts Only)__________________________________ 95

Virtual Machine Settings _________________________________________ 96

Hardware __________________________________________________ 96

Options____________________________________________________ 97

Command Line Reference _______________________________________ 104

Startup Options on a Linux Host________________________________ 104

Startup Options on a Windows Host ____________________________ 105

Command Line Application ___________________________________ 106

Keyboard Shortcuts ___________________________________________ 109

What Files Make Up a Virtual Machine? _____________________________ 110

Where to Go Next _____________________________________________ 113

Creating a New Virtual Machine ________________________________ 115

Setting Up a New Virtual Machine_________________________________ 116

Importing Virtual Machines and System Images from Other Formats______ 127

Virtual Machine Importer: Overview_____________________________ 128

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Importer Requirements ______________________________________ 128

How Virtual Machine and System Image Settings Are Affected ________ 129

Opening and Importing a Virtual Machine or System Image __________ 130

Troubleshooting the Importer _________________________________ 136

Installing a Guest Operating System and VMware Tools ________________ 139

Example: Installing Windows XP as a Guest Operating System_________ 140

Installing VMware Tools _________________________________________ 142

Upgrading VMware Tools _____________________________________ 142

VMware Tools for Windows Guests ______________________________ 143

VMware Tools for Linux Guests _________________________________ 144

VMware Tools for FreeBSD Guests_______________________________ 148

Installing VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine _______________ 149

VMware Tools Configuration Options ______________________________ 151

Using the Control Panel to Configure VMware Tools ________________ 151

Using the System Console to Configure VMware Tools in a NetWare Guest

Operating System___________________________________________ 155

Where to Go Next _____________________________________________ 157

Running VMware Workstation _________________________________ 159

Starting a Virtual Machine _______________________________________ 161

Virtual Machine Location _____________________________________ 161

Checking the Status of VMware Tools ______________________________ 162

Suspending and Resuming Virtual Machines ________________________ 163

Shutting Down a Virtual Machine _________________________________ 164

Power Off vs. Shut Down _____________________________________ 164

Resetting a Virtual Machine ______________________________________ 165

Reset vs. Restart ____________________________________________ 165

Taking and Reverting to a Snapshot _______________________________ 166

Cloning a Virtual Machine _______________________________________ 167

Deleting a Virtual Machine ______________________________________ 168

Using Virtual Machine Teams_____________________________________ 169

Controlling the Display _________________________________________ 170

Using Full Screen Mode ______________________________________ 170

Using Quick Switch Mode_____________________________________ 171

Taking Advantage of Multiple Monitors __________________________ 171

Fitting the Workstation Console to the Virtual Machine Display________ 172

Nonstandard Resolutions _____________________________________ 174

Simplifying the Screen Display _________________________________ 174

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Installing New Software_________________________________________ 176

Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text_________________________________ 177

Using Shared Folders___________________________________________ 178

Viewing a Shared Folder ______________________________________ 182

Using Drag and Drop___________________________________________ 183

Using Devices in a Virtual Machine ________________________________ 184

Adding, Configuring, and Removing Devices in a Virtual Machine______ 184

Connecting and Disconnecting Removable Devices ________________ 184

Creating a Screen Shot or a Movie of a Virtual Machine ________________ 185

Creating a Screen Shot of a Virtual Machine_______________________ 185

Creating a Movie of a Virtual Machine ___________________________ 185

Where to Go Next _____________________________________________ 187

Moving and Sharing Virtual Machines ___________________________ 189

Virtual Machine Identifier — UUID ________________________________ 190

The UUID Location and Format ________________________________ 190

The UUID and Moving Virtual Machines __________________________ 191

Specifying a UUID for a Virtual Machine __________________________ 192

Setting the UUID for a Virtual Machine that Is Being Moved___________ 192

Moving a VMware Workstation 5 Virtual Machine _____________________ 193

Hosts with Different Hardware _________________________________ 193

Virtual Machines Use Relative Paths _____________________________ 195

Preparing a Workstation 5 Virtual Machine for a Move _______________ 195

Moving a Workstation 5 Virtual Machine to a New Host______________ 196

Moving a VMware Workstation 4 Virtual Machine _____________________ 197

Preparing Your Workstation 4 Virtual Machine for the Move __________ 198

Moving a Workstation 4 Virtual Machine to a New Host Machine ______ 199

Moving an Older Virtual Machine _________________________________ 200

Moving VMware Workstation 3.0 Virtual Machines__________________ 200

Moving VMware Workstation 2.x Virtual Machines __________________ 202

Considerations for Moving Workstation Disks in Undoable Mode ______ 203

Sharing Virtual Machines with Other Users __________________________ 205

Moving Linked Clones __________________________________________ 206

Sharing Virtual Machines with VMware Player________________________ 207

Running VMware Player ______________________________________ 207

Configuring VMware Player ___________________________________ 208

Closing VMware Player _______________________________________ 209

Setting Up Virtual Machines for Use with VMware Player _____________ 209

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Using Disks _________________________________________________ 211

