Table of Contents
Introduction and System Requirements ____________________________9
VMware Server: Product Overview __________________________________10 Features in VMware Server ________________________________________11 Support for 64-bit Guest Operating Systems ________________________11 Two-Way Virtual SMP (Experimental Support) _______________________11 Connect to GSX Virtual Machines and GSX 3 Hosts ___________________11 Upgrade and Use GSX Virtual Machines ___________________________11 Move Existing Virtual Machines __________________________________11 Compatible with Workstation 5.x Virtual Machines ___________________12 VMware Server C API Technology Preview __________________________12 Configure Virtual Hardware Devices to be Automatically Detected _______12 Before You Install the Release ___________________________________12 Host System Requirements ________________________________________14 Server Requirements __________________________________________14 Remote Client Requirements ____________________________________20 Virtual Machine Specifications _____________________________________22 Supported Guest Operating Systems ________________________________25 Hardware Requirements for 64-bit Guest Operating Systems ___________25 Technical Support Resources ______________________________________30 Self-Service Support __________________________________________30 Online and Telephone Support __________________________________30 Support Offerings ____________________________________________30 Reporting Problems ___________________________________________30 Log Files ____________________________________________________32
Installing VMware Server _______________________________________ 35
Selecting Your Host System _____________________________________35 About the VMware Server Console on the Server ____________________36 Installing VMware Server on a Windows Host __________________________38 Basic Installation ______________________________________________39 Default Directories ____________________________________________41 Installing the VMware Server Software on a Windows Host _____________41 Installing VMware Server on a Linux Host _____________________________49 Basic Installation ______________________________________________50 Default Directories ____________________________________________52
Installing the VMware Server Software on a Linux Host ________________ 53 Before You Install the VMware Management Interface on a Linux Host ___56 Installing the VMware Management Interface on a Linux Host __________ 57 Installing an X Server __________________________________________58 Before You Install on a SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 Host _____________ 59 Configuring Web Browsers for Use with VMware Server _________________ 60 Launching the VMware Server Console from the Management Interface on an Encrypted Server _____________________________________________ 60 Connecting to the Management Interface on a Proxy Server ___________ 61 Launching Help in Netscape on a Linux System _____________________ 62 Installing the VMware Server Console _______________________________ 63 Installing the VMware Server Console on a Windows Host _____________ 63 Installing the VMware Server Console on a Linux Host ________________ 65 Installing the VMware Scripting APIs ________________________________67 Installing the VmPerl and VmCOM Scripting APIs on a Windows Host ____ 67 Installing the VmPerl Scripting API on a Linux Host ___________________ 70 Uninstalling VMware Server _______________________________________ 72 Uninstalling VMware Server on a Windows Host _____________________ 72 Uninstalling VMware Server on a Linux Host ________________________ 74
Migrating to VMware Server ___________________________________ 77
Preparing for the Migration _______________________________________ 78 Before You Install VMware Server _________________________________ 78 When You Remove Another VMware Product and Install VMware Server __ 80 Migrating on a Windows Host _____________________________________ 81 Migrating on a Linux Host ________________________________________ 82 Uninstalling GSX Server on a Linux Host ___________________________ 82 Using Virtual Machines Created with GSX 2 and 3 with VMware Server ______ 83 Creating Everything New from the Start ___________________________ 83 Using a Legacy Virtual Machine without Upgrading the Virtual Hardware _ 83 Using a Legacy Virtual Machine and Upgrading the Virtual Hardware ____ 84 Notes on Upgrading Virtual Hardware _____________________________ 84 Using Virtual Machines Created Under Workstation 5.x __________________ 93
Managing Virtual Machines and the VMware Server Host ___________ 95
Remotely Managing Virtual Machines _______________________________ 96 Changing the Port Number for VMware Server Console Connections ____ 97 Downloading the VMware Server Console _________________________ 99
