Installing VMWare Workstation 7

Over the last few days, I have been playing around with different virtualization programs to help with my Windows 2008 Server studies. My last article dealt with VMWare Server, and this article will deal with one the most heavily used application for virtualization, that is, VMWare Workstation. The program has undergone many changes since the last time I used it way back in 2000. Before rushing to install this nifty program, make sure that you have the proper system specs. Your PC will host the VMs, and it is called the Host OS; VMs are called Guest OS. For system requirements, you can get to the company’s published page by clicking here. Now that you have the requirements for the software, and downloaded the trial version (if not purchased)–let’s install it.

1. Double left-click the downloaded exe file. A load-up screen should appear:

2. This will take a couple of seconds to move on to the setup screen. When it does appear, click Next.

3. Now you should be looking at the Setup Type screen:

From the two options that you are given here, choose Typical. Then click Next.

4. Next up is to specify where you want to install the application. Leave the default settings or choose where you want to install it. Click Next.

5. The screen that appears is “Create Shortcuts” which allows you to access VMWare in a variety of ways. All choices are checked by default; uncheck those that don’t quite suit your taste.

6. Click Next. Now its time for the actual installation to begin–Click Continue. Click back if you need to review previous selections.

Here’s a screenshot of the installation progress:

As the network packages for VMWare are being installed, you will be prompted by your firewall software (if you have one) to acknowledge the newly discovered networks, just like VMWare Server did. In VMWare networking, there are two packages–one for NAT and another for Host-Only, and one driver for Bridging; when creating the VM, you will have the choice of these three types of networking.  Simply acknowledge the discoveries in your firewall.

7. When the installation is finished, it is time to enter a serial number. When you are finished entering data, click Enter.

Now the installation is fully completed, and you will be warned for a reboot.

After restarting my PC, I have the VMWare Workstation quick-access icon in my system tray.

From that icon, you can get to the VMWare console and start adding VMs. How did it go for you?

If you’re looking to create a VM and then install an OS, you would go about doing it the same way like VMWare Server.

Using VMWare Server 2.0

In this last article, we will create a VM then install an OS. If you have read one of my previous articles on creating VMs, it’s basically the same process. Requirements to complete these tasks:

1. Installing VMWare Server

2. Starting up VMWare Server

If all is done correctly, let’s go take a look! Just keep in mind, everything is done through the web browser.

Reference Screenshot before VM creation:

1. On the right column, we will click the “Create a Virtual Machine” command.

2. Specify a name for the VM.

What is datastore?

Datastores are storage locales in VMware Server 2.0. – “Article by Rick Vanover”

3. Click Next. This screen allows us to choose our OS. In our example, I will choose Windows 2008 32-bit.

4. Clicking Next leads to RAM and CPU adjustments. By default, VMWare Server chooses 1GB RAM for Windows 2008 while the number of processors is one for all OS. I adjusted only RAM to 512MB.

5. Once you are satisfied with the VM’s RAM size click Next. The time has now come to create our VHD.

Click on “Create a New Disk”. The new screen gives you the chance to specify size and location for the VHD along with other options.

I suggest that you go to the physical hard disk where you specified to save VMs (in Part I) and create folders matching the names of the VHDs. This keeps things and yourself organized. 🙂 In my example above, I named my VHD NY-DC1-2K8, so I created a folder of the same name.

6. Click Next to proceed with our VM creation. Here we will have to choose a network adapter so that the VM can get to the Internet or talk to the host or other VMs.

So, let’s click on “Add a network Adapter”.

In the screenshot above, we have to configure the type of network adapter to be used. Three options are presented:

a. Bridged

b. Host-Only

c. NAT

Choose one that suits your needs and make sure that the “Connect at power on” is checked. When the VM is started, the network adapater will be present, just like when you hook up a second network adapter to your motherboard. Click Next when finished.

7. Now we have to choose what type of Media we will use for the VM.

Once again, we have some options to choose from. As with previous posts, I am in favor of using ISOs, so nothing new here; the ISO I will use is of Windows Server 2008 . Choose according to what you have. Click Next when you have a decision. However, I will show screenshots of each choice, also notice the check box option:

Once again, as suggested with VHD naming, if you plan to use ISOs as I did, move the ISOs to the hard disk where you plan on saving the VMs.

8. In our new modern age, who still uses a floppy drive or floppy diskette! Not me, and I am sure, not you either. This is our next screenshot presented by VMWare Server.

No need for me to tell you what my choice was here. NEXT! (The Soup Nazi Tone)

9. Interestingly, when comparing the 2007 version of VPC to this application, USB Controller didn’t exist as a choice for a VM. VMWare and other brands have all incorporated a USB Controller choice when creating a VM.

I chose to add this piece hardware to my VM…you never know what’ll happen. Click Next.

9. The new screen gives you a summary of what was done and to add more hardware if need be. Also, there is an option to Power on the VM after clicking finish.

Basically we’re done; all that’s left is to click Finish.

Reference Screenshot after VM Creation:

As VMs get created, it also gets populated in the Inventory column with verification in the Task area. There’s no need to show the installation of the OS since that was shown in the Virtual Box article. When you’re done using VMWare Server for the day, simply logoff…as I am doing now.

Starting up VMWare Server 2.0

Now that you have restarted the PC and the installation process is finished, it’s time to get the application to work. Remember, that this is a web-based program, so it will open up in the web using https.

1. Click the Windows bubble and click on All Programs; look for the VMWare folder. Expand the folder.

2. Click on the VMWare Server folder.

3. Click on “VMWare Server Home Page” to access the application.

4. The homepage will not load because the certificate produced by the local machine cannot be verified by the certificate authority (CA). Simply continue–the certificate will be installed, and you’ll be able to access the web application.

5. How do you know that the application is accessible? Take a look at the screenshot.

You’ll get the login prompt. This is just like accessing Netgear or Linksys router configuration page.

6. Now you’re stumped??!!**&& What the heck is my login name and password??? The email VMWare sent me didn’t specify all this information. The answer here is very simple:

Login Name: IS YOUR COMPUTER LOGIN NAME (Example: I login as Andy, thus login name is Andy)

Password: YOUR PASSWORD FOR THE ABOVE USER NAME (The password will be Andy’s password.)

7. After entering the user credentials, the application will connect:

8. When the connection has been established, you can now access the application’s features:

That’s how we start-up VMWare Server the first time. After this, you’ll get the login prompt each time you try to access the application. The certificate issue shouldn’t be a problem anymore unless it expires or it was removed during some kind of PC maintenance.

Observations to look at:

1. Security — padlock at the bottom of the web-page since we’re using https.

2. Inventory – the left column; basically this is the server/host computer or domain where VMs will be stored.

3. Server/Host or Domain Information – the center column; info on computer specs, any VMs, tasks or events associated with the sever/domain, etc., respectively.

4. Quick Access commands – the right column; just like VMWare Workstation’s Home Tab.

Back to Part I of the article, or just move on ahead to last part.

Installing VMWare Server 2.0 on Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Since things were getting a little stale with my MCITP practice with VPC, Virtual Box, and even VMWare Workstation, I decided that I would go higher and try VMWare Server–almost like VMWare Infrastructure. Also, I have broken down what I did into three articles. This article, Part I, shows step-by-step instructions of the software after you have applied for a license key and downloaded the program from VMWare. Let’s go!

1. Double left-click on the downloaded software, and this is what you should see:

2. Just wait for the preparation bar to reach the end. This is the next screen you should see:

3. Click Next to get the License Agreement screen:

4. To proceed to the next screen, select Yes then Next.

5. You should now be on the “Destination Folder” screen, where you will specify where to install the application (I left mine at the default value):

6. Click Next. This screen is where you will configure server information:

Since I don’t have FQDN for a website, the value should be “local host” or the name of your computer. The ports are default values. This is how you will connect to the software, which is web-based. Before proceeding, go to the top of the box where you see the storage path for virtual machines (in this example, D:\Virtual Machines\), just remember to specify a location if there is one. Click Next to proceed.

7. Next up is to configure shortcuts for the program; choose options that matches your taste, and click Next:

8. All that’s left is to click the install button:

9. At this point you’ll be able to see the installation progress:

During the installation, at the network installation part, your firewall may prompt you because VMWare is installing its network device drivers and the firewall found new network connections. On my PC, I am using COMODO Firewall with AV, and it prompted me about the new networks it discovered.

10. After the install progress is done, the serial number screen will appear:

11. Enter that information and click Enter. The finish screen will appear, just click Finish. You will then be prompted to restart the computer. It’s up to you–restart if you want to start using the application, don’t if you have other tasks to do.

That’s it! The actual install process is short and there shouldn’t be any issues with it. Happy install! Onto Part II.

Link to Application Information Page: VMWare Server 2.0

Using Sun VirtualBox to Install Windows 2008

Installing an OS using a virtualization software is a two-step process: building the VM just like assembling a PC, then the actual installation of the OS. This is a straightforward process and there shouldn’t be any hiccups. Just be aware about hardware criteria, especially RAM, Hard Disk Space, and type network to be used.

The hardware specs on my machine for running Sun VirtualBox and it’s created VMs are:

RAM = 8GB

CPU = AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual-Core 6400+

Hard Disk = Seagate Barracuda 320GB SATA

Network Adapter = 802.11 N Wireless LAN Card (USB)

OS = Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

PART I – BUILDING THE VM

After VirtualBox’s installation (from an earlier article, December 2009), VirtualBox’s console should be opened marking our starting point:

The  VirtualBox console is empty because no VMs were ever created; as VMs are created, they get populated in the open white space.

Let’s get started!

1. Click on the New icon, which is located below File. A wizard should pop-up welcoming you to the “Create” a VM environment.

2. Click Next for the next step, which requires two pieces of data:

a. VM Name – Something specific to exercise or easy to remember. For example, DC1, since I plan on making this my domain controller.

b. OS Type – Select Microsoft for OS and Windows 2008 for version from the drop-down menus.

3. Click Next. Now it’s time for RAM adjusting. I am using the minimum RAM requirement for Windows Server 2008–512MB. You can specify any amount based on how much you have available for use. Just remember, when you start up the VM, RAM gets taken away from the host computer thereby affecting the host’s overall performance, especially if you have less than 1-2GB.

4. Click Next. Now I am presented with options for the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD). I left the default options as shown in the picture below.

5. Click Next. The “Create New Virtual Disk” wizard now pops-up. Click Next.

6. Now I have to specify what my VHD storage type will be. It’s always good to choose “dynamic”. Dynamic simply means the size of the VHD changes as files/programs are added there until it reaches the specified amount, which in effect describes what is happening to the host’s physical drive. Space is gradually taken away from the host’s hard disk. The other option to allocate now means that the specified size is taken away from the host’s physical hard disk capacity right away.

7. Click Next. Here I will specify VHD capacity and where to save the created VHD.

a. Location – you can choose anywhere. I saved mine on the hard drive that I use for virtualization.

b. Amount – minimum is 15GB if you do not plan on updating; I will use 40GB as I follow video tutorials for MCITP.

8. Click Next, then Finish.

9. After clicking on Finish from Step 8, VirtualBox will now present the Summary Page for the VM. All that’s left for us to do is click Finish.

The VM has been created, and now populated in the console. Compare the first picture to this one.

At this point, if you need to change some settings, simply click on any of the blue links under the Details tab or the Settings icon, thus bring up the Settings dialog box. Basically, it’s like building a computer from scratch.

On to part 2.

PART II -INSTALLING THE OS

Before starting the OS installation process, I use ISO images rather than DVDs, so I need to specify the image’s location then start up the VM. It’s just like inserting the DVD then booting from it after the POST operation. The following steps are for ISO images only.

1. Click on the “Settings” icon.

2. In the picture below, select empty. The icon for empty is a disc. Information for the device is located on the right–CD/DVD Device: Empty. Why? The drive was not selected; this can be easily remedied by choosing the DVD-ROM from the drop-down list. In my case, I will click on the yellow folder, which is called the Virtual Media Manager.

3. In this step, I will add the ISO image of the OS–in this example, Windows Server 2008. Click Add. This will bring up the location dialog box where you can point to the ISO to be used. In this instance, I added multiple ISO’s  future use.

4. After adding the ISO or multiple ISOs, it is time to select the one for the OS installation. Highlight the ISO that you will use and click select.

5. Now I am back to the settings box where it said my CD/DVD was empty. Take a look now! It is no longer empty. It basically specifies what’s in the device. Click OK.

6. I am now back at the console. Click Start or the Green Arrow to start-up the VM.

7. As it starts, the BIOS screen loads up quickly then booting the ISO directly.

8. The Microsoft load bar will show up for a couple of seconds the a gray background will show up with the beginning of the Windows 2008 install.

9. After verifying the information, click Next. The new screen simply asks to click to the “Install Now” button.

10. This screen presents install versions for Windows Server 2008. I will choose the Enterprise version since most businesses will use this. You should choose the appropriate version for your server.

11. Next up is the license agreement…accept the terms and click next.

12. The next screen presents two installation options: Upgrade or Custom. Choose Upgrade if you going from a previous Windows Server OS or Custom for a fresh new installation. In this picture, I am only given one option, custom, since I have not used any other version or have any previous ones installed. Click on Custom to continue.

13. After choosing the install type, now we have to select where to install the OS. In this picture, I have only one option for a disk, so click next. Remember, that I had created the VHD earlier, and now I will use that for the OS.

14. The actual installation now begins…sit back and enjoy a cup of coffee.

15. The computer will restart a couple of times before the “Welcome” screen appears. Before the welcome scree appears, the OS will ask for a password change for the Administrator account. Since this is the first time that Windows Server 2008 is installed, there is no old password. All I have to do is create a new password. Click OK to begin changing the password and confirm it.

16. When finished with the password reset, click on the arrow. There will be an acknowledgment that the password has been changed.

17. The last step is to click OK. A wizard will appear where you can perform tasks such as, setting date and time, IP configuration, changing computer name, enabling windows update, etc.

That’s all she wrote folks!