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[edit] Version 2

See below for information about installing version 1.

This is a guide to installing VMware Server 2.

This is by no means designed to be an extensive HowTo, it's just the steps I had to take on a new Gentoo box to get Vmware-Server 2 running.

The VMware Site has tar files on there site, I could copy this tar file to my local dists files, but as there's an ebuild in portage, I'm going to use that.

~ # eix vmware-server
  * app-emulation/vmware-server
      Available versions:  1.0.8.126538!s ~1.0.9.156507!s (~)2.0.1.156745!s (~)2.0.1.156745-r1!s
      Homepage:            http://www.vmware.com/
      Description:         VMware Server for Linux

But this shows that version 2 is masked, so I've updated /etc/portage/packages.keywords.

~ # vim /etc/portage/package.keywords 

Added the line :

~app-emulation/vmware-server-2.0.1.156745

You could use :

~ # echo "~app-emulation/vmware-server-2.0.1.156745" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords

I then tried to emerge vmware-server, it failed, I needed to include CONFIG_UNUSED_SYMBOLS In the kernel.

Re-Running emerge showed that I had the vmware-modules was masked by ~amd64 so I ran

~ # echo "app-emulation/vmware-modules ~amd64" >> /etc/portage/package.keywords  

Again re-Running emerge and I needed to include FUSE in the kernel so I've set CONFIG_FUSE_FS using vim to edit the .config file and then rebuilt the kernel as normal.

Once the kernel is updated with the above items and the keywords are set run :

~ # emerge -v vmware-server

The ebuild has to fetch a large file so the speed of this depends on your internet connection, but once the files are retrivied it's a quick emerge.

Use emerge to run the vmware-config.pl script.

~ # emerge vmware-server --config

What you select in this config script will be down to your system, for me the defaults work fine. You can always edit the setting afterwards.

• IIRC, you'll have to do this if you update your kernel.

You'll need to get a serial number from the VMWare Site

http://www.vmware.com/download/server/

You might need to start the server

~ # /etc/init.d/vmware start

You will need update rc too

~ # rc-update add vmware default

Before you can access the web ui you need to add a user to the vmware group

~ # usermod -a -G vmware {username}

Note the -a, this is important because without it you'll unset the current groups.

That should give you a working vmware-server test it using :

~ # vmware

You'll need to add the execption to firefox or your chosen browser.

[edit] Version 1

Installing vmware-server 1.x fails at the time of this writing. The required version of vmware-modules is 1.0.0.15, and they fail to compile with the well-known error message

 /var/tmp/portage/app-emulation/vmware-modules-1.0.0.15-r2/work/vmmon-only/./include/compat_wait.h:60: error: 
     conflicting types for 'poll_initwait' include/linux/poll.h:70: error: previous declaration of 'poll_initwait' was here

In order to get it going, try the following (after having set up the other prerequisites like a kernel that supports vmware):

Install layman, make sure that /var/lib/layman/make.conf exists and that it contains the (possibly empty) variable PORTDIR_OVERLAY, and then add the go-vmware overlay like this:

   layman --overlays=http://ftp.mars.arge.at/pub/overlay/geos_one-overlay.xml --add=go-vmware

Sync the overlay repository:

   layman -S

Unmask the relevant packages by putting these two lines into /etc/portage/package.keywords

   =app-emulation/vmware-server-1.0.10.203137 ~x86
   =app-emulation/vmware-modules-138.10 ~x86

These are the correct versions at the time of this writing. Your milage may vary.

You have to activate a use flag for vmware-modules:

   app-emulation/vmware-modules init_mm-patch

Now compile everything:

   emerge -av vmware-server

You have to configure vmware like usual:

   /opt/vmware/server/bin/vmware-config.pl

And off you go. If vmware-server-console hangs, when trying to connect to the server, check /var/log/messages:

   Jun 23 16:44:42 somename xinetd[1338]: START: vmware-authd pid=5769 from=10.0.0.40
   Jun 23 16:44:42 somename xinetd[5769]: FAIL: vmware-authd address from=10.0.0.40
   Jun 23 16:44:42 somename xinetd[1338]: EXIT: vmware-authd status=0 pid=5769 duration=0(sec)

That can happen because you did not read the message after building vmware-server:

* Remember by default xinetd only allows connections from localhost
* To allow external users access to vmware-server you must edit
*     /etc/xinetd.d/vmware-authd
* and specify a new 'only_from' line

You also have to make sure that the user that wants to connect is a member of the group "vmware". This is also true for the superuser (root):

   $ grep vmware /etc/group
   vmware:x:1003:root