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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.
Copyright © 1998-2005 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,397,242,
6,496,847, 6,704,925, 6,711,672, 6,725,289, 6,735,601, 6,785,886, 6,789,156 and 6,795,966; patents pending.
VMware, the VMware “boxes” logo and design, Virtual SMP and VMotion are registered trademarks or
trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. Microsoft, Windows and Windows
NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All
other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
Revision: 20050916 Version: 5.0 Item: WS-ENG-Q205-062
Table of Contents
3
Introduction and System Requirements __________________________ 15
Product Overview ______________________________________________ 16
Powerful Virtual Machine Software for the Technical Professional _______ 16
Overview of This Manual ______________________________________ 18
About the Host and Guest Computers ____________________________ 18
What’s New in Version 5 _________________________________________ 19
Multiple Snapshots ___________________________________________ 19
Teams _____________________________________________________ 19
Clones_____________________________________________________ 19
Improved Performance for Virtual Machines Running Concurrently _____ 20
Improved Networking Performance______________________________ 20
Improved Suspend/Resume and Snapshot Operations _______________ 20
New Host Operating System Support_____________________________ 20
New Guest Operating System Support____________________________ 20
Improved 64-bit Host Support __________________________________ 21
Isochronous USB support ______________________________________ 21
Command Line Interface ______________________________________ 21
Movie Record and Playback ____________________________________ 21
Improved Linux User Interface __________________________________ 21
Easier Upgrades and VMware Tools Installation Improvements _________ 22
Support for NX bit____________________________________________ 22
Experimental Support for Direct3D_______________________________ 22
Experimental Support for Guest ACPI S1 Sleep______________________ 22
VMware Virtual Machine Importer _______________________________ 22
Host System Requirements _______________________________________ 23
PC Hardware________________________________________________ 23
Memory ___________________________________________________ 23
Display ____________________________________________________ 23
Disk Drives _________________________________________________ 24
Local Area Networking (Optional)________________________________ 24
Host Operating System________________________________________ 24
Virtual Machine Specifications_____________________________________ 27
Processor __________________________________________________ 27
Chip Set ___________________________________________________ 27
BIOS ______________________________________________________ 27
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Memory ___________________________________________________ 27
Graphics ___________________________________________________ 27
IDE Drives __________________________________________________ 27
SCSI Devices ________________________________________________ 28
Floppy Drives _______________________________________________ 28
Serial (COM) Ports ____________________________________________ 28
Parallel (LPT) Ports____________________________________________ 28
USB ports __________________________________________________ 28
Keyboard __________________________________________________ 28
Mouse and Drawing Tablets ____________________________________ 28
Ethernet Card _______________________________________________ 29
Sound _____________________________________________________ 29
Virtual Networking ___________________________________________ 29
Supported Guest Operating Systems _______________________________ 30
Microsoft Windows 32-bit______________________________________ 30
Microsoft MS-DOS ___________________________________________ 30
Linux______________________________________________________ 31
Novell Netware ______________________________________________ 31
FreeBSD ___________________________________________________ 31
Sun Solaris _________________________________________________ 31
Technical Support Resources______________________________________ 32
Documentation on the Web____________________________________ 32
VMware Knowledge Base ______________________________________ 32
VMware User Community______________________________________ 32
Reporting Problems __________________________________________ 32
Where to Go Next ______________________________________________ 34
Installing VMware Workstation __________________________________ 35
Selecting Your Host System_______________________________________ 36
Upgrading from Previous Versions _______________________________ 36
Workstation Cannot Share a Host with Other VMware Products ________ 36
Installing VMware Workstation 5 on a Windows Host ___________________ 37
Installing Workstation on a Windows Host _________________________ 38
Installing VMware Workstation Silently____________________________ 41
Uninstalling VMware Workstation 5 on a Windows Host ______________ 43
Installing VMware Workstation 5 on a Linux Host ______________________ 44
Before Installing on a Linux Host_________________________________ 45
Installing Workstation on a Linux Host ____________________________ 45
5
Configuring with vmware-config.pl ______________________________ 48
Web Browser Required ________________________________________ 48
Uninstalling VMware Workstation 5 on a Linux Host _________________ 49
Where to Go Next ______________________________________________ 50
Upgrading VMware Workstation ________________________________ 51
Preparing for the Upgrade________________________________________ 52
