You can run scripts in the guest operating system when you change the power state of a virtual machine; that is, when you power on, power off, suspend or resume the virtual machine.

Scripts can help automate guest operating system operations when you change the virtual machine's power state.

You perform these power operations from the toolbar buttons and menus in the VMware Virtual Machine Console and the VMware Management Interface.

You can configure scripts to run automatically when you use the power buttons on the toolbar by choosing VM > Settings > Options > Power, then checking the appropriate options under Run VMware Tools scripts.

Scripts can be executed only when the VMware Tools service is running. The service is a part of VMware Tools, so VMware Tools must be running in the guest in order for scripts to run. The service starts by default when you start the guest operating system. For more information about the VMware Tools service, see About the VMware Tools Service.

Default scripts are included in VMware Tools. On a Windows host, the default script executed when you suspend a virtual machine releases the IP address of the virtual machine, while the default script executed when you resume a virtual machine renews the IP address of the virtual machine (this affects only virtual machines configured to use DHCP). On a Linux host, the default script executed when you suspend a virtual machine stops networking for the virtual machine, while the default script executed when you resume a virtual machine starts networking for the virtual machine.

In addition, you can create your own scripts. The scripts you can run must be batch files for Windows hosts, but can be any executable format (such as shell or Perl scripts) for Linux hosts. You should have a thorough familiarity with these types of scripts before you modify the default scripts or create your own.

If you create your own scripts, you must associate each script with its particular power operation. For more information, see Choosing Scripts for VMware Tools to Run During Power State Changes for Windows guests and Choosing Scripts for VMware Tools to Run During Power State Changes for Linux guests.

In order for scripts and their associated power operations to work, the following conditions must be met:

1. The VMware Tools service must be running in the virtual machine.

2. The version of VMware Tools must be updated to the current version. If you are using a virtual machine created with an older version of GSX Server or another older VMware product, update VMware Tools to the version included in this release.

3. Depending upon the operation the script performs, the virtual machine must have a virtual network adapter connected, otherwise the power operation fails.