Installing and Configuring VMware Tools September 2012 vSphere VMware Fusion VMware Player VMware Workstation This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at: http://www.vmware.com/support/ The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates. If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: docfeedback@vmware.com Copyright © 2009–2012 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws.
Contents About Installing and Configuring VMware Tools 5 1 Components of VMware Tools 7 VMware Tools Service 7 VMware Tools Device Drivers 8 VMware User Process 9 2 Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools 11 Installing VMware Tools 11 Upgrading VMware Tools 12 Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Windows Virtual Machine 13 Automate the Installation of VMware Tools in a Windows Virtual Machine 14 Names of VMware Tools Components Used in Silent Installations 16 Suppress Prompts About Unsigned Drive
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools 5 Using Other Methods to Configure VMware Tools 43 Configuring VMware Tools from Within VMware Products 43 Using vmwtool to Configure VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine 44 6 Security Considerations for Configuring VMware Tools 45 Index 49 4 VMware, Inc.
About Installing and Configuring VMware Tools ® Installing and Configuring VMware Tools provides information about using the various VMware products to install, upgrade, and configure VMware Tools. VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that you install in the operating system of a virtual machine. VMware Tools enhances the performance of a virtual machine and makes possible many of the ease-of-use features in VMware products.
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Components of VMware Tools 1 VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of a virtual machine. Although a guest operating system can run without VMware Tools, many VMware features are not available until you install VMware Tools. This chapter includes the following topics: n “VMware Tools Service,” on page 7 n “VMware Tools Device Drivers,” on page 8 n “VMware User Process,” on page 9 VMware Tools Service The VMware Tools service starts when the guest operating system boots.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools n Is one of the processes that sends a heartbeat to the VMware product to indicate that the guest operating system is running. When the virtual machine runs under vSphere or VMware Server, a gauge for this heartbeat appears in the management interface. n Provides support for guest operating system-bound calls created with the VMware VIX API, except in Mac OS X guest operating systems.
Chapter 1 Components of VMware Tools vmblock Module Used in Workstation and Fusion, this module is essential for drag-and-drop copy operations between hosts and guests. vShield Endpoint If you use vSphere and vShield, you can now perform a custom VMware Tools installation to install the vShield Endpoint Thin Agent component. vShield Endpoint uses the hypervisor to perform antivirus scans without a bulky agent. This strategy avoids resource bottlenecks and optimizes memory use.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools n 10 For VMware products that support the Unity feature, allows you to open an application window in a Windows or Linux guest operating system, enter Unity mode, and have that window appear on your Workstation, Fusion, or Player host desktop like any other host application window. VMware, Inc.
Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools 2 Installing VMware Tools is part of the process of creating a new virtual machine, and upgrading VMware Tools is part of the process of keeping your virtual machine up to current standards. Some new features in a particular release of a VMware product might depend on installing or upgrading to the new version of VMware Tools included in that release. Other compatibility options are also available. n The version of VMware Tools included in vSphere 5.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools The installers for VMware Tools are ISO image files. An ISO image file looks like a CD-ROM to your guest operating system. There is an ISO image file for each type of guest operating system, including Windows, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, and NetWare. When you select the command to install or upgrade VMware Tools, the virtual machine’s first virtual CD-ROM disk drive temporarily connects to the VMware Tools ISO file for your guest operating system.
Chapter 2 Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools Table 2-1. Virtual Machine Compatibility Options (Continued) Compatibility Description ESX/ESXi 3.5 and later This virtual machine (hardware version 4) is compatible with ESX/ESX 3.5. ESX/ESX 4.x, and ESXi 5.1. It is also compatible with VMware Server 1.0 and later. You cannot create a virtual machine with ESX/ESXi 3.5 compatibility on ESXi 5.0. ESX Server 2.x and later This virtual machine (hardware version 3) is compatible with ESX Server 2.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Procedure 1 2 Select the menu command to mount the VMware Tools virtual disc on the guest operating system. VMware Product Menu Command vSphere Client Inventory > Virtual Machine > Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools vSphere Web Client Right-click the virtual machine and select All vCenter Actions > Guest OS > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools. a To locate a virtual machine, select a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp.
Chapter 2 Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools n If you are using vCenter Server, you can use the Virtual Machines tab for a host or cluster and select the virtual machines on which to install or upgrade VMware Tools. Regardless of which strategy you use, you can specify options for the components you want to include or exclude. Prerequisites n Power on the virtual machine. n Log in to the guest operating system as an administrator. n If you plan to use setup.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools c Right-click and select Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools. d Complete the dialog box. To specify any MSI arguments or to specify which VMware Tools components to exclude, add the same arguments and options that you would for the setup.exe program in the Advanced text box.
Chapter 2 Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools Table 2-2. VMware Tools Component Values Valid Component Values Drivers Description Audio Audio driver for 64-bit operating systems and Windows Vista and later systems. BootCamp Driver for Mac BootCamp support. Debug Driver for the VMware record/replay feature. LSI PCI Fusion-MPT Miniport driver for Windows XP systems. MemCtl VMware memory control driver. Use this driver if you plan to use this virtual machine in a vSphere environment.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Table 2-2. VMware Tools Component Values (Continued) Valid Component Values Description any other host application window. PerfMon Driver for WMI performance logging. IMPORTANT One way to determine the component values to use is to run the interactive VMware Tools installer with full logging turned on, select the components that you want installed, and then search the log files for the ADDLOCAL and REMOVE properties.
Chapter 2 Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools Add VMware as a Trusted Publisher to Suppress Driver Prompts If you are installing a beta or RC version of VMware Tools in a Windows Vista or later guest operating system, you can add a VMware certificate to suppress prompts that interfere with automatic installation of VMware Tools. The version of VMware Tools included in a beta or release candidate version of a VMware product usually has some drivers that are signed only by VMware.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Linux Virtual Machine For Linux virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line. Install the latest version of VMware Tools to enhance the performance of the virtual machine's guest operating system and improve virtual machine management.
Chapter 2 Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools 4 If the VMware Tools virtual CD-ROM image is not mounted, mount the CD-ROM drive. a If a mount point directory does not already exist, create it. mkdir /mnt/cdrom Some Linux distributions use different mount point names. For example, on some distributions the mount point is /media/VMware Tools rather than /mnt/cdrom. Modify the command to reflect the conventions that your distribution uses. b Mount the CD-ROM drive.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools What to do next (Recommended) If you upgraded VMware Tools as part of a vSphere upgrade, next determine whether to upgrade the virtual machines in your environment. To review and compare the hardware available for different compatibility levels, see the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration documentation.
Chapter 2 Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools Procedure 1 Select the menu command to mount the VMware Tools virtual disc on the guest operating system. VMware Product Menu Command vSphere Client Inventory > Virtual Machine > Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools vSphere Web Client Right-click the virtual machine and select All vCenter Actions > Guest OS > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools. a To locate a virtual machine, select a datacenter, folder, cluster, resource pool, host, or vApp.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Prerequisites n Power on the virtual machine. n Verify that the guest operating system is running. n Because the VMware Tools installer is written in Perl, verify that Perl is installed in the guest operating system. n For vSphere virtual machines, to determine whether you have the latest version of VMware Tools, in the vSphere Client inventory, select the virtual machine and click the Summary tab.
Chapter 2 Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools What to do next (Recommended) If you upgraded VMware Tools as part of a vSphere upgrade, next determine whether to upgrade the virtual machines in your environment. To review and compare the hardware available for different compatibility levels, see the vSphere Virtual Machine Administration documentation.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools 3 For NetWare 4.2 guest operating systems, restart the guest operating system. a In the system console, shut down the system. down b In the system console, restart the guest operating system. restart server 4 If the VMware Tools virtual disc (netware.iso) is attached to the virtual machine, right-click the CD-ROM icon in the status bar of the console window and select Disconnect to disconnect it.