Before You Install VMware Workstation 5 __________________________ 52
Upgrading on a Windows Host ____________________________________ 55
Upgrading from Version 4 or an Earlier Version 5 Release______________ 55
Upgrading from Version 3 to Version 5 ____________________________ 55
Upgrading on a Linux Host _______________________________________ 56
Using Workstation 4 Virtual Machines in Workstation 5__________________ 57
Create Everything New from the Start ____________________________ 57
Use a Legacy Virtual Machine without Upgrading ___________________ 57
Use a Legacy Virtual Machine with Upgrade _______________________ 58
Where to Go Next ______________________________________________ 60
Learning VMware Workstation Basics ____________________________ 61
Launching VMware Workstation ___________________________________ 62
Launching VMware Workstation on a Windows Host_________________ 62
Launching VMware Workstation on a Linux Host ____________________ 63
Overview of the VMware Workstation Window________________________ 64
The Home Page, Summary View, and Console View__________________ 66
The Toolbar_________________________________________________ 69
The Favorites List_____________________________________________ 71
Checking for Product Updates_____________________________________ 75
Setting Preferences for VMware Workstation__________________________ 76
Workspace _________________________________________________ 77
Input ______________________________________________________ 78
Hot Keys ___________________________________________________ 78
Display ____________________________________________________ 79
Memory ___________________________________________________ 80
Priority ____________________________________________________ 81
Lockout (Windows Hosts Only)__________________________________ 82
Virtual Machine Settings _________________________________________ 83
Hardware __________________________________________________ 83
Options____________________________________________________ 84
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Command Line Reference ________________________________________ 91
Startup Options on a Linux Host_________________________________ 91
Startup Options on a Windows Host _____________________________ 92
Command Line Application ____________________________________ 93
Keyboard Shortcuts ____________________________________________ 95
What Files Make Up a Virtual Machine? ______________________________ 96
Where to Go Next ______________________________________________ 99
Creating a New Virtual Machine ________________________________ 101
Setting Up a New Virtual Machine_________________________________ 102
Steps to a New Virtual Machine ________________________________ 102
Converting a VirtualPC Virtual Machine_____________________________ 113
Installing a Guest Operating System and VMware Tools ________________ 117
Example: Installing Windows XP as a Guest Operating System ________ 117
Installing VMware Tools _________________________________________ 120
Upgrading VMware Tools _____________________________________ 120
VMware Tools for Windows Guests ______________________________ 120
VMware Tools for Linux Guests _________________________________ 122
VMware Tools for FreeBSD Guests_______________________________ 127
Installing VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine _______________ 129
VMware Tools Configuration Options ______________________________ 130
Using the Control Panel to Configure VMware Tools ________________ 130
Using the System Console to Configure VMware Tools in a NetWare Guest
Operating System___________________________________________ 135
Where to Go Next _____________________________________________ 137
_________________________________ Running VMware Workstation 139
Starting a Virtual Machine _______________________________________ 141
Virtual Machine Location _____________________________________ 141
Checking the Status of VMware Tools ______________________________ 142
Suspending and Resuming Virtual Machines ________________________ 143
Shutting Down a Virtual Machine _________________________________ 144
Power Off vs. Shut Down _____________________________________ 144
Resetting a Virtual Machine ______________________________________ 145
Reset vs. Restart ____________________________________________ 145
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Taking and Reverting to a Snapshot _______________________________ 146
Cloning a Virtual Machine _______________________________________ 147
Deleting a Virtual Machine ______________________________________ 148
Using Virtual Machine Teams_____________________________________ 149
Controlling the Display _________________________________________ 150
Using Full Screen Mode ______________________________________ 150
Using Quick Switch Mode_____________________________________ 151
Taking Advantage of Multiple Monitors __________________________ 151
Fitting the Workstation Console to the Virtual Machine Display________ 152
Nonstandard Resolutions _____________________________________ 153
Simplifying the Screen Display _________________________________ 153
Installing New Software_________________________________________ 155
Cutting, Copying and Pasting Text_________________________________ 156
Using Shared Folders ___________________________________________ 157
Viewing a Shared Folder ______________________________________ 161
Using Drag and Drop___________________________________________ 163
Using Devices in a Virtual Machine ________________________________ 164
Adding, Configuring, and Removing Devices in a Virtual Machine______ 164
Connecting and Disconnecting Removable Devices ________________ 164
Creating a Screen Shot or a Movie of a Virtual Machine ________________ 165
Creating a Screen Shot of a Virtual Machine_______________________ 165
Creating a Movie of a Virtual Machine ___________________________ 165
Where to Go Next _____________________________________________ 167
