Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware, Inc. 83
Chapter 4 Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware Server Host
! “Understanding!Permissions!and!Virtual!Machines”!on!page 83
! Authenticating!Users!and!Running!Virtual!Machines!for!a!Windows!Host”!on!
page 85
! Authenticating!Users!and!Running!Virtual!Machines!for!a!Linux!Host”!on!page 88
! “Checking!Permissions!in!the!VMware!Management!Interface”!on!page 90
! “Securing!Your!Remote!Sessions”!on!page 90
The!VMware!knowledge!base!has!an!article!about!best!practices!to!improve!security!for!
the!VMware!Server!host!and!virtual!machines.! For!information,!see!
http://www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?&p_faqid=1042.
Understanding Permissions and Virtual Machines
Access!to!a!virtual!machine!is!based!on!the!permissions!you,!as!a!user,!are!granted!to!
the!virtual!machineʹs!configuration!file!(.vmx).!Different!permissions!let!you!access!
virtual!machines!in!different!ways.!These!ways!include:
! Browsing!virtual!machines.
! Interacting!with!virtual!machines.
! Configuring!virtual!machines.
! Administering!virtual!machines!and!the!host.
If!the!virtual!machine!is!on!a!Windows!host,!permissions!on!more!virtual!machine!files!
might!be!needed,!depending!upon!the!user!account!the!virtual!machine!uses!while!
running.!For!information,!see!Authenticating!Users!and!Running!Virtual!Machines!for!
a!Windows!Host”!on!page 85.
Browsing a Virtual Machine
Browsing!a!virtual!machine!lets!you!connect!to!it!with!a!console,!but!you!can!see!only!
the!virtual!machine’s!power!state.!The!virtual!machine!display!is!blank,!even!if!the!
virtual!machine!is!running.!You!cannot!interact!with!the!virtual!machine!at!all.
To!browse!a!virtual!machine,!you!need!
Read!permission!for!the!virtual!machine’s!
configuration!file!on!a!Windows!host,!or!read!(r)!permission!on!a!Linux!host.!
Interacting with a Virtual Machine
Interacting!with!a!virtual!machine!lets!you!change!its!power!state!(power!on!or!off,!
suspend,!or!resume)!and!connect!or!disconnect!removable!devices.!You!cannot!change!
the!virtual!machine’s!configuration.!Among!other!restrictions,!this!means!you!cannot!
add!or!remove!virtual!hardware.