You cannot have both VMware GSX Server and VMware Workstation on the same host machine. If you plan to install GSX Server on a host machine that already contains Workstation, you must uninstall the Workstation application first.
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Log on to your Microsoft Windows host as the Administrator user or as a user who is a member of the Windows Administrators group.
Note: On a Windows Server 2003 host, you must be logged in as a local administrator (that is, not logged in to the domain) in order to install GSX Server.
Note: Although you must be logged in as an administrator to install GSX Server, a user with normal user privileges can run the program after it is installed.
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Start the GSX Server master installer.
If you are installing from a CD, from the Start menu, choose Run and enter D:\Windows\VMware-gsx-server-installer-<xxxx>.exe, where D: is the drive letter for your CD-ROM drive and <xxxx> is a series of numbers representing the version and build numbers.
If you are installing from a downloaded file, from the Start menu, choose Run, browse to the directory where you saved the downloaded installer file (the name is similar to VMware-gsx-server-installer-<xxxx>.exe, where <xxxx> is a series of numbers representing the version and build numbers).
The master installer starts.
Click Next.
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Acknowledge the end user license agreement (EULA).
Select Yes, I accept the terms in the license agreement, then click Next.
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Choose whether you want to perform a complete or a custom installation.
Complete Installation
A complete installation installs the server software, the VMware Management Interface, the VMware Remote Console, the VmPerl Scripting API and the VmCOM Scripting API on the GSX Server host. To choose the complete installation, select Complete, then click Next.
If you want to install all the GSX Server components in a directory other than the default, click Change and browse to the directory of your choice. If the directory does not exist, the installer creates it for you.
Caution: GSX Server must be installed on a local drive, not a network drive.
Note: Windows and the Microsoft Installer limit the length of a path to a folder to 255 characters for a path to a folder on a local drive and 240 characters for a path to a folder on a mapped or shared drive. If the path to the GSX Server program folder exceeds this limit, an error message appears. You must select or enter a shorter path.
When you are ready to continue, click Next and go to step 5.
Custom Installation
A custom installation lets you pick and choose which components to install. You can always run the installer again at a later date to install components you did not install the first time. Select Custom and click Next.
In the Custom Setup panel, pick and choose the components to install. Click the arrow to the left of the component you do not want to install and select the appropriate option from the menu.
If you need to determine how much free space is on your host click Space. This is useful if you are choosing a custom installation due to limited disk space on your host.
If you want to install all the GSX Server components in a directory other than the default, click Browse and select the directory. If the directory does not exist, the installer creates it for you.
Caution: GSX Server must be installed on a local drive, not a network drive.
Note: Windows and the Microsoft Installer limit the length of a path to a folder to 255 characters for a path to a folder on a local drive and 240 characters for a path to a folder on a mapped or shared drive. If the path to the GSX Server program folder exceeds this limit, an error message appears. You must select or enter a shorter path.
When you are ready to continue, click Next.
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If you want to change any settings or information you provided, now is the time to make those changes. Click Back until you reach the dialog box containing the information you want to change.
Otherwise, click Install. The installer begins copying files to your host.
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If the installer detects that the CD-ROM autorun feature is enabled, you are prompted with the option to disable it. Disabling this feature prevents undesirable interactions with the virtual machines you install on this system.
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Two shortcuts are created for you on your desktop automatically, one for the local console (called GSX Server) and one for the VMware Remote Console (provided you installed the remote console). This gives you easy access to virtual machines from the desktop of your host.
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A dialog box appears, asking if you want to rename existing virtual disks using the .vmdk extension (virtual machines created with GSX Server 1.0 or other older VMware products used a .dsk extension). Click Yes to search all local drives on the host computer and make this change.
The converter also renames the files that store the state of a suspended virtual machine, if it finds them. It changes the old .std file extension to .vmss. However, it is best to resume and shut down all suspended virtual machines before you upgrade from GSX Server 1 to GSX Server 2.
Besides renaming files, the converter updates the corresponding virtual machine configuration files so they identify the virtual disks using the new filenames.
Note: The Rename Virtual Disks dialog box appears during installation and the first time you power on a virtual machine. To rename disk files at another time, see Updating Filenames for Virtual Disks Created with Earlier VMware Products.
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Click Finish. The GSX Server software is installed and you are prompted to reboot the host. Reboot now to start running GSX Server.
