VMware GSX Server 2.5.2

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Host System Requirements

What do you need to get the most out of VMware GSX Server? Take the following list of requirements as a starting point. Remember that the virtual machines running under GSX Server are like physical computers in many ways — and, like physical computers, they generally perform better if they have faster processors, more memory and sufficient disk space.

Note: VMware GSX Server (for Windows and Linux hosts) is not localized and does not support internationalization. However, virtual machines created with the localized version of VMware Workstation for Windows still work with GSX Server, even though certain elements do not display properly in GSX Server.

Server Requirements

Server Host Hardware

VMware GSX Server supports up to 32-way multiprocessor servers. VMware recommends you run no more than two to four virtual machines concurrently per processor, though you may run a maximum of 64 virtual machines concurrently on a single host.

Standard x86-based PC or server
400MHz or faster processor that supports the Pentium� instruction set

Compatible processors include
- Intel�: Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium III Xeon, Pentium 4, Xeon
- AMD: Athlon, Athlon XP
Multiprocessor systems supported

Memory

You need enough memory to run the Windows� or Linux� host operating system plus memory required for each guest operating system and applications on the host and each guest.

Minimum: 256MB (512MB recommended)
Maximum: 64GB for Windows hosts and Linux hosts that support large memory or are PAE-enabled; 4GB for non-PAE-enabled Windows hosts; 2GB for Linux hosts with kernels in the 2.2.x series

Display

Greater than 256-color (8-bit) display adapter required
Linux hosts must have a video adapter supported by the XFree86 server to run guest operating systems in full screen mode. If an X server is not installed, you must install one, such as XFree86. XFree86 version 3.3.4 or higher is recommended, with XFree86 4.0 preferred.

SuSE 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 Hosts Only: You should configure the display settings for the X server on your host to 16-bit color depth to avoid problems with the local and remote consoles having incorrect window dimensions.

Host Hard Disk Requirements

275MB free disk space on Windows hosts required for server, VMware Management Interface, VmPerl API, VmCOM API and VMware Remote Console installation (255MB without the remote console)
20MB free disk space on Linux hosts required for server, VMware Management Interface, VmPerl API and VMware Remote Console installation
20MB free disk space required for VMware Remote Console installation on Windows remote workstation; 10MB required on Linux remote workstation
At least 1GB free disk space recommended for each guest operating system and the application software used with it; using a default setup, the actual disk space needs are approximately the same as those for installing and running the guest operating system and applications on a physical computer
IDE or SCSI hard drives, CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives supported
Guest operating systems can boot from raw disk partitions or virtual disk files

Local Area Networking

Any Ethernet controller supported by the host operating system
Non-Ethernet networks supported using built-in network address translation (NAT) or using host-only networking plus routing software on the host operating system
Static IP address for your host machine (recommended)

Software - Windows Host Operating System

You need a Windows server operating system with Internet Information Server (IIS) 4.0, 5.0 or 6.0 installed.

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition
Windows Server 2003 Web Edition
Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Microsoft Windows 2000 Advanced Server, including Service Pack 1, Service Pack 2, Service Pack 3 and Service Pack 4
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, including Service Pack 1, Service Pack 2, Service Pack 3 and Service Pack 4
Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Server, Service Pack 6a with Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0 installed (6.0 highly recommended)

In addition, the VMware Management Interface requires one of these browsers:

Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0 (6.0 highly recommended)
Netscape� Navigator 7.0
Mozilla 1.x

Note: As newer browser versions are released, VMware tests the management interface for stability and reliability with these versions. We make every effort to add support for new browser versions in a timely manner, but until a browser is added to the above list, its use with our product is not supported.

Software - Linux Host Operating System

Supported distributions and kernels are listed below. GSX Server may not run on systems that do not meet these requirements.

Note: As newer Linux kernels and distributions are released, VMware modifies and tests its products for stability and reliability on those host platforms. We make every effort to add support for new kernels and distributions in a timely manner, but until a kernel or distribution is added to the list below, its use with our product is not supported. Look for newer prebuilt modules in the Download area of our Web site. Go to www.vmware.com/download/.