Configuring Hard Disk Storage in a Virtual Machine ___________________ 212

Disk Types: Virtual and Physical_________________________________ 212

Disk Files __________________________________________________ 215

Lock Files__________________________________________________ 216

Defragmenting Virtual Disks ___________________________________ 217

Shrinking Virtual Disks________________________________________ 217

Adding Drives to a Virtual Machine ________________________________ 221

Adding a New Virtual Disk to a Virtual Machine ____________________ 221

Adding Physical Disks to a Virtual Machine________________________ 225

Adding DVD or CD Drives to a Virtual Machine ____________________ 228

Adding Floppy Drives to a Virtual Machine________________________ 230

Connecting a CD-ROM or Floppy Drive to an Image File _____________ 231

Using VMware Virtual Disk Manager _______________________________ 232

Running the VMware Virtual Disk Manager Utility __________________ 233

Shrinking Virtual Disks with VMware Virtual Disk Manager ____________ 236

Examples Using the VMware Virtual Disk Manager__________________ 237

Configuring a Dual-Boot Computer for Use with a Virtual Machine _______ 239

Using the Same Operating System in a Virtual Machine and on the Host

Computer _________________________________________________ 240

Before You Begin____________________________________________ 241

Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot Systems to Run with Workstation___ 243

Setting Up Hardware Profiles in Virtual Machines ___________________ 249

Running a Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 Virtual

Machine from an Existing Multiple-Boot Installation ________________ 254

Setting Up the SVGA Video Driver for a Windows 95 Guest Operating System

Booted from a Physical Disk ___________________________________ 254

Setting Up the SVGA Video Driver for Use with a Windows 98 Guest Operating

System Booted from a Physical Disk _____________________________ 256

Do Not Use Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Dynamic

Disks as Physical Disks________________________________________ 258

Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot SCSI Systems to Run with VMware

Workstation on a Linux Host ___________________________________ 259

Known Issues and Background Information on Using SCSI Physical Disks 262

Installing an Operating System on a Physical Partition from a Virtual Machine 265

Configuring a Windows Host __________________________________ 266

Configuring a Linux Host _____________________________________ 268

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Legacy Virtual Disks ____________________________________________ 270

Upgrading a Legacy Virtual Machine for New Features of Workstation 5 _ 271

Using a Legacy Virtual Machine without Upgrading ________________ 271

Creating a Legacy Virtual Machine with Workstation 5_______________ 271

Preserving the State of a Virtual Machine ________________________ 273

Using Suspend and Resume _____________________________________ 274

Using Snapshots ______________________________________________ 275

Understanding Snapshots ____________________________________ 276

Examples of Using Snapshots__________________________________ 278

What Is Captured by a Snapshot? _______________________________ 279

Taking a Snapshot___________________________________________ 280

The Snapshot Manager_______________________________________ 282

Restoring a Snapshot: Revert or Go To? __________________________ 287

Deleting Snapshots _________________________________________ 288

Making a Clone from a Snapshot _______________________________ 288

Virtual Machine Settings for Snapshots __________________________ 289

Snapshots and Legacy Virtual Machines__________________________ 290

Cloning a Virtual Machine _____________________________________ 291

Understanding Clones _________________________________________ 292

Why Make a Clone?__________________________________________ 292

Full and Linked Clones _______________________________________ 293

Full Clones and Snapshots of the Parent__________________________ 293

Creating Clones _______________________________________________ 294

The Clone Virtual Machine Wizard ______________________________ 294

Working with Clones ___________________________________________ 297

Making a Linked Clone of a Linked Clone_________________________ 297

Making a Full Clone of a Linked Clone ___________________________ 297

Network Identity for a Clone___________________________________ 297

The Linked Clone Snapshot ___________________________________ 298

Linked Clones and Access to the Parent Virtual Machine _____________ 298

Configuring Teams ___________________________________________ 301

Teams Overview ______________________________________________ 302

Creating and Deleting Teams ____________________________________ 303

Making a New Team _________________________________________ 303

Opening a Team ____________________________________________ 307

Closing a Team _____________________________________________ 307

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Deleting a Team ____________________________________________ 308

