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VMWARE APPLICATION NOTE

VMware Player

Using VMware Player

This document contains the following sections:

• Work and Play in a Virtual World on page 1

• Options and Features in VMware Player on page 4

• Installing VMware Player on page 4

• Supported Host and Guest Operating Systems for VMware Player on page 8

Work and Play in a Virtual World

VMware® Player makes it easier than ever to take advantage of the security, flexibility, and

portability of virtual machines. VMware Player is the only solution on the market that lets you

run virtual machines without investing in virtualization software.

What Is VMware Player?

VMware Player is a free desktop application that lets you run a virtual machine on a Windows or

Linux PC.

VMware Player provides an intuitive user interface for running preconfigured virtual machines

created with VMware Workstation, GSX Server, and ESX Server. VMware Player includes features

that let you configure virtual machines for optimal performance and take advantage of host

machine devices. On Windows hosts, VMware Player also opens and runs Microsoft® Virtual PC

and Virtual Server virtual machines and Symantec® LiveState Recovery system images. VMware

Player makes your VMware virtual machines accessible to colleagues, partners, customers, and

clients who do not own VMware products. By downloading VMware Player, anyone can open

and run compatible virtual machines.

VMware Player is available as a free download for both Windows and Linux PCs.

Note: Use of VMware Player is subject to the VMware Player end user license terms, and

VMware provides no support for VMware Player. For self-help resources, see the VMware Player

FAQ at

www.vmware.com/products/player/faqs.html. You might also want to check the VMware Player

Discussion Forum on the VMware VMTN Web site, at

www.vmware.com/community/forum.jspa?forumID=123. The forum is a site where VMTN

members can exchange information, questions, and comments with each other regarding

VMware products, services, and product support issues.

Summary of content (14 pages)

PAGE 1
VMWARE APPLICATION NOTE VMware Player Using VMware Player This document contains the following sections: • Work and Play in a Virtual World on page 1 • Options and Features in VMware Player on page 4 • Installing VMware Player on page 4 • Supported Host and Guest Operating Systems for VMware Player on page 8 Work and Play in a Virtual World VMware® Player makes it easier than ever to take advantage of the security, flexibility, and portability of virtual machines.
PAGE 2
Using VMware Player Downloading VMware Player and Virtual Machines You can download VMware Player from the VMware Web site at www.vmware.com/download/player/. See Installing VMware Player on page 4. You can download a virtual machine to use with VMware Player at www.vmware.com/vmtn/vm/. What You Can Do with VMware Player VMware Player gives software developers and vendors great flexibility in marketing and distributing products.
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Using VMware Player Host System Requirements for VMware Player The minimum host system requirements for installing and using VMware Player are: • Processor speed–400MHz or faster (500MHz or faster recommended). • Memory–128MB minimum, 256MB recommended. You must have enough memory to run the host operating system, plus the memory required for each guest operating system and for applications on the host and guest. See your guest operating system and application documentation for their memory requirements.
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Using VMware Player Options and Features in VMware Player VMware Player is primarily a vehicle for playing virtual machines, and does not contain the full feature set found in other VMware products. VMware Player does provide the following features: • You can connect and disconnect any preconfigured devices in the virtual machine. • You can change the amount of memory allocated to the virtual machine. • You can set the type of network connection for the virtual machine: bridged, host-only, or NAT.
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Using VMware Player To install VMware Player on a Linux host The steps below describe an installation from a CD-ROM disc. If you downloaded the software, the steps are the same except that you start from the directory where you saved the installer file you downloaded, not from the Linux directory on the CD. 1. Log on to your Linux host with the user name you plan to use when running VMware Player. 2. In a terminal window, become root so you can perform the initial installation steps. su 3.
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Using VMware Player The configuration program displays a message saying the configuration completed successfully. 9. If you do not see the configuration complete message, run the configuration program again. 10. When you are done, exit from the root account. exit Configuring the Installation with vmware-config.pl Use vmware-config.pl to configure your installation of VMware Player. Note: If you run the RPM installer, you must run this program separately from the command line.
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Using VMware Player Setting Preferences and Options in VMware Player For instructions on configuring VMware Player, see the online help provided in VMware Player (Player > Help). You can set a number of preferences and options, as described in Options and Features in VMware Player on page 4. To close VMware Player Take one of the following actions: • Shut down the guest operating system in the virtual machine. VMware Player closes automatically after the guest operating system shuts down.
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Using VMware Player Supported Host and Guest Operating Systems for VMware Player As newer Linux kernels and distributions are released, VMware modifies and tests its products for stability and reliability on those host platforms. VMware makes every effort to add support for new kernels and distributions in a timely manner. Until a kernel or distribution is added to the list below, its use with VMware products is not supported. Look for newer prebuilt modules in the download area of the VMware Web site.
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Using VMware Player Linux Host Operating Systems (32-Bit) • Mandriva Corporate Server 4 Mandriva Linux 2007 (experimental support) Mandriva Linux 2006 Mandrake Linux 10.1 Mandrake Linux 9.0 — stock 2.4.19 • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0, AS, ES, WS (experimental support) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0, AS, ES, WS, updates 1, 2, 3, 4 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, AS, ES, WS, updates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 — stock 2.4.9-e3 Red Hat Linux 9.0 — stock 2.4.20-8, upgrade 2.4.20-20.
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Using VMware Player Linux Host Operating Systems (64-Bit) • Mandriva Corporate Server 4 Mandriva Linux 2007 (experimental support) Mandriva Linux 2006 • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0, AS, ES, WS (experimental support) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0, AS, ES, WS, updates 1, 2, 3, 4 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, AS, ES, WS stock 2.4.21, updates 2.4.21-15, 6, 7, 8 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, SP1, SP2, SP3 — stock 2.6.
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Using VMware Player Supported Guest Operating Systems The operating systems listed here have been tested in VMware Player virtual machines and are officially supported. For notes on installing the most common guest operating systems, and the most recent list of supported guest operating systems, see the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide, available from the VMware web site at http://pubs.vmware.com/guestnotes/.
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Using VMware Player Microsoft Windows 32-Bit • Experimental enhanced support for Microsoft Windows Vista • Windows Server 2003 Web Edition, Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Small Business Server 2003ce Pack 1, R2 • Windows XP Professional and Home Edition Service Pack 1 or 2 (listed versions also supported with no service pack) • Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 1, 2, 3, or 4 Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 1, 2, 3, or 4 Windows 2000 Advanced Server Service Pack 3 or 4 • Windows NT® Workstation
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Using VMware Player Linux 32-Bit • Mandriva Linux 2006 • Mandrake Linux 8.2, 9.0, 9.2, 10, 10.1 • Mandriva Corporate Server 4 • Experimental support for Mandriva Linux 2007 • Red Hat Linux 7.0, 7.1, 7.1 Upgrade 2.4.3-12, 7.2, 7.2 Upgrade 2.4.9-7, 7.2 Upgrade 2.4.9-13, 7.3, 8.0, 9.0 • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES/WS 4.0, 4.0 Update 3, 4 • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES/WS 3.0, 3.0 Update 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 • Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES/WS 2.
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Using VMware Player Novell NetWare 32-Bit • NetWare 6.5 SP3 • NetWare 6.0 SP5 • NetWare 5.1 SP8 • NetWare 4.2 Novell Open Enterprise Server 32-Bit • Open Enterprise Server • Open Enterprise Server SP1 FreeBSD 32-Bit • FreeBSD 4.0, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6.2, 4.8, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4 • Experimental support for FreeBSD 6.1 • Experimental support for FreeBSD 6.0 Note: If you use SCSI virtual disks larger than 2GB with FreeBSD 4.0–4.