How to install vmware server 2.0.x in Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic)

Sponsored Link
VMware Server is a free virtualization product for Windows and Linux servers with enterprise-class support and VirtualCenter management. VMware Server is a robust yet easy to use server virtualization product and is based on proven virtualization technology, which has been used by thousands of customers for many years.
First you need to download vmware server 2.0.x from vmware website and get the vmware server installation key

Currently we have a problems compiling vmware server under kernel version 2.6.31 so this tutorial will explain how to install vmware server 2.0.x in Ubuntu 9.10

Now we have VMware-server-2.0.2-203138.i386.tar.gz file so unpack this file

tar -zvxf VMware-server-2.0.2-203138.i386.tar.gz

go to vmware-server-distrib directory

cd vmware-server-distrib

Run vmware-install.pl script using the following command

./vmware-install.pl

Now you might receive compilation error messages so now you need to download required patch files from here in vmware-server-distrib directory these patches from  vmware forum

You can use the following command to download patches

wget  http://www.ubuntugeek.com/images/vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.tgz

After downloading extract vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.tgz file

tar xvzf vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.tgz

Now run the patch script using the following command

sh vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh

Note:- This script will work 2.6.30,2.6.31 kernel versions

After each completing the patch installation you should see similar to the following message

3

After completing the patch installation you need to remove /usr/lib/vmware/modules/binary directory because The original VMware modules directory is still in the way so this will confuses VMware that is why we are removing this directory

rm -rf /usr/lib/vmware/modules/binary

Now run vmware-config.pl script

vmware-config.pl

This should complete the vmware server installation.

4

Now open your browser type https://PC-ipaddress:8333 once it opens you should see similar to the following screen

5

Whe you try to login using your ubuntu user login details you might see "You do not have permissions to login to the server" error this is because you need to enable root account on your ubuntu machine using this tutorial or login as user who is having root permissions

6

Once you login you should see similar to the following screen

7

Reinstall Vmware server

If you still having  problems with your vmware server installation follow these steps

Delete the vmware modules using the following command

rm -rf /usr/lib/vmware/modules/

rm -rf /lib/modules/2.6.31-13-server/misc/vm*

Now kill all vmware processes manually

kill -9 $( ps -ef | awk ‘/vm/ { print $2 }' )

Now run vmware-install.pl file

./vmware-install.pl

at the time of installation where you see the following message type no and press enter

Before running VMware Server for the first time, you need to configure it by
invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-config.pl". Do you want this
program to invoke the command for you now? [yes] no

Now you need to run the patch script file using the following command

sh vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh

After completing this you should run vmware-config.pl

/usr/bin/vmware-config.pl

Error message

When i try to install vmware server 2.0.2 under ubuntu 9.10 i got the following error so i installed the patch file with the procedure specified above

/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/linux/driver.c:2007: error: too many arguments to function ‘smp_call_function’
make[2]: *** [/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/linux/driver.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.31-14-generic'
make: *** [vmmon.ko] Error 2
make: Leaving directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only'
Unable to build the vmmon module.

For more information on how to troubleshoot module-related problems, please
visit our Web site at "http://www.vmware.com/go/unsup-linux-products" and
"http://www.vmware.com/go/unsup-linux-tools".

Execution aborted.

Sponsored Link

You may also like...

91 Responses

  1. Nitrox says:

    Judging from the large number of people here, who this didn’t work for, Ubuntu+VMWare means problems. Is there a Linux version out there that offers a straight forward VMWare Server install?

  2. Paulrf says:

    This worked first time for me.. I’m impressed. Thanks for the info!!!

  3. Steve says:

    finally a tutorial that works! got VMware Server 2.02 working on Ubuntu 9.10 x64 using these steps. thanks!!

  4. Steve Bass says:

    Sounds like there is an issue with ubuntu on AMD processors (like me), as ubuntu user on Intel chips can get this to work.

  5. igor says:

    Guys, good morning! My name is Igor Costa and i have a problem to install the VMware-server-2.0.2-203138.x86_64 on Ubuntu 9.10 (karmic). I am from Brazil. I researching about this problem and the better site is here, but, all these steps are not working… The version of kernel is 2.6.31-20-generic. When i run the sh vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh, appears:

    Found tar file for vsock module
    Found tar file for vmnet module
    Found tar file for vmmon module
    Found tar file for vmci module
    Using patch file: /home/igor_costa/Downloads/vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.patch
    Using module directory: /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source
    Using backup directory: /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source-backup
    Untarring vsock.tar
    Untarring vmnet.tar
    Untarring vmmon.tar
    Untarring vmci.tar
    Testing patch
    vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh: 71: patch: not found
    Sorry, problem with the patch, I can’t apply it

    Someone help me??? Thanks…

  6. Rhyden says:

    These instructions worked for me on Ubuntu 9.10 32-bit as host for VMWare 2.02. I made sure the linux-headers, build-essential, and xinetd packages were installed before I followed this article’s directions.