Adding and Removing Virtual Machines ____________________________ 309

Adding an Existing Virtual Machine to a Team _____________________ 309

Removing a Virtual Machine from a Team ________________________ 309

Cloning and Taking Snapshots of Team Members_____________________ 311

Cloning a Virtual Machine in a Team_____________________________ 311

Taking Snapshots of Individual Virtual Machines in a Team ___________ 311

Starting and Stopping Teams ____________________________________ 312

Powering On a Team_________________________________________ 312

Powering Off a Team_________________________________________ 312

Suspending a Team _________________________________________ 313

Resuming a Team ___________________________________________ 313

Power Operations for Individual Members of a Team ________________ 313

Working with Team Networks ____________________________________ 315

LAN Segment Requirements __________________________________ 315

Creating a Team LAN Segment_________________________________ 316

Connecting to or Changing a LAN Segment ______________________ 316

Renaming a LAN Segment ____________________________________ 317

Deleting a LAN Segment _____________________________________ 317

The Startup Sequence __________________________________________ 318

Understanding the Start-Up Sequence Delay______________________ 318

Working with the Team Console View ______________________________ 319

Displaying Teams ___________________________________________ 319

The Active Virtual Machine ____________________________________ 320

Using Full Screen with Teams __________________________________ 320

Editing Team Settings __________________________________________ 321

Connections _______________________________________________ 321

Virtual Machines ____________________________________________ 322

LAN Segments _____________________________________________ 323

Options___________________________________________________ 324

Command Line for Teams _______________________________________ 325

Configuring a Virtual Network _________________________________ 327

Network Basics _______________________________________________ 328

Components of the Virtual Network _______________________________ 329

Virtual switch ______________________________________________ 329

Bridge ____________________________________________________ 329

Host Virtual Adapter _________________________________________ 330

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NAT Device ________________________________________________ 330