Securing Virtual Machines and the Host _____________________________ 102 Understanding Permissions and Virtual Machines ___________________ 102 Authenticating Users and Running Virtual Machines on a VMware Server for Windows Host ______________________________________________ 105 Authenticating Users and Running Virtual Machines on a VMware Server for Linux Host _________________________________________________ 107 Checking Permissions in the VMware Management Interface __________ 109 Securing Your Remote Sessions _________________________________ 109 Identifying a Virtual Machine by Its UUID ____________________________ 111 Specifying a UUID for a Virtual Machine ___________________________ 112 Logging VMware Server Events on Windows _________________________113 Backing Up Virtual Machines and the VMware Server Host ______________ 115 Using a Backup Agent in the Virtual Machine ______________________ 115 Using a Backup Agent Running on the Host Operating System ________ 115 Backing Up the VMware Server Host _____________________________ 116 Considerations for Backing Up Virtual Machines ____________________ 116 Using the VMware Management Interface ___________________________ 117 Setting the Session Length for the VMware Management Interface _____118 Logging On to the VMware Management Interface _________________ 119 Using the Status Monitor ______________________________________ 120 Configuring a Virtual Machine __________________________________ 124 The Apache Server and the VMware Management Interface __________ 130 Logging Off of the VMware Management Interface _________________ 130 Deleting Virtual Machines ________________________________________ 131 Deleting a Virtual Machine Using the VMware Server Console _________ 131 Configuring the VMware Server Host _______________________________ 132 Securing Remote Connections with SSL __________________________ 132 Configuring Startup and Shutdown Options for Virtual Machines _______ 133 Setting User Preferences for the VMware Server Host ________________ 137 Setting Global Preferences for VMware Server ______________________ 143 Setting a MIME Type to Launch the VMware Server Console ___________ 146
Moving and Sharing Virtual Machines ___________________________ 149
Moving a VMware Server Virtual Machine ___________________________ 151 Virtual Machines Use Relative Paths ______________________________ 151 Preparing Your Virtual Machine for the Move ______________________ 151 Moving a Virtual Machine to a New Host __________________________ 152
Moving a GSX Server 3 Virtual Machine _____________________________ 154 Virtual Machines Use Relative Paths ______________________________ 154 Preparing Your Virtual Machine for the Move ______________________ 154 Moving a Virtual Machine to a New Host __________________________ 155 Moving Older Virtual Machines ___________________________________ 157 Virtual Machines May Use Relative or Absolute Paths ________________ 157 Preparing Your Virtual Machine for the Move ______________________ 158 Preparing the New Host Machine _______________________________ 158 Considerations for Moving Disks in Undoable Mode _________________ 159 Sharing Virtual Machines with Other Users ___________________________ 162
Performance Tuning and the VMware Server Host _________________ 163
Configuring and Maintaining the Host Computer _____________________ 164 Location of the Working Directory _______________________________ 164 Defragmentation of Disk Drives _________________________________ 164 Adequate Free Disk Space _____________________________________ 165 NIC Interrupts Coalescing _____________________________________ 165 Configuring VMware Server ______________________________________ 166 General VMware Server Options ________________________________ 166 VMware Server on a Windows Host ______________________________ 170 VMware Server on a Linux Host _________________________________ 172 Understanding Memory Usage ___________________________________ 174 Memory Use on the Host ______________________________________ 174 Specifying How Much RAM is Used by All Running Virtual Machines ____ 175 Memory Usage on Older Linux Hosts ____________________________ 177
High-Availability Configurations with VMware Server ______________ 179
Using SCSI Reservation to Share SCSI Disks with Virtual Machines _________ 180 SCSI Reservation Support _____________________________________ 180 Enabling SCSI Reservation _____________________________________ 181 Issues to Consider When Sharing Disks ___________________________ 182 Overview of Clustering with VMware Server _________________________ 184 Applications That Can Use Clustering ____________________________ 185 Clustering Software __________________________________________ 185 Creating a Cluster in a Box _______________________________________ 186 Configuring Virtual Machines for Cluster in a Box ___________________ 187 Creating a Two-Node Cluster with Microsoft Clustering Services on a Single VMware Server Computer _____________________________________ 188
Using Network Load Balancing with VMware Server ___________________ 195 Overview of Network Load Balancing Clusters _____________________ 195 Creating a Multinode Network Load Balancing Cluster _______________196 Creating Two-Node Clusters Using Novell Clustering Services ____________ 200 Creating the First Node's Base Virtual Machine _____________________ 200 Creating the Second Node in the Cluster _________________________201 Installing the Guest Operating System and VMware Tools ____________ 201 Adding the Shared Disks to Both Virtual Machines __________________ 201 Installing Novell Clustering Services on the Cluster Nodes ____________ 203 Clustering Using the iSCSI Protocol ________________________________ 204 Clustering Scenarios Using iSCSI ________________________________ 204 Creating and Configuring the iSCSI Initiator Virtual Machine ___________ 205 Configuring the iSCSI Target in the Cluster ________________________ 206
Glossary ____________________________________________________ 207 Appendix—Mounting Virtual Disks Outside of Virtual Machines _____ 213
Considerations for Mounting Virtual Disks _________________________213 Statement of Support ________________________________________ 214 Installing the VMware Server _____________________________________ 215 Running the VMware DiskMount Utility _____________________________ 216 Examples Using the VMware DiskMount Utility _____________________ 217
