VMware/Install Arch Linux as a guest
This article is about installing Arch Linux in a VMware product, such as Workstation Player, Fusion or Workstation Pro.
In-kernel drivers
lsmod | grep modulename
) and if it is required, the module can be added to mkinitcpio's MODULES
array. For example:
/etc/mkinitcpio.conf
... MODULES=(... vmw_balloon vmw_pvscsi vsock vmw_vsock_vmci_transport ...)
Make sure to regenerate the initramfs.
vmw_balloon
- The physical memory management driver. It acts like a "balloon" that can be inflated to reclaim physical pages by reserving them in the guest and invalidating them in the monitor, freeing up the underlying machine pages so they can be allocated to other guests. It can also be deflated to allow the guest to use more physical memory. Deallocated Virtual Machine memory can be reused in the host without terminating the guest.vmw_pvscsi
- For VMware's Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) HBA.vmw_vmci
- The Virtual Machine Communication Interface. It enables high-speed communication between host and guest in a virtual environment via the VMCI virtual device.vmwgfx
- For 3D acceleration. This is a KMS enabled DRM driver for the VMware SVGA2 virtual hardware.vmxnet3
- For VMware's vmxnet3 virtual ethernet NIC.- a fuse-based hgfs implementation has been added to
open-vm-tools
10.0+ and is supported from kernel version 4.0+.
The following drivers are only needed if you are running Arch Linux on a hypervisor like VMware vSphere Hypervisor[dead link 2024-07-30 ⓘ]. Client-server applications can write to the VMCI Sock (vsock) interface to make use of the VMCI virtual device, when communicating between virtual machines.
vsock
- The Virtual Socket Protocol. It is similar to the TCP/IP socket protocol, allowing communication between Virtual Machines and hypervisor or host.vmw_vsock_vmci_transport
- Implements a VMCI transport for Virtual Sockets.
Some modules, such as the legacy vmhgfs
shared folder module, will require additional work to manually compile
and systemd enable
in order to function properly.
VMware Tools versus Open-VM-Tools
In 2007, VMware released large portions of the VMware Tools[dead link 2024-07-30 ⓘ] under the LGPL as Open-VM-Tools. The official Tools are not available separately[dead link 2024-07-30 ⓘ] for Arch Linux.
Originally, VMware Tools provided the best drivers for network and storage, combined with the functionality for other features such as time synchronization. However, now the drivers for the network/SCSI adapter are part of the Linux kernel.
The official VMware Tools also had the advantage of being able to use the Unity mode feature, but as of VMWare Workstation 12, Unity mode for Linux guests has been removed due to lack of use and developer difficulties in maintaining the feature. See this thread.
Open-VM-Tools
Utilities
The open-vm-tools package comes with the following utilities:
vmtoolsd
- Service responsible for the Virtual Machine status report.vmware-checkvm
- Tool to check whether a program is running in the guest.vmware-toolbox-cmd
- Tool to obtain Virtual Machine information of the host.vmware-user
- Tool to enable clipboard sharing (copy/paste) between host and guest.vmware-vmblock-fuse
- Filesystem utility. Enables drag & drop functionality between host and guest through FUSE (Filesystem in Userspace).vmware-xferlogs
- Dumps logging/debugging information to the Virtual Machine logfile.vmhgfs-fuse
- Utility for mounting vmhgfs shared folders.
Installation
Install open-vm-tools. Start and/or enable vmtoolsd.service
and vmware-vmblock-fuse.service
.
Try to install gtkmm3 manually if copy and paste between host and guest does not work properly.
Official VMware Tools
Modules
vmblock
- Filesystem driver. Enables drag & drop functionality between host and guest (superseded by thevmware-vmblock-fuse
utility).vmci
- High performance communication interface between host and guest.vmmon
- Virtual Machine Monitor.vmnet
- Networking driver.vsock
- VMCI sockets.
vmware-vmblock-fuse
, and vmblock
has been removed from the kernel unless you disable fuse
. Instead, systemd services need to be enabled
to allow these functions. See instructions below.
Installation (from guest)
Install the dependencies: base-devel (for building), net-tools (for ifconfig
, used by the installer) and linux-headers (for kernel headers). In order to check out open-vm-tools
you will need pkgctl
from the devtools package.
