Specifications

Table Of Contents
VMware Server Virtual Machine Guide
216 VMware, Inc.
Device Permissions
Some!Linux!distributions!by!default!do!not!grant!the!virtual!machine!access!to!the!lp!
and!parport!devices.!In!most!of!these!cases,!the!owner!of!the!device!is!root!and!the!
associated!group!is!lp.!To!allow!the!VMware!Server!user!to!access!the!device,!add!the!
user!to!
the!associated!group.!To!view!the!owner!and!group!of!the!device,!run!this!
command:
ls –la /dev/parport0
The!third!and!fourth!columns!of!the!output!show!the!owner!and!group,!respectively.
To!add!the!user!to!the!device!group,!edit!the!/etc/group!file.!On!the!line!starting!with!
lp,!which!defines!the!lp!
group,!add!the!VMware!Server!user’s!user!name.!You!must!
make!this!change!as!the!root!user.!The!following!line!provides!an!example!for!a!user!
whose!user!name!is!userj.
lp::7:daemon,lp,userj
The!next!time!the!user!logs!on!to!the!host,!the!changes!take!effect.
Special Notes for the Iomega Zip Drive
On!Windows!95!or!Windows!98,!use!of!older!drivers!for!the!Iomega!Zip!drive!might!
cause!the!guest!operating!system!to!lock!up!intermittently!at!boot!time!or!during!
installation!of!the!guest!operating!system.!The!newest!Iomega!drivers!work!reliably!in!
our!tests.!They!are!available!at!www.iomega.com/software/index.html.
Using Serial Ports
The!following!sections!describe!how!to!use!serial!ports!with!VMware!Server:
! “Using!a!Serial!Port!on!the!Host!Computer!on!page 217
! “Using!a!File!on!the!Host!Computer!on!page 218
! “Connecting!an!Application!on!the!Host!to!a!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 220
! “Connecting!Two! Virtual!Machines”!on!page 221
! “Special!Configuration!Options!for!Advanced!Users”!on!page 223
! “Examples:!Debugging!over!a!Virtual!Serial!Port!on!page 224
A!VMware!Server!virtual!machine!can!use!up!to!four!virtual!serial!ports.!The!virtual!
serial!ports!can!be!configured!in!several!ways.
! You!can!connect!a!virtual!serial!port!to!a!physical!serial!port!on!the!host!computer.
! You!can!connect!a!virtual!serial!port!to!a!file!on!the!host!computer.