Command Reference for VMware ESX Server

To launch VMware ESX Server on a Linux host operating system, use the following command:

vmware [-x ] [-X ] [-q ] [/<path_to_config>/<config.cfg> ] [<X toolkit options>]

The following table describes the options you can pass with the vmware command.

Option	Description	Example
-x	Automatically powers on the virtual machine when VMware ESX Server starts. Including this option when starting VMware ESX Server is equivalent to setting the Power on when program starts option in the Configuration Editor. See Configuring the automation properties of a virtual machine for details.
-X	Automatically powers on the virtual machine, then switches the VMware ESX Server window to full screen mode.
-q	Exits VMware ESX Server when the virtual machine powers off. This option is particularly useful when the guest operating system is capable of powering off the virtual machine.
`/path_to_config/<config.cfg>`	Launches a virtual machine instance based on the specified configuration file.	/home/user/myvms/win2000/win2000.cfg
<X toolkit options>	Options for X toolkit can be passed with this command as arguments. However, some of them are ignored; for example, options that influence the size and title of the VMware ESX Server window are ignored.