Then, create bogus init directories for the installer:
# for x in {0..6}; do mkdir -p /etc/init.d/rc${x}.d; done
The installer can then be mounted:
# mount /dev/cdrom /mnt
Extracted (e.g. to /root
):
# tar xf /mnt/VMwareTools*.tar.gz -C /root
And started:
# perl /root/vmware-tools-distrib/vmware-install.pl
The following build failures can safely be ignored:
- VMNEXT 3 virtual network card
- "Warning: This script could not find mkinitrd or update-initramfs and cannot remake the initrd file!"
- Fuse components not found on the system.
Enable vmware-vmblock-fuse
systemd services (make sure the dependencies are manually installed, or that the -s
flag) used. The open-vm-tools
source code should be checked out using the Arch build system.
$ pkgctl repo clone open-vm-tools $ cd open-vm-tools $ makepkg -s --asdeps # cp vm* /usr/lib/systemd/system
Enable vmware-vmblock-fuse.service
and vmtoolsd.service
.
Reboot the Virtual Machine.
Log in and start the VMware Tools:
# /etc/init.d/rc6.d/K99vmware-tools start
Additionally, to auto start vmware-tools
on boot, create a new file /etc/systemd/system/vmwaretools.service
:
/etc/systemd/system/vmwaretools.service
[Unit] Description=VMWare Tools daemon [Service] ExecStart=/etc/init.d/vmware-tools start ExecStop=/etc/init.d/vmware-tools stop PIDFile=/var/lock/subsys/vmware TimeoutSec=0 RemainAfterExit=yes [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
And enable the new vmwaretools.service
.
Xorg configuration
Install the dependencies: xf86-input-vmmouse, xf86-video-vmware, and mesa.
These packages should be all that are required to get started with booting into a graphical target
: . /etc/xdg/autostart/vmware-user.desktop
will get started which will set up most of what is needed to work with the Virtual Machine.
However, if booting into multi-user.target
or using an uncommon setup (e.g. multiple monitors), then vmtoolsd.service
needs to be enabled. In addition to this, run Xorg as root to give permission for loading drivers.
Tips and tricks
open-vm-tools
v.10.x and kernel 4.x onwards and with VMware Workstation and Fusion.Share a folder by selecting Edit virtual machine settings > Options > Shared Folders > Always enabled, and creating a new share.
The shared folders should be visible with:
$ vmware-hgfsclient
Now the folder can be mounted:
# mkdir <shared folders root directory> # vmhgfs-fuse -o allow_other -o auto_unmount .host:/<shared_folder> <shared folders root directory>
If the error message fusermount: option allow_other only allowed if 'user_allow_other' is set in /etc/fuse.conf
is displayed, uncomment the following line in /etc/fuse.conf
:
user_allow_other
Other vmhgfs-fuse
mount options can be viewed by using the -h
input flag:
# vmhgfs-fuse -h
cp
, mv
or cat
) result in an "Input/output error" when accessing the shared folder then setting the mount option max_write
can serve as a workaround (observed with open-vm-tools
version 11.1.0 and higher; see this bug report: https://github.com/vmware/open-vm-tools/issues/437)).fstab
Add a rule for each share:
/etc/fstab
.host:/<shared_folder> <shared folders root directory> fuse.vmhgfs-fuse nofail,allow_other 0 0
Create and mount the Shared Folders (if not done so already):
# mkdir <shared folders root directory> # mount <shared folders root directory>
Systemd
Create the following .service
:
/etc/systemd/system/<shared folders root directory>-<shared_folder>.service
[Unit] Description=Load VMware shared folders Requires=vmware-vmblock-fuse.service After=vmware-vmblock-fuse.service ConditionPathExists=.host:/<shared_folder> ConditionVirtualization=vmware [Service] Type=oneshot RemainAfterExit=yes ExecStart=/usr/bin/vmhgfs-fuse -o allow_other -o auto_unmount .host:/<shared_folder> <shared folders root directory> [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Ensure the <shared folders root directory>
folder exists on the system. If this folder does not exist then it must be created, as the systemd service depends on it:
# mkdir -p <shared folders root directory>
Enable the <shared folders root directory>-<shared_folder>.service
mount target.
