VM /ETC

Posts Tagged ‘vmware server’

I’ve blogged about installing ESX/ESXi as VMware Server 2.0 virtual machines (VMs) before. In fact, that’s how I’m set up in my basement lab. However, I never took the time to figure out what settings needed to be modified to actually run VMs hosted by VMware Server ESX VMs. Xtravirt.com, already well known for the VI 3.5 in a box whitepaper explaining how to run ESX hosts and vCenter as a VMware Workstation VMs, has now published a PDF showing how it can be done on VMware Server 2.0.

So, if running VI 3.5 on VMware Workstation is so popular why do it on VMware Server 2.0?

• VMware Server is free
• VMware Server can run on Linux. You can dual boot your PC/notebook when you need to run VMware Server.
• Even if you use Ubuntu, for example, with the graphical Gnome desktop you should have less overhead on a PC/notebook then a Windows Vista or XP OS and slightly better performance.

Let me know if you try it. I will be making the changes to my set up this weekend.

updated 04.17.09 – I was not clear here originally. I’m not sure if VMs are able to run on this config. I will test and let everyone know.

I found out about the new whitepaper from the virtualization.info post:

Tech: How to run VMware ESX 3.5/i on VMware Server 2.0

I was surprised to find there is not a “send ctrl+alt+del” menu command in VMware Server 2.0 (updated 01.30.09) when connecting from an Ubuntu desktop. It’s not in the Remote Console menus nor in the Commands section of the Web Interface. Normally that is not a big deal because you can always use “ctrl+alt+ins” to log on to a Windows VM, but it did not work.

I was banging away at my keyboard wondering what was wrong. I had just finished installing Server 2008 remotely from one of my Intrepid desktops and was ready to log back in to run dcpromo but I could not get to the log on prompt. I thought maybe my ins key went bad, but I knew that could not be the case. When I tried to use another Ubuntu desktop I had the same problem. Then I discovered there was not a menu command either! I silently questioned whether the VMware Server team’s parents were married when they were born, and then I did some research.

I quickly found the answer at the following thread on the Ubuntu Forums: vmware server 2.0 in intrepid ibex [Archive] – Ubuntu Forums. Turns out you have to use the Del key from the number pad on your Ubuntu desktop’s keyboard because the keyboard mappings in Ubuntu 8.10 are not correct! The working key combination is therefore “ctrl+alt+[numberpad]del.

updated 4.30.09 – if you do not have a number pad on your keyboard (laptops) then make this quick config change.

add just one line to the file ~/.vmware/config:

xkeymap.nokeycodeMap = true

Close the VM web console and reopen it for the change to take effect.

VMware please add a “send ctrl+alt+del” command to the (update 01.30.09) Linux Remote Console in the next update/version of VMware Server. Ubuntu, why are the keyboard mappings messed up?

updated 01.30.09 – I added the following screen shots to show the menu options when using the Remote Console from my Ubuntu desktops. I should point out I am using Firefox 3.0.5. I also updated the opening sentence of this post by adding “when connecting from an Ubuntu desktop” and the last sentence with “Linux Remote Console”. As Dracolith points out in his comment and screen shot link below, the “send ctrl+alt+del” command exists when connecting from a Windows host. I confirmed The ctrl+alt+ins key combination works as expected too. Read the rest of this entry »

SB said BS so I had to show that installing Hyper-V Server 2008 in a VM is possible! Hopefully he/she will allow a VM hosted  on the free VMware Server 2.0  as acceptable proof. My virtualization host is a 64 bit Ubuntu 8.10 desktop running VMware 2.0. I created the VM from my Vista notebook using the VMware Server web interface. Once again, it’s a very simple, straightforward process.

I’m not claiming to be able to run virtual machines on the Hyper-V VM. Fact is I have not tried. My intent is testing and learning the remote administration for now. I am planning on joining this VM to an Active Directory Domain along with my Windows 7 Beta install. Hopefully joining the server and client to a domain won’t be as frustrating as trying to figure out the configuration for a workgroup! I’ll probably post that process too when I get around to it.