DHCP Server _______________________________________________ 330

Network Adapter ___________________________________________ 330

Common Networking Configurations ______________________________ 331

Bridged Networking _________________________________________ 331

Network Address Translation (NAT) _____________________________ 332

Host-Only Networking _______________________________________ 334

Custom Networking Configurations _______________________________ 335

Changing the Networking Configuration ___________________________ 338

Adding and Modifying Virtual Network Adapters___________________ 338

Configuring Bridged Networking Options on a Windows Host ________ 340

Enabling, Disabling, Adding, and Removing Host Virtual Adapters _____ 345

Advanced Networking Topics ____________________________________ 348

Selecting IP Addresses on a Host-only Network or NAT Configuration___ 349

Avoiding IP Packet Leakage in a Host-Only Network ________________ 352

Maintaining and Changing the MAC Address of a Virtual Machine _____ 354

Controlling Routing Information for a Host-only Network on a Linux Host 356

Other Potential Issues with Host-Only Networking on a Linux Host_____ 357

Setting Up a Second Bridged Network Interface on a Linux Host ______ 358

Setting Up Two Separate Host-Only Networks _____________________ 359

Routing between Two Host-Only Networks _______________________ 362

Using Virtual Ethernet Adapters in Promiscuous Mode on a Linux Host__ 366

Understanding NAT ___________________________________________ 367

Using NAT _________________________________________________ 368

The Host Computer and the NAT Network ________________________ 368

DHCP on the NAT Network____________________________________ 368

DNS on the NAT Network _____________________________________ 369

External Access from the NAT Network___________________________ 369

Advanced NAT Configuration __________________________________ 370

Custom NAT and DHCP Configuration on a Windows Host ___________ 374

Considerations for Using NAT __________________________________ 375

Using NAT with NetLogon ____________________________________ 375

Sample Linux vmnetnat.conf File _______________________________ 377

Using Samba with Workstation ___________________________________ 380

Modifying Your Samba Configuration ___________________________ 380

Using a Samba Server for Both Bridged and Host-Only Networks ______ 380

Using Samba without Network Access___________________________ 380

13

Configuring Video and Sound __________________________________ 381

Setting Screen Color Depth______________________________________ 382

Changing Screen Color Depth on the Host _______________________ 382

Changing Screen Color Depth in the Virtual Machine _______________ 383

Using Full Screen Mode on a Linux Host ___________________________ 384

Experimental Support for Direct3D ________________________________ 385

Audience for Direct3D Experimental Support _____________________ 385

Accelerated 3-D Limitations ___________________________________ 386

Enabling Accelerated 3-D _____________________________________ 386

Known Issues ______________________________________________ 389

Helping VMware with Experimental Support ______________________ 390

Configuring Sound ____________________________________________ 391

Installing Sound Drivers in Windows 9x and Windows NT Guest Operating

Systems___________________________________________________ 391

Connecting Devices __________________________________________ 393

Using Parallel Ports ____________________________________________ 394

Parallel Ports _______________________________________________ 394

Installation in Guest Operating Systems __________________________ 394

Configuring a Parallel Port on a Linux Host________________________ 395

Special Notes for the Iomega Zip Drive __________________________ 398

Using Serial Ports______________________________________________ 399

Using a Serial Port on the Host Computer ________________________ 399

Using a File on the Host Computer______________________________ 400

Connecting an Application on the Host to a Virtual Machine _________ 402

Connecting Two Virtual Machines ______________________________ 404

Special Configuration Options for Advanced Users _________________ 407

Examples: Debugging over a Virtual Serial Port ____________________ 409

Keyboard Mapping on a Linux Host _______________________________ 411

Quick Answers _____________________________________________ 411

The Longer Story ___________________________________________ 411

V-Scan Code Table __________________________________________ 415

Using USB Devices in a Virtual Machine ____________________________ 419

Notes on USB Support in Version 5______________________________ 419

Enabling and Disabling the USB Controller________________________ 420

Connecting USB Devices _____________________________________ 420

Using USB with a Windows Host________________________________ 421

Replacing USB 2.0 Drivers on a Windows 2000 Host_________________ 421

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Using USB with a Linux Host___________________________________ 422

What Has Control over a USB Device?____________________________ 422

Disconnecting USB Devices from a Virtual Machine_________________ 423

Human Interface Devices _____________________________________ 423

Connecting to a Generic SCSI Device ______________________________ 424

Generic SCSI on a Windows Host Operating System ________________ 424

Generic SCSI on a Linux Host Operating System ___________________ 428

Using Two-Way Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing (Experimental) _______ 431

Moving SMP Virtual Machines between Workstation and ESX Server ___ 432

Performance Tuning __________________________________________ 433

Configuring and Maintaining the Host Computer_____________________ 434

Location of the Working Directory ______________________________ 434

Defragmentation of Disk Drives ________________________________ 434

Adequate Free Disk Space ____________________________________ 435

Overcommitting the Host Processors ____________________________ 435

NIC Interrupt Coalescing______________________________________ 436

Configuring VMware Workstation _________________________________ 437

General VMware Workstation Options ___________________________ 437

VMware Workstation on a Windows Host_________________________ 440

VMware Workstation on a Linux Host ____________________________ 442

Monitoring Virtual Machine Performance ___________________________ 443

Memory Usage Notes __________________________________________ 445

Virtual Machine Memory Size __________________________________ 445

Memory Use on the Host _____________________________________ 446

Using More Than 1GB of Memory on a Linux Host __________________ 449

Improving Performance for Guest Operating Systems _________________ 451

Windows 95 and Windows 98 Guest Operating System Performance Tips 451

Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Guest Operating

System Performance Tips _____________________________________ 453

Windows NT Disk Performance on Multiprocessor Hosts _____________ 454

Linux Guest Operating System Performance Tips___________________ 454

Disk I/O Performance Tips _______________________________________ 456

Memory Trimming __________________________________________ 456

Page Sharing_______________________________________________ 456

Special-Purpose Configuration Options _________________________ 457

Locking Out Interface Features ___________________________________ 459

Removing a Forgotten Password _______________________________ 460

15

Restricting the User Interface ____________________________________ 461

Automatically Returning to a Snapshot with a Restricted User Interface _ 462

Using Full Screen Switch Mode ___________________________________ 464

Creating a Virtual Machine for Use in Full Screen Switch Mode ________ 464

Moving a Virtual Machine to the User’s Computer __________________ 465

Setting Configuration Options on the User’s Computer ______________ 465

Starting and Stopping Virtual Machines on the User’s Computer_______ 469

Guest ACPI S1 Sleep____________________________________________ 472

Glossary ____________________________________________________ 473

Index ______________________________________________________ 479

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CHAPTER 1

17

Introduction and System

Requirements

This chapter discusses the following topics:

• Product Overview on page 18

• What’s New in Version 5 on page 21

• Host System Requirements on page 30

• Virtual Machine Specifications on page 35

• Supported Guest Operating Systems on page 38

• Technical Support Resources on page 42

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18

VMware Workstation 5 User’s Manual

Product Overview

Thank you for choosing VMware® Workstation, the powerful virtual machine software

for enterprise IT professionals.