If all shared folders should be mounted automatically then omit <shared_folder>.
Share a folder by selecting Edit virtual machine settings > Options > Shared Folders > Always enabled, and creating a new share.
Ensure the vmhgfs
driver is loaded:
# modprobe vmhgfs
The shared folders should be viewable with:
$ vmware-hgfsclient
Now the folder can be mounted:
# mkdir /home/user1/shares # mount -n -t vmhgfs .host:/<shared_folder> /home/user1/shares
Enable at boot
Edit mkinitcpio.conf
thusly:
/etc/mkinitcpio.conf
... MODULES=(... vmhgfs) ...
and then regenerate the initramfs.
fstab
Add a rule for each share:
/etc/fstab
.host:/<shared_folder> /home/user1/shares vmhgfs defaults 0 0
Create and mount the Shared Folders:
# mkdir /home/user1/shares # mount /home/user1/shares
Systemd
For shared folders to work the vmhgfs
driver must be loaded. Create the following .service
s:
/etc/systemd/system/<shared folders root directory>-<shared_folder>.mount
[Unit] Description=Load VMware shared folders ConditionPathExists=.host:/<shared_folder> ConditionVirtualization=vmware [Mount] What=.host:/<shared_folder> Where=<shared folders root directory>/<shared_folder> Type=vmhgfs Options=defaults,noatime [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
/etc/systemd/system/<shared folders root directory>-<shared_folder>.automount
[Unit] Description=Load VMware shared folders ConditionPathExists=.host:/<shared_folder> ConditionVirtualization=vmware [Automount] Where=<shared folders root directory>/<shared_folder> [Install] WantedBy=multi-user.target
Ensure the <shared folders root directory>
folder exists on the system. If this folder does not exist then it must be created, as the systemd scripts depend on it:
# mkdir -p <shared folders root directory>
Enable the mnt-hgfs.automount
mount target.
If all shared folders should be mounted automatically then omit <shared_folder>.
Prune locate DB
When using locate, it is pointless to index the shared directories in the locate DB
. Therefore, add the directories to PRUNEPATHS
in /etc/updatedb.conf
.
3D Acceleration
If not selected at guest creation time, 3D Acceleration can be enabled in: Edit virtual machine settings > Hardware > Display > Accelerate 3D graphics.
OpenGL and GLSL support
It is possible to update OpenGL and GLSL with new kernel modules, overriding Arch-controlled versions.
Currently, OpenGL 3.3 and GLSL 3.30 can be supported. See https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=202713 for more details.
Time synchronization
Configuring time synchronization in a Virtual Machine is important; fluctuations are bound to occur more easily in a guest VM. This is mostly due to the CPU being shared by more than one guest.
There are 2 options to set up time synchronization: the host or an external source.
Host machine as time source
To use the host as a time source, ensure vmtoolsd.service
is started. Then enable the time synchronization:
# vmware-toolbox-cmd timesync enable
To synchronize the guest after suspending the host:
# hwclock --hctosys --localtime
External server as time source
See NTP.
Troubleshooting
Network slow on guest
Arch Linux, as well as other Linux guests, may have slow network speeds while using NAT. To resolve this, switch the network type to Bridged mode in the guest settings on the host, changing the configuration file for the network on the guest where necessary. For more information on configuration, see Network configuration. If on a Windows host and it is not connecting properly despite correct guest configuration, open the Virtual Network Editor on the host as Administrator and press the Restore defaults button at the bottom left.
Sound problems
If unacceptably loud or annoying sounds occur, then it may be related to the PC speaker. The issue may be resolved by disabling the PC speaker within the guest image.
Mouse problems
The following problems may occur with the mouse:
- The automatic grab/ungrab feature does not automatically grab input when the cursor enters the window
- Missing buttons
- Input lag
- Clicks are not registered in some applications
- Mouse cursor jumps when entering/leaving virtual machine
- Mouse position jumps to where it left the guest VM
These may be fixed by uninstalling the xf86-input-vmmouse package. xf86-input-vmmouse and xf86-input-libinput should be sufficient for handling mouse and keyboard inputs.
