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VMware ACE Administrator’s Manual
program running in the virtual machine sends to the virtual serial port or if you need a
quick way to transfer a file from the guest to the host.
To install a virtual serial port that connects to a file on the host computer, take the
following steps:
1. Open the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings).
2. Click Add to start the Add Hardware Wizard.
3. Select Serial Port, then click Next.
4. Select Output to file, then click Next.
5. Browse to the file on the host computer that you want to use to store the output
of the virtual serial port. By default, the device status setting is Connect at power
on. You may deselect this setting if you wish.
Click Advanced if you want to configure this serial port to use polled mode. This
option is of interest primarily to developers who are using debugging tools that
communicate over a serial connection. For more information, see Special
Configuration Options for Advanced Users on page 212.
6. Click Finish, then click OK to close the virtual machine settings editor.
7. Power on the virtual machine.
Connecting an Application on the Host to a Virtual Machine
You can set up the virtual serial port in a virtual machine to connect to an application
on the host computer. This is useful, for example, if you want to use an application on
the host to capture debugging information sent from the virtual machines serial port.
To install a direct serial connection between an application on the host and a virtual
machine, take the following steps:
1. Open the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings).
2. Click Add to start the Add Hardware Wizard.
3. Select Serial Port, then click Next.
4. Select Output to named pipe, then click Next.
5. Use the default pipe name, or enter another pipe name of your choice. The pipe
name must follow the form \\.\pipe\<namedpipe> — that is, it must
begin with \\.\pipe\.
6. Select This end is the server or This end is the client. In general, select This end
is the server if you plan to start this end of the connection first.
7. Select The other end is an application.