Moving and Sharing Virtual Machines ___________________________ 169
Virtual Machine Identifier — UUID ________________________________ 170
The UUID Location and Format ________________________________ 170
The UUID and Moving Virtual Machines __________________________ 171
Specifying a UUID for a Virtual Machine __________________________ 172
Setting the UUID for a Virtual Machine that Is Being Moved___________ 172
Moving a VMware Workstation 5 Virtual Machine _____________________ 173
Hosts with Different Hardware _________________________________ 173
Virtual Machines Use Relative Paths _____________________________ 174
Preparing a Workstation 5 Virtual Machine for a Move _______________ 174
Moving a Workstation 5 Virtual Machine to a New Host______________ 175
Moving a VMware Workstation 4 Virtual Machine _____________________ 176
Preparing Your Workstation 4 Virtual Machine for the Move __________ 177
Moving a Workstation 4 Virtual Machine to a New Host Machine ______ 178
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Moving an Older Virtual Machine _________________________________ 179
Moving VMware Workstation 3.0 Virtual Machines__________________ 179
Moving VMware Workstation 2.x Virtual Machines __________________ 181
Considerations for Moving Workstation Disks in Undoable Mode ______ 182
Sharing Virtual Machines with Other Users __________________________ 184
Moving Linked Clones __________________________________________ 185
Using Disks _________________________________________________ 187
Configuring Hard Disk Storage in a Virtual Machine ___________________ 188
Disk Types: Virtual and Physical_________________________________ 188
Disk Files __________________________________________________ 191
Lock Files__________________________________________________ 192
Defragmenting Virtual Disks ___________________________________ 193
Shrinking Virtual Disks _______________________________________ 193
Adding Drives to a Virtual Machine ________________________________ 197
Adding a New Virtual Disk to a Virtual Machine ____________________ 197
Adding Physical Disks to a Virtual Machine________________________ 201
Adding DVD or CD Drives to a Virtual Machine ____________________ 204
Adding Floppy Drives to a Virtual Machine________________________ 206
Connecting a CD-ROM or Floppy Drive to an Image File _____________ 207
Using VMware Virtual Disk Manager _______________________________ 208
Running the VMware Virtual Disk Manager Utility __________________ 209
Shrinking Virtual Disks with VMware Virtual Disk Manager ____________ 212
Examples Using the VMware Virtual Disk Manager__________________ 213
Configuring a Dual-Boot Computer for Use with a Virtual Machine _______ 215
Using the Same Operating System in a Virtual Machine and on the Host
Computer _________________________________________________ 216
Before You Begin____________________________________________ 217
Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot Systems to Run with VMware Workstation
219
Setting Up Hardware Profiles in Virtual Machines___________________ 225
Running a Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 Virtual
Machine from an Existing Multiple-Boot Installation ________________ 230
Setting Up the SVGA Video Driver for a Windows 95 Guest Operating System
Booted from a Raw Disk ______________________________________ 230
Setting Up the SVGA Video Driver for Use with a Windows 98 Guest Operating
System Booted from a Raw Disk ________________________________ 232
9
Do Not Use Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Dynamic
Disks as Raw Disks___________________________________________ 234
Configuring Dual- or Multiple-Boot SCSI Systems to Run with VMware
Workstation on a Linux Host ___________________________________ 235
Known Issues and Background Information on Using SCSI Raw Disks ___ 238
Installing an Operating System onto a Physical Partition from a Virtual Machine _
241
Configuring a Windows Host __________________________________ 242
Configuring a Linux Host _____________________________________ 244
Legacy Virtual Disks ____________________________________________ 246
Upgrading a Legacy Virtual Machine for New Features of Workstation 5 _ 247
Using a Legacy Virtual Machine without Upgrading ________________ 247
Creating a Legacy Virtual Machine with Workstation 5_______________ 247
Preserving the State of a Virtual Machine ________________________ 249
Using Suspend and Resume _____________________________________ 250
Using Snapshots ______________________________________________ 251
Understanding Snapshots ____________________________________ 252
Examples of Using Snapshots__________________________________ 254
What Is Captured by a Snapshot? _______________________________ 255
Taking a Snapshot___________________________________________ 256
The Snapshot Manager_______________________________________ 258
Restoring a Snapshot: Revert or Go To? __________________________ 263
Deleting a Snapshot _________________________________________ 264
Making a Clone from a Snapshot _______________________________ 264
Virtual Machine Settings for Snapshots __________________________ 265
Snapshots and Legacy Virtual Machines__________________________ 266
Cloning a Virtual Machine _____________________________________ 267
Understanding Clones _________________________________________ 268
Why Make a Clone?__________________________________________ 268
Full and Linked Clones _______________________________________ 269
Full Clones and Snapshots of the Parent__________________________ 269
Creating Clones _______________________________________________ 270
The Clone Virtual Machine Wizard ______________________________ 270
Working with Clones ___________________________________________ 273
Making a Linked Clone of a Linked Clone_________________________ 273
Making a Full Clone of a Linked Clone ___________________________ 273
