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VMware Workstation 5.5

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Host System Requirements

What do you need to get the most out of VMware Workstation 5? Take the following list of requirements as a starting point. Like physical computers, the virtual machines running under VMware Workstation generally perform better if they have faster processors and more memory.

PC Hardware

  • Standard x86-compatible or x86-64-compatible personal computer
  • 400 MHz or faster CPU minimum (500 MHz recommended)

    • Compatible processors include

  • Intel®: Celeron®, Pentium® II, Pentium III, Pentium 4, Pentium M (including computers with Centrino™ mobile technology), Xeon™ (including "Prestonia"), EM64T
  • AMD™: Athlon™, Athlon MP, Athlon XP, Athlon 64, Duron™, Opteron™, Turion™ 64
  • Experimental support for AMD Sempron™

    • For additional information, including notes on processors that are not compatible, see the VMware knowledge base at
    www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=967.

  • Multiprocessor systems supported
  • AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon 64, AMD Turion 64, AMD Sempron, Intel EM64T; support for 64-bit guest operating systems is available only on the following specific versions of these processors:
  • AMD Athlon 64, revision D or later
  • AMD Opteron, revision E or later
  • AMD Turion 64, revision E or later
  • AMD Sempron, 64-bit-capable revision D or later (experimental support)
  • Intel EM64T VT-capable processors (experimental support)

    • Memory

  • 128 MB minimum (256 MB recommended)

    • You must have enough memory to run the host operating system, plus the memory required for each guest operating system and for applications on the host and guest. See your guest operating system and application documentation for their memory requirements.

    Display

  • 16-bit or 32-bit display adapter recommended

    • Disk Drives

    Guest operating systems can reside on physical disk partitions or in virtual disk files.

    Hard Disk

  • IDE and SCSI hard drives supported, up to 950GB capacity
  • At least 1GB free disk space recommended for each guest operating system and the application software used with it; if you use 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.
  • For Installation — 80MB (Linux) or 250MB (Windows) free disk space required for basic installation. You can delete the installer afterwards to reclaim disk space.

    • Optical CD-ROM/DVD-ROM Drive

  • IDE and SCSI optical drives supported
  • CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives supported
  • ISO disk image files supported

    • Local Area Networking (Optional)

  • Any Ethernet controller supported by the host operating system
  • Non-Ethernet networks supported using built-in network address translation (NAT) or using a combination of host-only networking plus routing software on the host operating system

    • Host Operating System

    VMware Workstation is available for both Windows and Linux host operating systems.

    Windows Host Operating Systems (32-Bit)

    Workstation supports the following Windows 32-bit host operating systems.

  • Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, SP1
    Windows Server 2003 Web Edition, SP1
    Windows Server 2003 Small Business Edition, SP1
    Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, SP1
    Windows Server 2003 R2
    (Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)
  • Windows XP Home Edition, SP1, SP2
    Windows XP Professional, SP1, SP2
    (Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)
  • Windows 2000 Server SP3, SP4
    Windows 2000 Professional, SP3, SP4
    Windows 2000 Advanced Server, SP3, SP4

    • Windows Host Operating Systems (64-Bit)

  • Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition SP1
    Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition R2
  • Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

    • Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher is required for the Windows online help system.

    Linux Host Operating Systems (32-Bit)

    Supported distributions and kernels are listed below. VMware Workstation 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 products is not supported. Look for newer prebuilt modules in the download area of our Web site. Go to www.vmware.com/download/.

  • Mandriva Corporate Server 4
    Mandriva Linux 2007 (experimental support)
    Mandriva Linux 2006
    Mandrake Linux 10.1
    Mandrake Linux 9.0 — stock 2.4.19
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0, AS, ES, WS (experimental support)
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0, AS, ES, WS, updates 1, 2, 3, 4
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, AS, ES, WS, updates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 — stock 2.4.9-e3

    Red Hat Linux 9.0 — stock 2.4.20-8, upgrade 2.4.20-20.9
    Red Hat Linux 8.0 — stock 2.4.18
    Red Hat Linux 7.3 — stock 2.4.18
    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
    Red Hat Linux 7.1 — stock 2.4.2-2, upgrade 2.4.3-12
    Red Hat Linux 7.0 — stock 2.2.16-22, upgrade 2.2.17-14
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
    SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, 9 SP1, 9 SP2, 9 SP3 — stock 2.6.5-797
    (Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)
    SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, stock 2.4.19

    SUSE Linux 10.1
    SUSE Linux 10 — stock 2.6.13
    SUSE Linux 9.3 — stock 9.3-2.6.11.4
    SUSE Linux 9.2, SP1 — stock 9.2-2.6.8-24.11 (Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)
    SUSE Linux 9.1 — stock 2.6.4-52
    SUSE Linux 9.0 — stock 2.4.21-99
    SUSE Linux 8.2 — stock 2.4.20
  • Ubuntu Linux 6.10 (experimental support)
    Ubuntu Linux 6.06
    Ubuntu Linux 5.10
    Ubuntu Linux 5.04

    • Platforms not listed above are not supported. A Web browser is required for the Help system.

    Linux Host Operating Systems (64-Bit)

    Supported distributions and kernels are listed below. VMware Workstation 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 products is not supported. Look for newer prebuilt modules in the download area of our Web site. Go to www.vmware.com/download/.

  • Mandriva Corporate Server 4
    Mandriva Linux 2007 (experimental support)
    Mandriva Linux 2006
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0, AS, ES, WS (experimental support)
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0, AS, ES, WS, updates 1, 2, 3, 4
    Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, AS, ES, WS stock 2.4.21, updates 2.4.21-15, 6, 7, 8

    SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10
    SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, SP1, SP2, SP3 — stock 2.6.5-797
    (Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)

    SUSE Linux 10.1
    SUSE Linux 10 — stock 2.6.13
    SUSE Linux 9.3 — stock 9.3-2.6.11.4
    SUSE Linux 9.2, SP1 — stock 9.2-2.6.8-24.11 (Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)
    SUSE Linux 9.1 — stock 2.6.4-52
  • Ubuntu Linux 6.10 (experimental support)
    Ubuntu Linux 6.06
    Ubuntu Linux 5.10
    Ubuntu Linux 5.04

    • Platforms not listed above are not supported. A Web browser is required for the Help system.

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