Repairing, Changing, and Uninstalling VMware Tools Components 3 Usually when you upgrade VMware Tools, the modules are upgraded and new features are added. On Windows guests, however, if you do not perform a custom upgrade, new modules might not be added. If some features do not work correctly after an upgrade, you must change or repair modules. On operating systems other than Windows, you must manually start the VMware User process after an upgrade.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools VMware Product Menu Command Workstation VM > Install (or Upgrade) VMware Tools Player Player > Manage > Install (or Upgrade) VMware Tools 2 If autorun is not enabled for the CD-ROM drive, to manually launch the VMware Tools installation wizard, click Start > Run and enter D:\setup.exe, where D: is your first virtual CD-ROM drive. 3 On the Welcome page of the wizard, click Next. 4 Specify whether to repair or modify the modules.
Chapter 3 Repairing, Changing, and Uninstalling VMware Tools Components Start the VMware User Process Manually If You Do Not Use a Session Manager One of the executables used by VMware Tools in Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems is the VMware User process. This program implements the fit-guest-to-window feature and Unity mode, among other features. Normally, this process is started automatically after you configure VMware Tools and then log out of the desktop environment and log back in.
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Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility 4 The VMware Tools configuration utility is a command-line interface that you can use in the guest operating system to modify VMware Tools settings, shrink virtual disks, and connect and disconnect virtual devices. The VMware Tools configuration utility provides a command-line interface for functionality that was previously available only in the VMware Tools control panel.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Configure Time Synchronization Between Guest and Host Operating Systems When you turn on periodic time synchronization, VMware Tools sets the time of the guest operating system to be the same as the time of the host. After time synchronization occurs, VMware Tools checks once every minute to determine whether the clocks on the guest and host operating systems still match. If not, the clock on the guest operating system is synchronized to match the clock on the host.
Chapter 4 Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility 3 Enter the command to determine whether time synchronization is enabled. utility-name timesync status For utility-name use the guest-specific program name. 4 Operating System Program Name Windows VMwareToolboxCmd.exe Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD vmware-toolbox-cmd Enter the command to enable or disable periodic time synchronization. utility-name timesync subcommand For subcommand, use enable or disable.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Connect or Disconnect a Virtual Device You can connect and disconnect removable devices such as floppy drives, DVD/CD-ROM drives, ISO images, USB devices, sound adapters, and network adapters. IMPORTANT Note the following restrictions for connecting devices: n Some devices cannot be shared between the host and guest operating systems or between two guest operating systems. For example, only one virtual machine or the host can access the floppy drive at any one time.
Chapter 4 Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility 6 Enter the command to connect or disconnect the device. utility-name device device-name subcommand Option Action device-name Use one of the names displayed when you used the list subcommand. subcommand Use enable or disable. After you complete this procedure, the device is connected or disconnected, as you specified.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools n On Windows guests, log in as an administrator. n Verify that the host has free disk space equal to the size of the virtual disk that you plan to shrink. Procedure 1 Open a command prompt or terminal in the guest operating system. 2 Change to the VMware Tools installation directory. 3 Operating System Default Path Windows C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools Linux and Solaris /usr/sbin FreeBSD /usr/local/sbin Mac OS X /Library/Application Support/V
Chapter 4 Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility On Windows guests, the default scripts for power-on and power-off operations are placeholders only. The script for resume operations contains a line that renews the IP address for the virtual machine. If you write a custom script for the resume operation, you must include this line first. @%SYSTEMROOT%\system32\ipconfig /renew The script for suspend operations contains a line that releases the IP address.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Use Custom Scripts in Operating Systems Other Than Windows On Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, you can write scripts to automate guest operating system operations when you change the power state of a virtual machine. For Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD guests, you can write scripts and place them in a certain directory, and then VMware Tools runs your scripts in addition to the default scripts.
Chapter 4 Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility On Windows guest operating systems, the default scripts are located in the Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools folder. IMPORTANT You cannot run scripts on Windows NT, Me, Windows 98, and Windows 95 guest operating systems. n On most Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems, the default script that runs when you suspend a virtual machine stops networking for the virtual machine.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Procedure 1 Open a command prompt or terminal in the guest operating system. 2 Change to the VMware Tools installation directory. 3 Operating System Default Path Windows C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools Linux and Solaris /usr/sbin FreeBSD /usr/local/sbin Mac OS X /Library/Application Support/VMware Tools Enter the command to disable the script. utility-name script script-name disable Option Action utility-name (On Windows) Use VMwareToolboxCmd.
