VMware Tools Settings

VMware ESX Server 2.0

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The following description of the settings for VMware Tools is based on a Windows 2000 guest operating system. Similar configuration options are available in VMware Tools for other guest operating systems.

To open the VMware Tools control panel, double-click the VMware Tools icon in the virtual machine's system tray. The VMware Tools Properties dialog box appears.

Setting Options with VMware Tools

You can specify time synchronization and the display of the VMware Tools icon in the Options tab.

Time synchronization — You can specify whether you want to synchronize the time in the guest operating system with the time in the service console.
Note: You can synchronize the time in the guest operating system with the time in the service console only when the time in the guest is earlier than the time in the service console.
VMware Tools icon display in the taskbar — If you choose not to display the VMware Tools icon in the system tray, you can launch the control panel from the Start menu (Start > Settings > Control Panel > VMware Tools).

Connecting Devices with VMware Tools

You can enable or disable removable devices in the Devices tab.

The devices you can enable or disable include the server machine's floppy disk drive, the CD-ROM drive and the virtual network interface card. You can also set these options from the Devices menu of the ESX Server remote console window.

Choosing Scripts for VMware Tools to Run During Power State Changes

Through VMware Tools, you can run scripts that execute when you power on, power off, suspend or resume the virtual machine.

A default script for each power state is included in VMware Tools. These scripts are located in the guest operating system in C:\Program Files\VMware.


When You ...	This Default Script Runs
Suspend the guest operating system	`suspend-vm-default.bat`
Resume the guest operating system	`resume-vm-default.bat`
Shut down the guest operating system	`poweroff-vm-default.bat`
Power on the guest operating system	`poweron-vm-default.bat`

For each power state, you can use the default script or you can substitute a script you created. In addition, you can test a script or disable the running of a script. Complete the following steps.

In the Script Event list, select the power operation with which to associate the script.
Do one of the following:
- To select a different script, click Custom Script, then click Browse and select the new script.
- To edit a script, click Edit. The script opens in your default editor. Make your changes there.
- To test the script, click Run Now.
- To disable the running of a script, uncheck the Use Script check box.
Click Apply to save your settings.

Shrinking Virtual Disks with VMware Tools

The Shrink tab lets you prepare to export a virtual disk to VMware GSX Server using the smallest possible disk files. This step is an optional part of the export process.

Virtual disks on ESX Server take up the full amount of disk space indicated by the virtual disk's size. In other words, the .dsk file for a 4GB virtual disk occupies 4GB of disk space.

GSX Server works differently. Under GSX Server, virtual disk files start small — only as big as needed to hold the data stored on the virtual disk — and grow as needed up to the designated maximum size.

If you plan to export a virtual disk for use under GSX Server, click the Shrink tab, be sure there is a check beside the name of the disk you plan to export, then click Prepare to shrink.

Note: When you export the virtual disk (using the file browser in the management interface or the vmkfstools command), a single virtual disk may be exported to multiple .dsk files.

Viewing Information About VMware Tools

On the About tab, you see general information about VMware Tools installed in the virtual machine.

This tab contains the following information:

The VMware Tools build number, which lets you verify your VMware Tools version matches the VMware ESX Server version you are running and is useful when you request support.
An indication as to whether the VMware guest operating system service is running.
A button you click to visit the VMware Web site.

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