Arch Linux

landrand

Member

Registered: 2008-02-22

Posts: 7

vmware server on Arch64

Was wondering if it is possible to install vmware server on an arch64 install.  The vmware install the wiki mentions to create a 32 bit environment, but after looking at the vmware server release notes, it indicates it has 64bit support.  I tried to install vmware server using the normal wiki install http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Installing_VMware and I get the following errors.  It seems to install perfectly untill I try to enter the license key.  Anyway, here's the error I get when trying to start vmware.

[root@mythfe1 rc.d]# ./xinetd restart
:: Stopping xinetd                                                       [DONE] 
:: Starting xinetd                                                       [DONE] 
[root@mythfe1 rc.d]# ./vmware restart
Stopping VMware services:
   Virtual machine monitor                                             done
   Bridged networking on /dev/vmnet0                                   done
   DHCP server on /dev/vmnet8                                          done
   NAT service on /dev/vmnet8                                          done
   Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet8                                 done
   Virtual ethernet                                                    done
Starting VMware services:
   Virtual machine monitor                                             done
   Virtual ethernet                                                    done
   Bridged networking on /dev/vmnet0                                   done
   Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet8 (background)                    done
   NAT service on /dev/vmnet8                                          done
[root@mythfe1 rc.d]# exit
exit

[lind@mythfe1 lib]$ vmware &
[1] 11611
[lind@mythfe1 lib]$ /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware: error while loading shared libraries: libexpat.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware: error while loading shared libraries: libexpat.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

Any ideas?  I'm a newbie so be gentle.

roodie

Member

Registered: 2007-06-27

Posts: 14

Re: vmware server on Arch64

I thought the 64bit support was for the clients, not the host.

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      g8m

landrand

Member

Registered: 2008-02-22

Posts: 7

Re: vmware server on Arch64

Here's someinfo I pulled off the vmware manual on their website.  Although I could be wrong, this looks like vmware supports 64 bit linux host systems.

Linux Host Operating System Requirements
       Supported distributions and kernels are listed in this section. VMware Server might not
       run on systems that do not meet these requirements. Platforms that are not listed are
       not supported.

      64‐bit host computers can run the following operating systems for 64‐bit extended
      systems:
      !     Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 AS, ES, and WS, stock 2.4.21, update 2.4.21‐15, and
            updates 6 and 7
      !     Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 AS, ES, and WS, update 8 (experimental support)
      !     Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 AS, ES, and WS, including update 3
      !     Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 update 4 (experimental support)
      !     SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (experimental support)
      !     SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, including SP1, SP2, and SP3
      !     SUSE Linux 10
      !     SUSE Linux 10.1
      !     SUSE Linux 9.3
      !     SUSE Linux 9.2, including SP1
      !     SUSE Linux 9.1 stock 2.6.4‐52
      !     Mandriva Linux 2006
      !     Ubuntu Linux 5.04 and 5.10
      !     Ubuntu Linux 6.06 (experimental support)

roodie

Member

Registered: 2007-06-27

Posts: 14

Re: vmware server on Arch64

I installed vmware-server last week with the 32bits libraries.  So I you are able to install them without the 32bits libraries, i am interested. Again I am not sure so correct me if I am wrong,  on 64 bit redhat the 32bits libraries are a dependency for vmware.

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      g8m

albrow

Member

Registered: 2006-08-18

Posts: 9

Re: vmware server on Arch64

I had big problems trying to get VMware Server 1 to run in a 32-bit chroot with 64-bit modules.  I ended up trying out Server 2 Beta 2.  It works pretty well, although it doesn't like kernel v2.6.24 - the modules refuse to compile.  Switching back to 2.6.23 made everything work OK.  (That rule applies to the 32-bit version of Server 2 Beta 2 as well.)

Having said that, the web interface takes a little getting used to and definitely isn't perfect yet - there are quite a few really annoying bugs.  But if you really want to run a fully 64-bit system it is the way to go.

Oh, and to clear things up:  VMware Server 1 itself is 32-bit only and definitely needs 32-bit libraries, but is able to run 64-bit OSes if it has access to a 64-bit processor.  No idea how it manages it, though.

And the reason why landrand was able to go through the installation is because the installer is written in perl and shell script.  So, VMware will install and the modules will even compile and start, but there's no way the actual application will run without the 32-bit libraries.

Last edited by albrow (2008-03-13 14:40:10)

roodie

Member

Registered: 2007-06-27

Posts: 14

Re: vmware server on Arch64

I installed vmware-server 1.0.4. Had my share of problems installing it, but so far it runs without problems on a 2.6.24 kernel.

Last edited by roodie (2008-03-13 16:53:07)

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      g8m