Adding settings to the .vmx
configuration file may help (Mouse position jumps to where it left the guest VM):
~/vmware/<Virtual Machine name>/<Virtual Machine name>.vmx
mouse.vusb.enable = "TRUE" mouse.vusb.useBasicMouse = "FALSE"
VMware also attempts to automatically optimize the mouse for gaming. If problems are experienced, disabling the optimization is recommended: Edit > Preferences > Input > Optimize mouse for games: Never
Alternatively, attempting to disable the catchall
event in 60-libinput.conf
may be required:
/usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/60-libinput.conf
#Section "InputClass" # Identifier "libinput pointer catchall" # MatchIsPointer "on" # MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/event*" # Driver "libinput" #EndSection
Boot problems
Slow boot time
The following errors may be displayed if VMWare's memory hot-add feature is enabled:
- add_memory failed
- acpi_memory_enable_device() error
Disable the memory hot-add feature by setting mem.hotadd = "FALSE"
to the .vmx
.
~/vmware/<Virtual Machine name>/<Virtual Machine name>.vmx
mem.hotadd = "FALSE"
Shutdown/Reboot hangs
Adjust the timeout for the vmtoolsd service (defaults to 90 seconds).
/etc/systemd/system/vmtoolsd.service.d/timeout.conf
[Service] TimeoutStopSec=1
Window resolution autofit problems
"Autofit" means that when the VMWare window's size is adjusted in the host, Arch Linux in the guest should automatically follow and readjust its resolution to fit the new size of the host window.
Potential solution 1
Ensure autofit is enabled. For VMware Workstation the setting can be found in: View -> Autosize -> Autofit Guest
Potential solution 2
For some reason, autofit requires that the packages gtkmm and gtk2, are installed. Hence ensure that those two packages are installed on the guest. If X windows is not installed or a non–GTK-based desktop environment (such as KDE) is being used, these packages might have to be installed independently.
Potential solution 3
The relevant modules may have to be added to mkinitcpio.conf:
/etc/mkinitcpio.conf
MODULES=(vsock vmw_vsock_vmci_transport vmw_balloon vmw_vmci vmwgfx)
Do not forget to regenerate the initramfs.
Potential solution 4
Enable vmtoolsd.service
.
If this does not work, ensure the vmtoolsd.service
is restarted.
Potential solution 5
If GNOME is running on Wayland, install xf86-video-vmware (FS#57473).
See [1].
Potential solution 6
Make sure that Stretch Mode is disabled. Follow VM > Settings > Display > Display Scaling and untick the option Stretch mode.
Potential solution 7
Manually set the resolution using the video=
option in the kernel command line.
Drag and drop, copy/paste
The drag-and-drop (copy/paste) feature requires both open-vm-tools and gtkmm3 packages to be installed.
Make the command vmware-user
run after X11 by either:
- Ensuring
/etc/xdg/autostart/vmware-user.desktop
exists, and if not, running:
# cp /etc/vmware-tools/vmware-user.desktop /etc/xdg/autostart/vmware-user.desktop
OR
- Add
vmware-user
to Xinitrc.
Copy/paste does not currently work on Wayland, though applications running through Xwayland work fine.
Workstation 11 has a bug where vmware-hostd crashes if an Arch guest is running as a shared VM and vmtoolsd is running in the guest. A patch to open-vm-tools to work around the bug is here.
Virtual Network Editor Wayland
Running GUI applications as root -- some of the following is copied from
- When running VMWare workstation on a wayland host the Virtual Network Editor will not launch under Wayland this because
Trying to run a graphical application as root via su, sudo or pkexec in a Wayland session (e.g. GParted or Gedit), will fail with an error similar to this:
$ sudo vmware-netcfg No protocol specified Unable to init server: Could not connect: Connection refused (gedit:2349): Gtk-WARNING **: cannot open display: :0
This is a security feature of Wayland they reason GUI applications should not be run as root. This can be achieved using the following in the terminal
Using xhost
A more versatile —though much less secure— workaround is to use xhost to temporarily allow the root user to access the local user's X session[2]. To do so, execute the following command as the current (unprivileged) user:
$ xhost si:localuser:root
To remove this access after the application has been closed:
$ xhost -si:localuser:root
Using sudo -E
Launch vmware-netcfg with:
$ sudo -E vmware-netcfg