    I used almost entirely defaults (pressing Enter) for the questions asked during the installation and during vmware-config.pl.

    Thanks for the patch file and the help.

  7. Jakob says:

    patching worked and was great relief!
    thanks for sharing.

  8. Igor says:

    These patchs must be for 32bits… but my sistem is 64bits… ok.. Thanks…

  9. Jeroen says:

    It worked for me on Linux cipirix 2.6.31-20-server #58-Ubuntu SMP Fri Mar 12 05:40:05 UTC 2010 x86_64 GNU/Linux

    Unfortunally I have problems with starting & stopping the services. I try agian (and report back) this week

  10. Ben Evans says:

    Thanks really useful!

  11. tmbailey123 says:

    I was able to somewhat successfully install under 2.6.31-20-generic. The biggest disappointment is the VM I created for Windows 98 had a very ‘jittery’ distorted sound. My guess would be because I am not using a realtime clock kernel.

    To get it working I used the patch listed here: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1326494

    A couple of caveats. The shell script failed because it failed to find a temp directory to dump the contents of the tar file. I created the the temp directories manually and then the patch worked fine. Here are the commands:

    cd /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source/
    mkdir vmnet-temp-only
    mkdir vsock-temp-only
    mkdir vmci-temp-only
    mkdir vmmon-temp-only

    I am thinking if I used a realtime kernel (2.6.31-9-rt) perhaps I would have better results with the soundcard. Anyone know of a patch for the realtime kernel ?

    thx

    -mike

  12. emh says:

    Thank you so much! Worked like a charm 🙂

  13. Hans says:

    I´ve used vmware server 1 in some years on debian systems (etch i386 and amd64/intel) with no problems in a production environment. 15 servers on one iron. No problem. Now Ive installed vmware server 2 on several systems (lenny (i386 and amd64/intel), ubuntu 9 server(amd64/intel)) and with a little twinkling it is running. BUT is NOT stable for me. Importing a machine can even take the iron down! (network services stops – so i need to restart then from the console). The client-console plugin does not work under firefox (osx).

    ###
    Does enyone have same problems – and a solution?
    Or an explanation?
    ###

    I am thinking Xen at the moment, but it takes time to setup – and Ive got a lot of servers running vmware….
    So… vmware server1 will be tested again – but it does not install nicely on lenny (my exp)
    BR

  14. Ralle says:

    hi igor,
    i’ve got the same problems with my ubuntu 9.10 64bit machine.
    After i installed the packages “xinetd” and “build-essential” (the “linux-header” was already installed) i reboot my computer.
    Then i followed the install-steps.
    Before run vmware, you must have a root account on your computer. Run following command to make a password for root: sudo passwd
    Then type your new password for root and don’t forget it !!!
    Then run the command vmware and you can login with your root account.

  15. spiration says:

    Yes- this is working just fine on my 2.6.31-20-generic-pae kernel on whatever version of Ubuntu this is (debian squeeze/sid).

    Thanks.

  16. mssbusybee says:

    My Guest OS is having a hard time with the mouse, when ever I click on left or right click the control comes out of the guest os and then goes inside.

    CTRL + ALT

  17. Ralle says:

    hi mssbusybee,
    you can try one of these three options:
    Have a look here:

    http://forum.ubuntuusers.de/topic/vmware-server-2-maus-unsteuerbar-springt-stae/

    Solution 1 works fine on my computer.

    Open this file by root and added these lines to /usr/bin/firefox:

    export VMWARE_USE_SHIPPED_GTK=force
    export GDK_NATIVE_WINDOWS=true

    After you’ve added this two lines close Firefox.
    Then open Firefox again and everything is o.k. with the mouse 🙂

  18. PSilva says:

    Thank you for your great job, this works for me.

  19. Cleiner says:

    Hi Ralle and mssbusybee,
    I had the same problem and the solution worked really fine!

    Thankyou very much!!!