Chapter 4 Using the VMware Tools Configuration Utility Procedure 1 Open a command prompt or terminal in the guest operating system. 2 Change to the VMware Tools installation directory. 3 Operating System Default Path Windows C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools Linux and Solaris /usr/sbin FreeBSD /usr/local/sbin Mac OS X /Library/Application Support/VMware Tools Type the command to display the status information.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Exit Codes You might use exit codes if you want to integrate the VMware Tools configuration utility commands with a scripting tool. Table 4-3. Exit Codes 42 Code Number Applicable Command Description 0 All commands The command was successful. 1 All commands Always indicates that an error occurred. For the shrink command, 1 indicates that although shrinking is enabled, the shrink command cannot be carried out.
Using Other Methods to Configure VMware Tools 5 Some VMware Tools configuration settings are available from within your VMware product. Also, if you have a NetWare virtual machine, you must use the vmwtool program because the VMware Tools Configuration Utility is not available for that operating system.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Using vmwtool to Configure VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine In a NetWare virtual machine, using the system console, you can configure certain virtual machine options such as time synchronization, CPU idling, and device configuration with VMware Tools. The VMware Tools command-line program is called vmwtool.
Security Considerations for Configuring VMware Tools 6 Some VMware Tools settings might expose security risks. For example, VMware Tools enables you to connect virtual devices such as serial and parallel ports to virtual machines. A connected device could be a potential channel of attack. To harden a virtual machine and reduce security risks as much as possible, disable the VMware Tools features that might be vulnerable to security threats.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools Threats Associated with Unprivileged User Accounts Disk shrinking feature Shrinking a virtual disk reclaims unused disk space. Users and processes without root or administrator privileges can invoke this procedure. Because the disk-shrinking process can take considerable time to complete, invoking the disk-shrinking procedure repeatedly can cause a denial of service. The virtual disk is unavailable during the shrinking process. Use the following .
Chapter 6 Security Considerations for Configuring VMware Tools Threats Associated with Virtual Machine Information Flow Configuring virtual machine log size Because often a new log file is created only when a host is rebooted, log files can grow to be quite large. Uncontrolled logging can lead to denial of service if the datastore runs out of disk space. VMware recommends saving 10 log files, with each one limited to 1,000KB. Use the following .vmx settings to set these limits: log.
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools n Features not exposed in vSphere that could cause vulnerabilities GUESTLIB_HOST_MEM_UNMAPPED_MB Because VMware virtual machines run in many VMware products in addition to vSphere, some virtual machine parameters do not apply in a vSphere environment. Although these features do not appear in vSphere user interfaces, disabling them reduces the number of vectors through which a guest operating system could access a host. Use the following .
Index A audio adapters, connecting 34 audio drivers, virtual 8 B backup applications, drivers for 8 C CD-ROM drives, connecting 34 clock, synchronization between host and guest operating systems 32, 33, 44 configuration utility for VMware Tools 31 connecting virtual devices 34, 45 copy and paste, of files and text 9, 45 CPU statistics 40, 41 custom VMware Tools scripts 36, 38 D device command 34, 44 device drivers, virtual 8 disconnecting virtual devices 34, 45 disk command 35 drag and drop, of files an
Installing and Configuring VMware Tools P paravirtual SCSI drivers 8 poweroff-vm-default script 38 poweron-vm-default script 38 processes, VMware user 9 Q quiet mode for installing VMware Tools on Windows guests 14 R reboot-command for Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems 40 removable devices 34, 44 repairing VMware Tools installations 27, 29 resume-vm-default script 38 S script command 36, 38 scripts, VMware Tools 36, 38, 43 SCSI drivers, virtual 8 security-related configuration settings
Index VMwareToolboxCmd.exe utility for Windows guest operating systems 31 vmwtool command 44 vmxnet networking drivers 8 Volume Shadow Copy Services drivers 8 VMware, Inc.
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