Run the operating systems and applications you need — all on a single desktop

Powerful Virtual Machine Software for the Technical

Professional

VMware Workstation is desktop software for developers and IT professionals that

allows you to run multiple x86-based desktop and server operating systems

simultaneously on a single PC, in fully networked, portable virtual machines — with

no rebooting or hard drive partitioning required.

With VMware Workstation, you spend less time procuring and configuring, and more

time testing and deploying. Over three million software development, quality

assurance, and IT professionals worldwide find VMware Workstation an indispensable

tool.

Key benefits include:

• Run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single physical

machine — VMware Workstation is desktop software for software developers

and IT professionals that allows a single PC to simultaneously run multiple x86-

based operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and NetWare, and their

applications in fully networked, portable virtual machines - without rebooting or

hard drive partitioning. The result is reduced hardware expenditures and quicker

access to different computing environments. Additionally, VMware Workstation

lets users avoid platform lock-in and preserve the freedom and flexibility to

deploy the most appropriate platforms for their needs.

CHAPTER 1 Introduction and System Requirements

19

• Revolutionize software development and testing — VMware Workstation

streamlines software development and testing by letting users create multiple

development and testing environments as virtual machines on a single PC.

Developers can create a library of virtual machines and use them to easily

develop and test applications on multiple operating systems, or to quickly create

and test “real-world” multi-tier configurations or virtual networks. Developers

can also use the multiple snapshot capabilities of Workstation to capture and

manage point-in-time configurations to facilitate debugging and give a

developer the ability to easily revert back to stable configurations should an

error occur during testing. VMware Workstation enables developers to reduce

configuration and set-up time, and instead focus on development and testing.

• Enhance productivity of enterprise IT professionals — VMware Workstation

allows system administrators, system engineers, and other enterprise IT

professionals to create and test multiple computing environments as virtual

machines on a single PC prior to deploying these environments on physical PCs

or servers in a production environment. This dramatically reduces hardware

costs and the time and risk associated with IT tasks such as deploying new

applications, application updates, and operating system patches. Additionally, IT

help desk departments can create a virtual library of corporate desktop and

server configurations that they can quickly access and manipulate (and then

“undo” if necessary), thereby improving their responsiveness and effectiveness

when troubleshooting end-user problems.

• Facilitate team collaboration — VMware Workstation lets users easily

collaborate with their colleagues and share virtual machines. Once a computing

environment — OS, associated applications, disk images, memory, etc. — has

been turned into a virtual machine, it becomes a set of hardware-independent,

encapsulated files that are highly portable and can be shared with any other

Workstation user. A virtual machine can be placed on a shared drive where

others can quickly access and upload it. Features in Workstation such as linked

clones and video capture further facilitate team collaboration.

• Introduce Virtual Infrastructure to your enterprise — Virtual machines

created in Workstation can be deployed to the other desktop and server

virtualization platforms offered by VMware. Introducing VMware Workstation

virtualization to the desktop is an ideal first step to transforming your physical IT

infrastructure into virtual infrastructure.

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20

VMware Workstation 5 User’s Manual

Overview of This Manual

If you’re a veteran user of VMware products, take a few minutes to see What’s New in

Version 5 on page 21, and check out Upgrading VMware Workstation on page 63.

If you’re new to VMware Workstation, this is the place to start.

• The first chapters of this manual — through Running VMware Workstation on

page 159 — introduce you to some of the things you can do with VMware

Workstation and guide you through the key steps for installing the software and

putting it to work.

• Later chapters provide in-depth reference material for getting the most out of

the sophisticated features of VMware Workstation.

About the Host and Guest Computers

The terms host and guest describe your physical and virtual machines:

• The physical computer on which you install the VMware Workstation software is

called the host computer, and its operating system is called the host operating

system.

• The operating system running inside a virtual machine is called a guest

operating system.

• For definitions of these and other special terms, see Glossary on page 473.

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VMware Workstation 5.5 User manual

VMware Workstation 5.5 User manual

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