Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware, Inc. 99
Chapter 4 Running Virtual Machines
The!virtual!disk!must!be!an!independent!disk!in!nonpersistent!mode,!since!any!changes!
you!make!in!the!virtual!machine!cannot!be!written!to!the!DVD!or!CDROM.!The!redo!
log!for!the!virtual!machine!must!be!on!the!VMware!Server!host.!For!more!information!
about!independent!disks,!see!“Independent
!Disks”!on!page 121.
NOTE If!you!take!a!snapshot!of!the!virtual!machine!and!you!want!to!save!the!changes!
made!to!the!virtual!disk!after!the!snapshot!was!taken,!you!must!copy!the!
virtual!disk!to!the!VMware!Server!host’s!hard!drive,!then!update!the!snapshot.!
In!addition,!if!you!copy!the!disk!file
!to!a!Windows!host,!you!need!to!make!the!
disk!file!writable.
Before!you!run!a!virtual!machine!with!a!virtual!disk!stored!on!DVD!or!CDROM,!you!
should!consider!whether!you!may!need!to!modify!the!virtual!machine’s!BIOS!at!some!
point.!In!this!case,!the!virtual!machine’s!BIOS,!which!is!stored!in!a!file!called!nvram,!
must
!be!located!on!the!VMware!Server!host.!Or,!you!can!add!a!setting!to!the!virtual!
machine’s!configuration!file!that!allows!for!the!nvram!file!to!be!on!the!DVD/CDROM,!
where!it!cannot!be!modified.
NOTE The!performance!of!the!virtual!machine!accessing!a!virtual!disk!stored!on!a!
DVD!or!CDROM!depends!on!the!speed!of!the!DVD/CDROM!drive.!Keep!in!
mind!that!a!virtual!machine!on!a!DVD/CDROM!drive!runs!slower!than!it!
would!if!it!were!running!on!your!host’s!hard!disk.
To!run!a!virtual!machine!with!a!virtual!disk!stored!on!DVD!or!CDROM,!complete!the!
following!steps.
1 Create!a!virtual!machine!and!install!the!guest!operating!system!and!any!
applications!you!need!within!it.
2Make!sure!the!virtual!machine!is!
powered!off.!Burn!the!virtual!disk!(.vmdk)!files!
onto!a!DVD!or!CDROM.!Place!the!DVD!or!CDROM!into!the!VMware!Server!
host’s!DVD/CDROM!drive.
3 Choose!VM!>!Settings!to!open!the!virtual!machine!settings!editor!for!this!virtual!
machine.!On!the!Hardware!tab,!select!Virtual!Disk!
and!browse!to!the!virtual!disk!
file!on!the!DVD/CDROM.!
4Click!Advanced.!Under!Mode,!check!Independent!and!set!the!disk!mode!to!
Nonpersistent.!Click!OK!to!save!these!settings.
5On!the!Options!tab,!select!General.!Under!Working!directory,!browse!to!and!select!
a!location!for!the!redo!log
!on!the!VMware!Server!host.
6Click!OK!to!save!your!changes.!The!virtual!machine!settings!editor!closes.