SUSE Studio VMware Howtos

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Note to VMware howtos

• Virtual machines in the VMware format are similar to disk images, but with special information which specifies memory and hard drive sizes.
• To use these images, simply open the file in VMware, VMware player, or VirtualBox.
• This set of howtos are specific to vmware machines. They are focused on changing some stuff after the image is build but usually after booting for the first time.
• Direct links to other howto sections: General | KDE | Gnome | VMware | VirtualBox | DiskImage (USB stick) | LiveCD/DVD (.iso)

How to enable VMWare ESX support

• The VMware image produced by SUSE Studio is not directly capable of running on VMware ESX. You have to convert the .vmdk file first using this command:

 esxhost # vmkfstools -i original.vmdk new.vmdk

• Then:

1. Create a new VM with the VMware Virtual Infrastructure Client
2. Specify that you have an existing disk you want to use for this VM
3. Select the .vmdk you created in the previous step.

How to make preallocated disks for better performance

• You can convert a growable virtual disk (which is what SUSE Studio creates) to a preallocated disk with 'vmware-vdiskmanager'. It is bundled with the standard VMWare installation.
• Preallocated disks offer better I/O performance over growable ones at expense of disk space.

• The following command converts the growable "sourceDisk.vmdk" to a preallocated "destinationDisk.vmdk":

 vmware-vdiskmanager -r sourceDisk.vmdk -t 2 destinationDisk.vmdk

How to change hardware on vmware

• All hardware in vmware is defined into the .vmx file. This is a text file you can edit with any text editor. Be careful when editing this file. Also, edit this file before any boot, as on the first boot the hardware detection will happen and it would be too late to make permanent changes.

How to change configurations on vmware disc

• Use vmware-tools. In short, use the vmware-mount tool utility. This way you can mount the disc and change configurations before you boot.

How to add a new ethernet

• See how to change hardware on vmware

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