Mandrake Linux 9.1 -- stock 2.4.21 kernel
Mandrake Linux 9.0 -- stock 2.4.19mdk kernel, upgrade 2.4.19-32mdk kernel
Mandrake Linux 8.2 -- stock 2.4.18-6mdk kernel
Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 2.1 -- stock 2.4.9-e.3, upgrade 2.4.9-e.16 kernels
Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 2.1 -- upgrade 2.4.9-e.16 kernel
Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 2.1 -- upgrade 2.4.9-e.16 kernel
Red Hat Linux 9.0 -- stock 2.4.20-8, upgrade 2.4.20-6, 2.4.20-9, 2.4.20-13 and 2.4.20-18 kernels
Red Hat Linux 8.0 -- stock 2.4.18-14, upgrade 2.4.18-18.8.0, upgrade 2.4.18-27.8.0 kernels
Red Hat Linux 7.3 -- stock 2.4.18-3, upgrade 2.4.18-18.7.x, upgrade 2.4.18-27-7.x kernels
Red Hat Linux 7.2 -- stock 2.4.7-10, upgrade 2.4.9-7, upgrade 2.4.9-13, upgrade 2.4.9-21, upgrade 2.4.9-31, upgrade 2.4.18-18.7.x, upgrade 2.4.18-27-7.x kernels
Red Hat Linux 7.1 -- stock 2.4.2-2, upgrade 2.4.3-12, upgrade 2.4.18-18.7.x upgrade 2.4.18-27-7.x kernels
Red Hat Linux 7.0 -- stock 2.2.16-22, upgrade 2.2.17-14, upgrade 2.4.18-27-7.x kernels
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 -- stock 2.4.19 kernel

Caution: Install gcc on your SLES 8 host before installing GSX Server. Also, see Before You Create Virtual Machines on a SuSE Linux 8.1, 8.2 or SLES 8 Host for information on running virtual machines on a SLES 8 host.
SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 7 -- stock 2.4.7, upgrade 2.4.18 kernels

Caution: If you intend to upgrade the kernel, make sure you deselect any Samba components when you apply the update patch, as the patch incorrectly updates Samba on your host. Running the update with the Samba packages selected can result in serious issues on your host like system hangs or segmentation faults.
SuSE Linux 8.2 -- stock 2.4.20 kernel

Caution: See Before You Create Virtual Machines on a SuSE Linux 8.1, 8.2 or SLES 8 Host for information on running virtual machines on a SuSE Linux 8.2 host.
SuSE Linux 8.1 -- upgrade 2.4.19 kernel

Caution: See Before You Create Virtual Machines on a SuSE Linux 8.1, 8.2 or SLES 8 Host for information on running virtual machines on a SuSE Linux 8.1 host.
SuSE Linux 8.0 -- stock 2.4.18 kernel
SuSE Linux 7.3 -- stock 2.4.10 kernel
SuSE Linux 7.2 -- stock 2.4.4 kernel
SuSE Linux 7.1 -- stock 2.2.18, stock 2.4.0 kernels
SuSE Linux 7.0 -- stock 2.2.16 kernel
Turbolinux 7.0 -- stock 2.4.5-3 kernel
Turbolinux 6.0 -- stock 2.2.13-12 kernel

Other Linux host operating system requirements:

Linux kernel 2.2.14-5.0 is not supported
Standard Linux server installation with glibc version 2 or higher and libXpm.so
inetd process configured and active for VMware Remote Console and VMware Management Interface connections
Version 2.1.36 of the SCSI Generic (sg.o) driver required to use generic SCSI devices in virtual machines
Perl 5.005x or higher required to use VmPerl API
X server required to run the remote console on the server

VmPerl and VmCOM Scripting APIs

The VmPerl API includes the vmwarecmd utility. The VmCOM API works on Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows NT hosts only. For more information, go to www.vmware.com/support/developer/.

Remote Workstation Requirements

The remote workstation is a Windows NT 4.0 (Workstation or Server), Windows 2000 (Professional, Server, Advanced Server), Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 or Linux system from which you launch the VMware Remote Console to remotely manage a single virtual machine on the GSX Server host. You access the VMware Management Interface to manage multiple virtual machines on the host using a Web browser.

Hardware Requirements

Standard x86-based computer
266MHz or faster processor
64MB RAM minimum
20MB (Windows hosts), 10MB (Linux hosts) free disk space required for installation of the remote console

Software - Windows Remote Workstation

Windows Server 2003 Standard edition, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise edition and Windows Server 2003 Web edition
Windows XP Professional and Windows XP Home Edition, including Service Pack 1
Windows 2000 Professional, Server and Advanced Server, including Service Pack 1, Service Pack 2, Service Pack 3 and Service Pack 4
Windows NT 4.0 Workstation and Server, Service Pack 6a
The VMware Management Interface requires one of these browsers:
- Internet Explorer 5.5 or 6.0 (6.0 highly recommended)
- Netscape Navigator 7.0
- Mozilla 1.x
  Note: As newer browser versions are released, VMware tests the management interface for stability and reliability with these versions. We make every effort to add support for new browser versions in a timely manner, but until a browser is added to the above list, its use with our product is not supported.

Software - Linux Remote Workstation

Compatible with standard Linux distributions with glibc version 2 or higher and one of the following:

For single-processor systems: kernel 2.0.32 or higher in the 2.0.x series, or kernel in the 2.2.x series or 2.4.x series (up to and including kernel 2.4.19).
For SMP systems: kernel in the 2.2.x series or 2.4.x series.

Note: Linux kernel 2.2.14-5.0 is not supported.
The VMware Management Interface requires Netscape Navigator 7.0 or Mozilla 1.x.

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