Installing VMServer 2 on Ubuntu 9.04

I just installed VMServer 2 on Ubuntu 9.04, and like most linux VM installs, there is a trick. Below you will find the cheet sheet version in a hope that it saves some of you some time when you go to install VMServer 2 on your Ubuntu machine. I make the assumption that you have installed things before, and maybe used VM ware in the past, but if that is not the case and you would like a more detailed guide just let me know.

0) Prep the system
Find out what kernel your running with uname -r
Install the headers with sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r` build-essential xinetd where uname is the name of your kernel.

1) Get VMWare server. http://www.vmware.com/products/server/

2) Sign up or login & don't forget to make note of your serial number

3) Download the Linux tar file, not the rpm

4) Expand the tar file
tar xvfz VMare-server-*.tar.gz

5) cd into the folder

6) Fix the installer (Otherwise you will have trouble compiling vsock)
Either - install the patch
get the patch (created by delgurth @ http://blog.delgurth.com) from http://ubuntuforums.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=94477&d=1227872015

• If you have not done the install (and assuming your still inside the expanded VMServer install folder)

patch bin/vmware-config.pl /path/to/vmware-config.pl.patch

• If you have already installed

sudo patch /usr/bin/vmware-config.pl /path/to/vmware-config.pl.patch

Or - Fix it manually (Finish install first)
tar xvf /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source/vsock.tar
cd vsock-only
sed -i 's/^\#include //' autoconf/*.c
include
make
sudo cp vsock.o /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/misc
sudo ln -s vsock.o /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/misc/vsock.ko
sudo depmod -a
sudo /etc/init.d/vmware restart

7) Install / reconfigure

• If you have not installed

sudo ./vmware-install.pl

• If you have already installed but skipped the vsock install,

sudo /usr/bin/vmware-config.pl

8) Preparing a user
During the configuration, when prompted for the admin user you can enter your user name, or, if you accepted the default, your can use root

• If your using root you will need to set a root password, since by default root on ubuntu is locked without a password (make it very strong)

sudo passwd root

9) Fixing permissions
Login by opining a web browser and going to https://server:8333
Enter root, or if you set the admin, the admins user name
Enter your password
Go to Permissions
Click on New Permission
Enter your user name
Choose the Admin role
Remove root, if root was set as the default admin user