This doc has been converted into an itinfo article. The draft is here. To avoid version skew, send edits directly to aurora@mit.edu.

Portions from VMware Workstation Installation Manual (pdf)

  1. If you are upgrading from a previous installation of VMware Workstation, close any open virtual machines and make sure the VMware Workstation is not running.
  2. Download "VMware Workstation 6.0.2" from IS&T's VMware Distribution Site.
    There are 4 choices depending on whether you are installing on 32 bit or 64 hardware, and offering you an RPM or tar style install. These instructions are for the RPM style of installation.
    For 32 bit hardware download:
    VMware Workstation 6.0.2 for Linux 32-bit (RPM installation)
    For 64 bit hardware download:
    VMware Workstation 6.0.2 for Linux 64-bit (RPM installation)
    *Note: If you intend to run 64 bit virtual machine images, you MUST have installed VMware Workstation on 64 bit hardware with appropriate virtualization assists. For details see the VMware knowledgebase article:Hardware and Firmware Requirements for 64-Bit Guest Operating Systems
  3. Become root
  4. Install the package, for example:

    # rpm -Uvh VMware-workstation-6.0.2-59824.i386.rpm

  1. Run the vmware configuration program:

    # vmware-config.pl

A transcript of sample run of this config file is at vmware-config-out

If you have not installed the VPN client, you will not see the sections about cipsec0.
If you have installed VPN client, you may decide you wish to route your virtual machines
through VPN. If so, you would choose cipsec0 instead of eth0.

  1. Exit root. The rest of the use of VMware can be done as a non-administrative user.
  1. To start vmware do:

    % vmware &

    Under RHEL 5 you may see: 
    /usr/share/themes/Clearlooks/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:59: error: unexpected identifier `animation', expected character `}'
/usr/share/themes/Clearlooks/gtk-2.0/gtkrc:59: error: unexpected identifier `animation', expected character `}'

This is a harmless error.

Then you will see the VMware End User License pop-up.

Review the license, confirm you are comfortable agreeing to it, and then click on the Accept button.

When the VMware main window first pops up you will also see a tip of the day:

You will see a tip every time you start vmware unless you clear the check box and disable
the tip of the day.

The VMware main window will look like this:

You can now use or create virtual machines. If you need help doing this see the page Creating Virtual Machines in Linux VMware Workstation.

Before VMware will allow you to actually power up a virtual machine, you need to specify a licence key called a Serial Number. This number was sent to you via email when you accepted the VMware license back when you visited the MIT download site.

To set the serial number now choose the menu item:

Help->Enter Serial Number...

Enter your name in the Name box, MIT in the Company box, and the license key in the Serial Number box.

If you do not set the serial number, the first time you attempt to power up a virtual machine, you will see an alert box that looks like this:

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