Network Identity for a Clone___________________________________ 273
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The Linked Clone Snapshot ___________________________________ 274
Linked Clones and Access to the Parent Virtual Machine _____________ 274
Configuring Teams __________________________________________ 277
Teams Overview ______________________________________________ 278
Creating and Deleting Teams ____________________________________ 279
Making a New Team _________________________________________ 279
Opening a Team ____________________________________________ 284
Closing a Team _____________________________________________ 284
Deleting a Team ____________________________________________ 285
Adding and Removing Virtual Machines ____________________________ 286
Adding an Existing Virtual Machine to a Team _____________________ 286
Removing a Virtual Machine from a Team ________________________ 286
Cloning and Taking Snapshots of Team Members_____________________ 288
Cloning a Virtual Machine in a Team_____________________________ 288
Taking Snapshots of Individual Virtual Machines in a Team ___________ 288
Starting and Stopping Teams ____________________________________ 289
Powering On a Team_________________________________________ 289
Powering Off a Team ________________________________________ 289
Suspending a Team _________________________________________ 289
Resuming a Team ___________________________________________ 290
Power Operations for Individual Members of a Team ________________ 290
Working with Team Networks ____________________________________ 292
LAN Segment Requirements __________________________________ 292
Creating a Team LAN Segment_________________________________ 293
Connecting to or Changing a LAN Segment ______________________ 293
Renaming a LAN Segment ____________________________________ 294
Deleting a LAN Segment _____________________________________ 294
The Startup Sequence __________________________________________ 295
Understanding the Start-Up Sequence Delay______________________ 295
Working with the Team Console View______________________________ 296
Displaying Teams ___________________________________________ 296
The Active Virtual Machine ____________________________________ 297
Using Full Screen with Teams __________________________________ 297
Editing Team Settings __________________________________________ 298
Connections _______________________________________________ 298
Virtual Machines ____________________________________________ 299
LAN Segments _____________________________________________ 300
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Options___________________________________________________ 302
Command Line for Teams _______________________________________ 303
Configuring a Virtual Network _________________________________ 305
Network Basics _______________________________________________ 306
Components of the Virtual Network _______________________________ 307
Virtual switch ______________________________________________ 307
Bridge ____________________________________________________ 307
Host Virtual Adapter _________________________________________ 308
NAT Device ________________________________________________ 308
DHCP Server _______________________________________________ 308
Network Adapter ___________________________________________ 308
Common Networking Configurations ______________________________ 309
Bridged Networking _________________________________________ 309
Network Address Translation (NAT) _____________________________ 310
Host-Only Networking _______________________________________ 312
Custom Networking Configurations _______________________________ 313
Changing the Networking Configuration ___________________________ 316
Adding and Modifying Virtual Network Adapters___________________ 316
Configuring Bridged Networking Options on a Windows Host ________ 318
Enabling, Disabling, Adding and Removing Host Virtual Adapters ______ 323
Advanced Networking Topics ____________________________________ 326
Selecting IP Addresses on a Host-only Network or NAT Configuration___ 327
Avoiding IP Packet Leakage in a Host-Only Network ________________ 330
Maintaining and Changing the MAC Address of a Virtual Machine _____ 332
Controlling Routing Information for a Host-only Network on a Linux Host 334
Other Potential Issues with Host-Only Networking on a Linux Host _____ 335
Setting Up a Second Bridged Network Interface on a Linux Host_______ 336
Setting Up Two Separate Host-Only Networks _____________________ 337
Routing between Two Host-Only Networks _______________________ 340
Using Virtual Ethernet Adapters in Promiscuous Mode on a Linux Host__ 344
Understanding NAT ___________________________________________ 345
Using NAT _________________________________________________ 346
The Host Computer and the NAT Network ________________________ 346
DHCP on the NAT Network____________________________________ 346
DNS on the NAT Network _____________________________________ 347
External Access from the NAT Network___________________________ 347
Advanced NAT Configuration __________________________________ 348
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Custom NAT and DHCP Configuration on a Windows Host ___________ 352
Considerations for Using NAT __________________________________ 353
Using NAT with NetLogon ____________________________________ 353
Sample Linux vmnetnat.conf File _______________________________ 355
Using Samba with Workstation ___________________________________ 358
Modifying Your Samba Configuration ___________________________ 358
Using a Samba Server for Both Bridged and Host-Only Networks ______ 358
Using Samba without Network Access___________________________ 358
Configuring Video and Sound _________________________________ 359
Setting Screen Color Depth______________________________________ 360
Changing Screen Color Depth on the Host _______________________ 360