  20. Katy says:

    if i’m running 2.6.32-22 generic kernel version on ubuntu, what command should i use instead of

    sh vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh

    ?

  21. Joe says:

    Didnt work for me – any ideas ?

    root@gridbe:/home/yoda/Downloads# sh vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh
    Found tar file for vmmon module
    Found tar file for vmnet module
    Found tar file for vmci module
    Found tar file for vsock module
    Using patch file: /home/joseph/Downloads/vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.patch
    Using module directory: /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source
    Using backup directory: /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source-backup
    Backing up ./vmmon.tar to /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source-backup/./vmmon.tar
    Backing up ./vmnet.tar to /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source-backup/./vmnet.tar
    Backing up ./vmci.tar to /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source-backup/./vmci.tar
    Backing up ./vsock.tar to /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source-backup/./vsock.tar
    Untarring vmmon.tar
    Untarring vmnet.tar
    Untarring vmci.tar
    Untarring vsock.tar
    Testing patch
    vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh: 71: patch: not found
    Sorry, problem with the patch, I can’t apply it
    root@gridbase:/home/yoda/Downloads# sh vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh
    Found tar file for vmmon module
    Found tar file for vmnet module
    Found tar file for vmci module
    Found tar file for vsock module
    Using patch file: /home/joseph/Downloads/vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.patch
    Using module directory: /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source
    Using backup directory: /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source-backup
    Untarring vmmon.tar
    Untarring vmnet.tar
    Untarring vmci.tar
    Untarring vsock.tar
    Testing patch
    vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh: 71: patch: not found
    Sorry, problem with the patch, I can’t apply it

  22. Michel Kogan says:

    when I try to reinstall the vmware server under Ubuntu server 9.10, after running the vmware-config.pl , it stops for long time on this line:

    Stopping VMware services:
    VMware virtual infrastructure web access

    and configuration wizard starts and finished succefully. But when I try to connect to:

    https://:8333/

    I got this error

    Firefox can’t establish a connection to the server at 192.168.1.8:8333.

    Though the site seems valid, the browser was unable to establish a connection.

    * Could the site be temporarily unavailable? Try again later.
    * Are you unable to browse other sites? Check the computer’s network connection.
    * Is your computer or network protected by a firewall or proxy? Incorrect settings can interfere with Web browsing.

    I can ping my server, but cant access to this page. I reconfigure it more and more and more. restart many times but still no luck. SOMEBODY HELP ME !!!

  23. tla says:

    M Kogan; I had the same issue with firefox. The reason is SSLv2 is disabled by default in the later versions of the browser (does not affect http non-SSL connections) and the vmserver SSL web interface uses SSLv2. Change your browser by opening about:config in the address bar and type security.enable_ssl2 into the filter box. Double click to change the setting from false to true. Restart your browser and try again. Bear in mind this option will have been disabled for a reason so you will not want to use it to connect to non-vmware server web servers.

  24. Jeroen says:

    at April 5, 2010 at 7:18 pm I wrote:
    > Unfortunally I have problems with starting &
    > stopping the services.

    Solved. Clean install did the job.

    One remark;
    Sound is played on the server (if configured). This is imho a design failure.

    The only problem I have is the if you click to fast in your browser (eq IE8) then you will get error messages and need to re-login. The web interface is quite slow. (But if you are patient workable)

    Working on Ubuntu 2.6.31-20-server #58-Ubuntu SMP
    (64 bit version); The processor in this box makes it imposable to run 64 guests.

    Thanks for sharing your effort!

  25. Manuel says:

    Muchas gracias!!!

    Thank you very much!!!

    Vielen Dank!!

    Merci beaucoup!!

  26. Ajit Hatti says:

    GREAT HELP,
    Cant thank you enough….
    Thanks a lot.

    ~Ajit

  27. Jeroen says:

    Any change with Ubuntu 10.04 LTE (kernel 2.6.32-22)

    Thanks in advance

  28. Maja says:

    Tank you very much, this was a great walktrough! Really saved my day, being in a real hurry to get it to work.

  29. Marc Cortinas says:

    if i’m running 2.6.32-21 generic kernel version on ubuntu, what command should i use instead of

    sh vmware-server.2.0.1_x64-modules-2.6.30.4-fix.sh

    ?

  30. Maxime says:

    Thanks a lot!!
    That works perfectly. I was stuck with a linux-headers problem.

    One more time, Thanks a lot!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *