I’m now happily using VMWare Workstation 6.0 to check some build errors in Ubuntu Gutsy without risking an upgrade of my actual system.
I have used VMWare Workstation 5.5 lots, but the need to rebuild the kernel module with vmware-config.pl every few weeks (when the Ubuntu kernel was updated automatically) tended to break my habit, particularly when there are build errors due to changed Linux kernel headers. And I couldn’t get either Ubuntu Feisty or Ubuntu Gutsy to boot in Workstation 5.5 after installing them inside a virtual machine. Maybe that’s something to do with the hack that’s needed to build the vmware kernel module on an up-to-date Ubuntu Feisty. There was no such problem with 6.0, at least for now.
I noticed that Ubuntu has vmware kernel modules available via Synaptic/apt-get, but I couldn’t get them to install without errors, maybe because I already had them installed manually. I don’t know if vmware’s installation script has any way of using or getting them from the Ubuntu repository instead of building them.
Why not just use KVM or KQEmu? I use them all the time to test software. They’re a little slower than VMWare but I find them a lot more convenient.
> Why not just use KVM or KQEmu?
Sounds like a troll from an open source zealot, but I’ll bite.
Let’s see, in no particular order:
Because VMware’s GUI is much more integrated with my desktop of choice (Gnome).
Because I can use my VMware VMs on any platform (Linux, Windows, Mac OS).
Because VMware is blinding fast.
Because I get real commercial support when I have a problem.
Well Pierre Lefranc, can we try to keep our disucssion civil?
Any platform? Sparc, PowerPC, etc? Hey, you brought it up.
VMWare is hardly blindingly fast. 2.6.23’s KVM is a little faster for my workloads and there’s still a lot of room for improvement in both products.
VMWare license issues are a hassle. There’s nothing like being locked out of your own VM (happened to me a year ago).
There are benefits to using KVM and there are benefits to using VMWare. Personally, I use both. But I’ve been using KVM more and VMware less in the past few months mostly because KVM is apt-gettable. Hey, I’m lazy. :)
I just discovered the “joy” of trying to install the “VMware Player 2.0” on my Linux box (Fedora Core 6 level).
I ended up writing a NASTY RANT and a script that does all the downloading, patching (only for FC6 i686 and kernel 2.6.22-1, it doesn’t have any sort of intelligence), and build process so after a dozen [enter] pressings, the user gets a working VMware player.
http://geekgaucho.blogspot.com/2007/08/vmware-player-fc6-blag-installer-for.html
The $1M dollar (or $99.95) question is… WHY CAN”T a commercial company get its build process and module deployment process working??.
An automated build script that identifies the kernel and applies all patches necessary (or retrieves them from a central repository) would be a good start.
An automated installer that just fetches pre-built modules (how many “main distros” are there? six? SUSE, REDHAT/Fedora, UBUNTU, DEBIAN, LINSPIRE, MANDRIVA?… multiply by 2 because they should ideally support the last two versions of each… that’s twelve binary modules…. multiply by two (32 and 64 bit) that’s 24 binaries… 24 files on a ftp server… they don’t have the money to do that?). (and we’re speaking about a provider of VIRTUAL MACHINES software, so they could build these in VMs as well!).
Sheesh!.
Now to the upbeat mood… nice blog Murray!.
:)
Kudos from down under
FC
Buenos Aires, Argentina