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26 Apr 2012 Manual download and install of VMware Tools in linux

This post describes how you can download and install the latest version of VMware Tools to a linux guest from a ESXi 5.0 host. You need SSH access rights to a VMware host to follow this guide.

  1. Allow SSH access to the VMware host you are about to access.
    • This can be done in the vSphere Client: Choose the VMware host you would like to access.
    • Go to the Configuration tab and select Security Profile under Software. Edit Services Properties and start the SSH daemon.
    • Verify that the firewall allows SSH traffic
  2. All the VMware Tools are located in the /vmimages/tools-isoimages/ folder on the host. Download the ISO-image with the tools you need
    • Issue this command from a machine that has access to the VMware host.
       sftp username@vmhost.tld:/vmimages/tools-isoimages/linux.iso

      Type in your password and the download will start

  3. Mount the ISO-file and copy the VMware Tools installer file to the desired VMware linux guest using SSH
    • # mount linux.iso /media/cdrom/ -t iso9660 -o loop
      # scp /media/cdrom/VMwareTools-8.6.5-652272.tar.gz username@vmguest.tld:
  4. Manual install of VMware Tools on a vmguest as a privileged user
    • # tar xfz VMwareTools-8.6.5-652272.tar.gz
      # cd vmware-tools-distrib
      # ./vmware-install.pl

      Follow the instructions and finish the installer. A reboot may be required to load the necessary kernel modules.

Your VMware Tools are now installed and should work as it would on a normal VMware Tools installation.

This procedure can also be used on other operating systems. This is a list of all the VMware Tools ISO-images available in the /vmimages/tools-isoimages/ folder on a ESXi 5.0 host

sftp> ls -l
-rwx------    1 root     root     12576768 Apr 13 09:17 darwin.iso
-rwx------    1 root     root          256 Apr 13 09:17 darwin.iso.sig
-rwx------    1 root     root     16021504 Apr 13 09:16 freebsd.iso
-rwx------    1 root     root          256 Apr 13 09:18 freebsd.iso.sig
-rwx------    1 root     root     65200128 Apr 13 09:15 linux.iso
-rwx------    1 root     root          256 Apr 13 09:17 linux.iso.sig
-rwx------    1 root     root         1738 Apr 13 09:17 linux_avr_manifest.txt
-rwx------    1 root     root       540672 Apr 13 09:17 netware.iso
-rwx------    1 root     root          256 Apr 13 09:16 netware.iso.sig
-rwx------    1 root     root     13006848 Apr 13 09:17 solaris.iso
-rwx------    1 root     root          256 Apr 13 09:16 solaris.iso.sig
-rwx------    1 root     root          451 Apr 13 09:17 tools-key.pub
-rwx------    1 root     root     13664256 Apr 13 09:18 winPre2k.iso
-rwx------    1 root     root          256 Apr 13 09:17 winPre2k.iso.sig
-rwx------    1 root     root           49 Apr 13 09:18 winPre2k_avr_manifest.txt
-rwx------    1 root     root     62128128 Apr 13 09:17 windows.iso
-rwx------    1 root     root          256 Apr 13 09:18 windows.iso.sig
-rwx------    1 root     root         1069 Apr 13 09:17 windows_avr_manifest.txt

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14 Aug 2009 Getting VMware vSphere Client to run on Windows 7 RTM

This post describes how you can get your VMware vSphere Client version 4 running on a 32-bit Windows 7 (RTM) installation until VMware makes an update to fix this Microsoft .Net problem. Be aware that this method of getting the client to run is not recommended in a production environment since you are running the client in development mode.

First you need to edit the VpxClient.exe.config file located in your C:\Program Files\Vmware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher folder and make it look like the code below

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
<system.net>
<connectionManagement>
<clear/>
<add address="*" maxconnection="8" />
</connectionManagement>
</system.net>
<appSettings>
<add key = "protocolports" value = "https:443"/>
</appSettings>
<runtime>
<developmentMode developerInstallation="true"/>
</runtime>
</configuration>

Next we have to ensure that you we the .Net system.dll from a non Windows 7 machine.

It’s possible to download the config file and the DLL filer from here.

Place the modified config file in your C:\Program Files\Vmware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher folder.

Then we create a new folder called Lib in the folder noted above and place the downloaded DLL file in the folder.

windows-7-environment-settings
windows-7-environment-settings-2Reboot your PC and VMware vSphere Client should now work without any error messages.

Edit your system properties and create a new ‘Environment Variable” Name it “Devpath” with the value of C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\Lib. You can locate these variables under Control Panel –> System and Security –> System –> Advanced system settings

This post came to life after reading this thread on the VMware Communties discussion forum. The thread also describes how to make VMware vSphere Client to work on 64-bit Windows 7 but I’m not going to describe that in this post.

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