14.0 Pro

VMware KVM 1
With VMware Workstation Pro, you can run virtual machines with VMware KVM, which allows you to use
hot keys to switch among running virtual machines and the host, as if they were attached to a KVM
switch.
To use VMware KVM, you must create virtual machines with Workstation Pro or Workstation Player, and
you must configure keyboard shortcuts to cycle through the virtual machines. VMware KVM is only
available with VMware Workstation 10 and later.
This section includes the following topics:
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Use VMware KVM
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Set Hot Keys for VMware KVM
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Set the VMware KVM Log File
Use VMware KVM
The VMware KVM command vmware-kvm.exe starts and stops virtual machines.
You can include the command to start a virtual machine in a shortcut in the host operating system's
startup group so that the virtual machine starts when a user logs on to the host computer.
You must run the vmware-kvm.exe command once for each virtual machine you want to start or stop with
VMware KVM.
Procedure
1 Open the Windows command prompt and navigate to the VMware Workstation Pro installation folder.
2 Type vmware-kvm.exe [OPTIONS] vmx-file.vmx, where vmx-file.vmx is a virtual machine you
want to use with VMware KVM.
Option Description
--power-off Powers off the specified virtual machine. Add =hard to perform a hard power off
to the virtual machine. When you power off a virtual machine, vmware-kvm.exe
closes the virtual machine and switches to the next active virtual machine.
--suspend Suspends the specified virtual machine. Add =hard to perform a hard suspend to
the virtual machine.
VMware, Inc. 4