Chapter 4: Virtual Machine Configuration and Operation
4.2 The VMware Configuration Wizard
Use the VMware Configuration Wizard when you first configure a guest operating system under VMware.
The term wizard is just a fancy name for a program that attempts to simplify a larger program’s setup the first time through by boiling down the steps to series of questions. But the wizard doesn’t always get everything
right—after using it, you may need to enter the more powerful Configuration Editor to fix things.
Once you start VMware and get the licensing out of the way, you’ll have the option of starting the VMware Configuration Wizard right away. If you choose it, a new greeting window appears with a number of buttons along the bottom: Help, Cancel, Prev, Next, and Finish. To begin, click Next. If at any point you feel that you messed up something, click the Prev button to go to the previous screen. Some screens also have an Advanced button to bring up more settings.
The wizard is slightly different between the two kinds of host system. Under Windows, it’s also called the New Virtual Machine Wizard.
To bring up the wizard in a Windows host system, click the New Virtual Machine icon or select the New Virtual Machine option from the File • New menu. The first thing the wizard asks you is how you want to configure the machine. For a Windows host system, there are three options: Typical, Custom, and VMware Guest OS Kit. Typical gives you only the most basic options, and Custom adds several more configuration screens. Guest system kits, on the other hand, not only create the configuration but also install the guest operating system on the virtual machine.
The Linux Configuration Wizard operates much like the Windows wizard in Custom mode, but some of the screens are in a different order.
The next section takes you through the rest of the VMware Configuration Wizard.
4.2.1 Stepping Through the VMware Configuration Wizard
Here are all of the hardware configuration questions that the VMware Configuration Wizard can ask you.
Windows Select a Guest Operating System
Linux Guest Operating System
The wizard asks you which Guest Operating System you plan to run on this virtual machine. You’ll need to select one before continuing.
Windows Name the Virtual Machine
Linux Virtual Machine Display Name and Directory
The wizard now wants to know the virtual machine’s name and its directory, which is where the files associated with this virtual machine will be stored. Be sure that the directory doesn’t already exist, since you may accidentally overwrite an existing configuration or otherwise clutter it up. Click Next after the guest operating system and directory configuration; the next screen depends on your host system and on the
configuration option you chose. For a Windows host, if you chose a Typical configuration, the questions stop here, and you’ll see a final confirmation screen. For Custom, the questions continue. If you’re using a Linux host system, the wizard asks you about the disk, CD−ROM, and floppy drives before the networking steps.
Windows Memory for the Virtual Machine
Linux (Not present)
Here you specify the amount of memory for the virtual machine. If this is your first time through, keep the default value.
Windows Select a Network Connection
Linux Networking Setting
There are several options here: No networking, Bridged networking, Host−only networking, NAT networking, and combinations. Bridged networking sets up a virtual Ethernet interface just like the one already inside your computer (that is, if you have an Ethernet interface). Host−only networking creates a virtual network inside your machine, meant only for communication between the guest and host operating systems. NAT networking is like host−only networking, but enables connections from guest systems to an external network. We’ll go into much more detail about networking in Chapters 9 and 10.
If you’ve never done any network setup before, choosing an option may seem difficult, but any selection is safe because you can always use the Configuration Editor to change it later, and it’s easy to remove unwanted interfaces in a guest operating system.
Windows Select a Disk
Linux Disk Type Setting
Next is the Disk Type Setting, which refers to the kind of disk you want to attach to the virtual machine. You have three options: New virtual disk, Existing virtual disk, and Existing physical disk.
If you choose the virtual disk, the virtual disk appears as a file on your host operating system (by default in the directory you chose in the previous question). Next, you’re asked how large the virtual disk should be. The size can be up to 128 GB (128,000 MB) for an IDE disk on a Windows host, or 64 GB on a Linux host. If you don’t have that much free space on the partition you chose for the virtual machine directory, the wizard warns you about it, but still lets you create the virtual disk, because the virtual disk size is initially small and grows as needed. (You can later move the virtual disk file to a larger partition on your host system and update this configuration with the Configuration Editor.)
An existing virtual disk is a virtual disk file that you created earlier and want to use with a new virtual machine.
If you choose an existing physical (or raw) disk, the wizard presents a list of available hard disks on your host system, and you have to navigate through tables of disk partitions and permissions. Because raw disks are an advanced option, you should read the “Physical (Raw) Disks” section on page 56 if you want to proceed with this option.
Once you complete all of the questions, the wizard displays a summary of the new configuration. Just click Finish or Done to finish and create all necessary files and directories (the wizard displays this information).
You’re now ready to turn on your virtual machine.
Linux−only Questions
There are two wizard questions that only appear in VMware Workstation for Linux. In the CD−ROM Device Setting option, you can choose to disable the new virtual machine’s CD−ROM, or pick a drive on the host system that you want to use for the virtual machine’s CD−ROM. Under Windows, the wizard lets you choose from a list, but if Linux is your host operating system, you may need to type something. (Most distributions create a symbolic link /dev/cdrom to the CD−ROM device, so the default will probably work.)
Note Choose Start with the CD−ROM connected if you want the drive to be immediately available when you power on the virtual machine. This setting is useful if you’re installing a new guest operating system.
The Floppy Device Setting screen works just like the CD−ROM settings. Linux floppy devices are normally
/dev/fd0 and /dev/fd1. As with the CD−ROM drive, you can keep the floppy drive disconnected when you activate the virtual machine.