Changing Screen Color Depth in the Virtual Machine _______________ 361
Using Full Screen Mode on a Linux Host ___________________________ 362
Experimental Support for Direct3D ________________________________ 363
Audience for Direct3D Experimental Support _____________________ 363
Accelerated 3-D Limitations ___________________________________ 364
Enabling Accelerated 3-D _____________________________________ 364
Known Issues ______________________________________________ 367
Helping VMware with Experimental Support ______________________ 368
Configuring Sound ____________________________________________ 369
Installing Sound Drivers in Windows 9x and Windows NT Guest Operating
Systems___________________________________________________ 369
Connecting Devices __________________________________________ 371
Using Parallel Ports ____________________________________________ 372
Parallel Ports _______________________________________________ 372
Installation in Guest Operating Systems __________________________ 372
Configuring a Parallel Port on a Linux Host________________________ 373
Special Notes for the Iomega Zip Drive __________________________ 376
Using Serial Ports______________________________________________ 377
Using a Serial Port on the Host Computer ________________________ 377
Using a File on the Host Computer______________________________ 378
Connecting an Application on the Host to a Virtual Machine _________ 380
Connecting Two Virtual Machines ______________________________ 382
Special Configuration Options for Advanced Users _________________ 385
Examples: Debugging over a Virtual Serial Port ____________________ 387
Keyboard Mapping on a Linux Host _______________________________ 389
Quick Answers _____________________________________________ 389
13
The Longer Story ___________________________________________ 389
V-Scan Code Table __________________________________________ 393
Using USB Devices in a Virtual Machine ____________________________ 397
Notes on USB Support in Version 5______________________________ 397
Enabling and Disabling the USB Controller________________________ 397
Connecting USB Devices _____________________________________ 398
Using USB with a Windows Host________________________________ 398
Replacing USB 2.0 Drivers on a Windows 2000 Host_________________ 399
Using USB with a Linux Host___________________________________ 399
What Has Control over a USB Device?____________________________ 400
Disconnecting USB Devices from a Virtual Machine _________________ 401
Human Interface Devices _____________________________________ 401
Connecting to a Generic SCSI Device ______________________________ 402
Generic SCSI on a Windows Host Operating System ________________ 402
Generic SCSI on a Linux Host Operating System ___________________ 404
Performance Tuning __________________________________________ 407
Configuring and Maintaining the Host Computer_____________________ 408
Location of the Working Directory ______________________________ 408
Defragmentation of Disk Drives ________________________________ 408
Adequate Free Disk Space ____________________________________ 409
NIC Interrupt Coalescing______________________________________ 409
Configuring VMware Workstation _________________________________ 410
General VMware Workstation Options ___________________________ 410
VMware Workstation on a Windows Host_________________________ 413
VMware Workstation on a Linux Host ____________________________ 415
Monitoring Virtual Machine Performance ___________________________ 416
Memory Usage Notes __________________________________________ 418
Virtual Machine Memory Size __________________________________ 418
Memory Use on the Host _____________________________________ 419
Using More Than 1GB of Memory on a Linux Host __________________ 422
Improving Performance for Guest Operating Systems _________________ 424
Windows 95 and Windows 98 Guest Operating System Performance Tips 424
Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 Guest Operating
System Performance Tips _____________________________________ 426
Windows NT Disk Performance on Multiprocessor Hosts _____________ 427
Linux Guest Operating System Performance Tips___________________ 427
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Disk I/O Performance Tips _______________________________________ 429
Memory Trimming __________________________________________ 429
Page Sharing_______________________________________________ 429
Special-Purpose Configuration Options _________________________ 431
Locking Out Interface Features ___________________________________ 433
Removing a Forgotten Password _______________________________ 434
Restricting the User Interface ____________________________________ 435
Automatically Returning to a Snapshot with a Restricted User Interface _ 436
Using Full Screen Switch Mode ___________________________________ 438
Creating a Virtual Machine for Use in Full Screen Switch Mode ________ 438
Moving a Virtual Machine to the User’s Computer __________________ 439
Setting Configuration Options on the User’s Computer ______________ 439
Starting and Stopping Virtual Machines on the User’s Computer ______ 443
Guest ACPI S1 Sleep ___________________________________________ 446
Glossary ____________________________________________________ 447
Index ______________________________________________________ 453
CHAPTER 1
15
Introduction and System
Requirements
This chapter discusses the following topics:
• Product Overview on page 16
• What’s New in Version 5 on page 19
• Host System Requirements on page 23
• Virtual Machine Specifications on page 27
• Supported Guest Operating Systems on page 30
• Technical Support Resources on page 32
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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
CHAPTER 1 Introduction and System Requirements
17
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.
