This guest operating system is supported on the following VMware products:
Note: If you are installing a guest operating system through VMware VirtualCenter, be sure it is supported under the VMware product - ESX Server or GSX Server - on which you are running the virtual machine.
Be sure to read General Guidelines for All VMware Products as well as this guide to installing your specific guest operating system.
The easiest method of installing SUSE LINUX 9.1 in a virtual machine is to use the standard SUSE LINUX distribution CDs. The notes below describe an installation using the standard distribution CD; however, installing SUSE LINUX 9.1 via the boot floppy/network method is supported as well. If your VMware product supports it, you may also install from a PXE server.
Before installing the operating system, be sure that you have already created and configured a new virtual machine.
ESX Server: Only the BusLogic virtual SCSI adapter is supported in a SUSE LINUX 9.1 virtual machine.
This completes basic installation of the SUSE LINUX 9.1 guest operating system.
Be sure to install VMware Tools in your guest operating system. For details, see the manual for your VMware product or follow the appropriate link in the knowledge base article at www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=340.
VMware GSX Server: The sound device is disabled by default and must be enabled with the virtual machine settings editor (VM > Settings) after the operating system has been installed. To set up the virtual machine to play sound, see Configuring Sound in the GSX Server documentation.
On some host systems, the SUSE LINUX 9.1 installer attempts to use a kernel that is incompatible with the ACPI features of the virtual hardware. To work around this problem, open the virtual machine's configuration file in a text editor and add the following line:
acpi.present = FALSE
You should then be able to install and run a SUSE LINUX 9.1 guest operating system.
Installation from a DVD may stop at the Software item under Installation Settings with the following error message: No base selection available. ERROR: No proposal. SUSE has seen this problem on both physical and virtual machines. To work around the problem inside a virtual machine, type the following at the boot prompt as you begin the installation:
linux cdromdevice=/dev/hdc
Replace /dev/hdc with the appropriate device name if your CD-ROM device is not the master device on the second IDE channel. The installation should then proceed normally.
If the clock in your guest operating system runs too quickly or too slowly, use one of the workarounds described in the knowledge base article at www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1420.
In some cases, networking does not work properly in a copied virtual machine. If you copy a virtual machine and specify that the copy should have a unique identifier, the MAC addresses for any virtual Ethernet adapters attached to the virtual machine change. When a SUSE LINUX 9.1 guest operating system is installed, it includes the MAC address as part of a key configuration filename. When the virtual machine's MAC address changes, the guest operating system may fail to associate this configuration file with the virtual Ethernet adapter. If you experience this problem, you can work around it by copying or renaming the file. For eth0, for example, make the following change:
Old name:
/etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth0-id-<MAC_address>
New name:
/etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth0
VMware Workstation or VMware GSX Server: On a Linux host with an XFree86 3.x X server, it is best not to run a screen saver in the guest operating system. Guest screen savers that demand a lot of processing power can cause the X server on the host to freeze.