Using VMware Tools

It is very important that you install VMware Tools in the guest operating system. Although VMware ESX Server can run a guest operating system without VMware Tools, you lose out on important functionality and convenience.

When you install VMware Tools, you install

The VMware SVGA driver.
The VMware guest operating system service (or guest service).
The VMware Tools control panel.
A set of default scripts that can run when the virtual machine’s power state changes.

With the VMware SVGA driver installed, VMware ESX Server supports up to 32-bit displays and high display resolution, with significantly faster overall graphics performance. If you run a guest operating system without VMware Tools, the graphics environment within the virtual machine is limited to VGA mode graphics (640x480, 16 color) and display performance may be unsatisfactory.

The VMware guest operating system service performs various duties within the guest operating system, such as passing messages from the host operating system to the guest operating system, sending a heartbeat to VMware ESX Server and synchronizing the time between the guest operating system and the console operating system. The guest service starts automatically when the guest operating system boots.

Other tools in the package make it more convenient to use your virtual machine by supporting the following enhancements. Note that these enhancements are available only when VMware Tools is running.

Time synchronization between console and guest operating systems
Note: You can synchronize the time between the guest and console operating systems only whenthe time in the guest operating system is earlier than the time set in the server.
Automatic grab and release of the mouse cursor
Copying and pasting between the management workstation and the guest or from one virtual machine to another
Improved networking performance

In a Windows guest, you can access the VMware Tools control panel through the Windows Control Panel (choose Start > Settings > Control Panel > VMware Tools) or via the VMware Tools icon in the system tray, where it appears by default.

In a Linux guest, the VMware Tools control panel is called vmware-toolbox. It can be launched manually as a background process from a terminal using
vmware-toolbox &

With some window managers, you can place the command to start VMware Tools in a startup configuration so VMware Tools starts automatically when you start your graphical environment. Consult your window manager’s documentation for details.

Installation files for VMware Tools for all supported Windows, Linux, NetWare (experimental) and FreeBSD guest operating systems are built into VMware ESX Server.

Using VMware Tools

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