• 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.
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VMware Workstation 5 User’s Manual
• 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.
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 19, and check out Upgrading VMware Workstation on page 51.
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 139 — 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 447.
CHAPTER 1 Introduction and System Requirements
19
What’s New in Version 5
Multiple Snapshots
VMware Workstation 5 greatly enhances the snapshot functionality available in
previous releases of the product by allowing you to take a series of point-in-time,
saved-to-disk snapshots of running virtual machines. This makes it easier to capture
and switch between multiple configurations and accelerates testing and debugging.
Should a problem arise during testing, you can easily revert to a prior, stable snapshot.
The new snapshot manager displays thumbnails of all your snapshots on a single
screen, making it easy for you to track and revert to a previously saved snapshot. Also,
when reverting to a previously saved snapshot, Workstation creates a new branch
automatically, so other snapshots continue to be available. See Using Snapshots on
page 251.
Teams
Teams functionality makes it easier to manage connected virtual machines and
simulate “real-world” multitier configurations. A team is your designated group of
virtual machines and the private networks that connect them.
Teams allow you to configure power operations, such as powering on and off and
suspending or resuming virtual machines, in the exact sequence you desire. You
determine network characteristics between the virtual machines in a team, including
network bandwidth and packet loss percentages. The console view displays active
thumbnails of all the virtual machines in a team, allowing you to easily identify and
switch between any of the virtual machines on your team. See Configuring Teams on
page 277.
Clones
Clones simplify the process of copying a virtual machine. Clones facilitate
collaborative testing and debugging, and let colleagues share virtual machines more
easily. You can duplicate a virtual machine as a linked clone or a full clone.
• Linked clones make it easy to set up a library of baseline virtual machines on a
shared drive, to be accessed and shared by you and others, without using
unnecessary disk space on local machines.
• A full clone — a complete copy — is also available when you need an identical
virtual machine without the need to locate files within the host file system or to
tediously install everything required to duplicate an existing guest configuration.
See Cloning a Virtual Machine on page 267.
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VMware Workstation 5 User’s Manual
Improved Performance for Virtual Machines Running
Concurrently
Workstation 5 includes significant improvements in memory utilization when virtual
machines are used concurrently. This allows you to efficiently run multiple virtual
machines with much less total memory.
Improved Networking Performance
Workstation 5 offers optional, enhanced networking performance by leveraging
VMware's custom network driver. Once you install the updated VMware Tools, the
necessary network drivers integrate seamlessly to offer significantly improved
network performance.
Improved Suspend/Resume and Snapshot Operations
Workstation 5 performs significantly faster suspend/resume and snapshot operations,
enabling you to spend more time testing and less time waiting for power operations
to execute.
New Host Operating System Support
• SUSE Linux Pro 9.2
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.0
• Mandrake Linux 10
• Windows Server 2003 SP1
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0
New Guest Operating System Support
• Windows Small Business Server 2000
• Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 3.0
• SUSE Linux Pro 9.2
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.0
• Mandrake Linux 10
• Novell NetWare 6.5 SP3
• Novell NetWare 5.1 SP8
• Novell Linux Desktop 9
• Sun Java Desktop System
• Windows Server 2003 SP1
/
