VMware Workstation

VMware can be very useful if you need to use windows software, or if you are just starting using Linux and are not able to do what you were used to. Note that performance will be greatly reduced.

=Setting Up The Kernel=

The kernel needs to be configured to have the following features:


 * Module Unloading enabled
 * Kernel Virtual Machine (KVM) disabled

The install process may warn you that VMware Workstation will not work on a KVM enabled kernel.

=Installing VMware Workstation=

Emerge VMware workstation with the following command:

Because VMware is commercial software, the vmware-workstation packages include fetch restrictions, which mean that you will need to download the appropriate file from the VMware website. Because Gentoo packages are not always up to date with the latest version of the VMware downloads, you may need to use the firebug plugin for firefox to modify the javascript-based download-protection script after clicking through to a download link (simply replace the filename for the offered version with the filename requested by portage everywhere you see it appear). Move the downloaded file to /usr/portage/distfiles and re-run emerge vmware-workstation

After emerging, run

If it prints out an error about VMware having not yet been started and quits, you can use the undocumented option -skipstopstart:

or (in newer versions):

It will ask you several questions and configures the virtual network. Choose whichever method you prefer or the one that best fits your setup. This network can be used to access the internet, as well as allow very easy communication between the host and guest OS. Please note that you have the NIC which VMware is bridged to is connected to a real physical network (I searched for hours why my network was not running).

After compiling the kernel modules vmmon and vmnet, they will be installed and the virtual ethernet is set up. Please note that you are required to compile vmmon. If this somehow does not work, rebuild your kernel and reboot.

Now you should be able to run the command 'vmware' and the gui should start up.

If you get the error "vmware is installed, but it has not been (correctly) configured for this system. ...", rerun vmware-config.pl. Also, remember to re-run emerge vmware-modules every time you update/change your kernel. That should help with getting rid of the above message. If it completed successfully and still gives this error, fix the bug with the following command:

When nothing fails you should add to your desired runlevel. This script will install the kernel modules and the virtual ethernet for future reboots.

Also do not forget to install VMware tools on the guest operating system. The VMware help will tell you how to do so for your guest OS.

To be able to run vmware you must be member of the group vmware:

Run vmware as a NORMAL user inside a X environment

If the VMware exits immediately you could try export the command:

As of version 5.5.1 there seems to have changed the way VMware needs to be setup to be able to run as user. In addition to the above, do this:

You also have to suid this file:

Afterwards restart the transfer.

If your host is Windows look under advanced network properties of the card, its called 'large send' and set to none.

For more information about this issue see: http://www.vmware.com/community/message.jspa?messageID=362002

If you need access to a physical disk from a user other than root, add a udev rule to give write access to the "disk" group.