So, the rest of this post shows the build in a table formatted steps with images. SB, this one’s for you! Read the rest of this entry »

Everybody talks about running VMware ESX on VMware Workstation, but how come we don’t see more about running ESX on VMware Server 2.0? I’ve tried and been semi successful. This post is sort of a “how to” and kind of “need help” post about this topic.

First, Duncan Epping over at yellow-bricks.com made a quick post to remind himself of the configurations necessary to run ESX/ESXi 3.5 on VMware Workstation 6.5. There are numerous other posts about how to do this, but the post ESX in Workstation contains just the basic information to remember. If you’ve never done this before and you need pictures and a good explanation then I recommend the .pdf from Xtravirt.com titled VI 3.5 in a box.

Trying to take this a step further, I have moved the ESX 3.5 VMs I created on Workstation 6.5 to a VMware Server 2.0 running on a 64 bit Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop. I can start the ESX server VMs just fine, but unfortunately I can’t run the VMs (hosted on the ESX VMs). It’s still a convenient option for learning, testing and configuring the latest builds and features even without running VMs.

Using basically the same configuration settings I’ve also been able to install and run Citrix XenServer 5.0 and Microsoft Hyper-V on both VMware Workstation and VMware Server 2.0. Here is a screenshot of my VMware Server Summary tab. Click on it for a larger view. Read the rest of this entry »

If you run the free VMware Server on a Linux host then VMTN Communities user phxrider has created a couple of scripts that can make your life a little easier. Phxrider’s clone and rename scripts automate the process of two administrative tasks that are frankly a burden to do manually. Both VMware Server 1.x or 2.0 do not offer any template or cloning abilities from their respective GUI interfaces, so these scripts are an essential tool to have if you want to duplicate VMs or change the VM’s files to match a renamed directory.

Check out either http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8050 or the VMTN Forum thread at http://communities.vmware.com/thread/168266 to download the scripts. Here’s some brief info from these links:

“The clone script does a straight clone of a VM. It copies the directory, renames the files and tweaks all the text inside the files by using sed to replace the old name with the new one, then sets all the permissions to what they would be if you created a new VM.

The rename script basically does all but copy it. This is handy for if you tried to rename a directory manually or attempted a manual copy and then found it still shows up under the old name in the web console. Remember this one assumes you have already renamed the directory to the new name and it MUST be the same as what you intend for the new name to be.

Both work the same way… scriptname <old name> <new name>”

I am not aware of equivalent scripts for VMware Server hosted on Windows, but if they exist please leave a comment with a link for VM /ETC readers.

The rest of this post is my example of using the clone_vm.sh script to make a template for future VMware Server 2.0 VM cloning. Read the rest of this entry »

Several web sites have already reported the new releases of VMware Workstation 6.5, VMware Ace 2.5, and VMware Server 2.0, but I have not seen any mention of the new VMware Player 2.5. According to the VMware Player 2.5 Release Notes the latest version is dated 09.23.08 and is now available for download.

Some exciting new features of the latest version are the support for 3-D graphics, a GUI based Linux installer, faster performance for transferring files between guests and host as well as seamless windows on the host desktop (the popular Unity feature already in Fusion and the new Workstation version).

VMware Player is a free download from VMware that lets you run virtual machines (VM) on your desktop. Unlike Workstation, Player does not have the ability to create a new VM. However, using the online easyVMX virtual machine creator lets you work around this limitation.

The following is taken from the “What’s New” section of the previously mentioned Player Release Notes page: Read the rest of this entry »

If you are running VMware Server on a Linux host and need to automate and schedule a process for backing up your guests then check out Two Bald Geeks’ bash script documented in the post at vmware-server VM backups. In short, the vmsbackup script systematically cycles through all VMs in a designated folder and accomplishes a full guest backup for each. To do this the script suspends the VM, copies it to another location, tars the copied file, removes any existing tars older then a specified time period, and then resumes the source VM again. Creating a Cron job for the script enables the process to be repeated on a scheduled basis.

Here’s some more information taken from the linked post on the strategy behind the script. Read the rest of this entry »