Requirements of the Host System in Virtualization(VMware workstation)

Like physical computers, the virtual machines running under Workstation perform better if they have faster processors and more memory.

Hardware Requirements

- Standard x86‐compatible or x86‐64‐compatible personal computer- 733MHz or faster CPU minimum Compatible processors include:
   - Intel: Celeron, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium 4, Pentium M (including computers with Centrino mobile technology), Xeon (including “Prestonia”), and Core 2 processors
   - AMD: Athlon, Athlon MP, Athlon XP, Athlon 64, Duron, Opteron, Turion 64
   - 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
- 64‐bit 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 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
   - Intel Pentium 4 and Core 2 processors with EM64T and Intel Virtualization Technology.

Memory Requirements

512MB minimum (2GB is 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.

As of version 6.0 or later of Workstation, the total amount of memory you can assign to all virtual machines running on a single host is unlimited. The maximum amount of memory per virtual machine is 8GB.

Display

16‐bit or 32‐bit display adapter is 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.
- 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 – 200MB (Linux) or 900MB (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.

Floppy Drives

Virtual machines can connect to the host’s floppy drives. Floppy disk image files are also 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 Vista Enterprise Edition
  Windows Vista Business Edition
  Windows Vista Home Basic and Premium Editions
  Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
- Windows Server 2008, SP1
- Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, SP1, SP2
  Windows Server 2003 Web Edition, SP1
  Windows Server 2003 Small Business Edition, SP1, SP2
  Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, SP1, SP2
  Windows Server 2003 R2
(Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)
- Windows XP Home Edition, SP1, SP2
  Windows XP Professional, SP1, SP2
- Windows 2000 Server SP3, SP4
  Windows 2000 Professional, SP3, SP4
  Windows 2000 Advanced Server, SP3, SP4

Windows Host Operating Systems (64-Bit)

- Windows Vista Enterprise Edition
  Windows Vista Business Edition
  Windows Vista Home Basic and Premium Editions
  Windows Vista Ultimate Edition
- Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition SP1
- Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition SP1
  Windows Server 2003 x64 Edition R2
- Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
A Web browser is required for the Help system.

Linux Host Operating Systems (32-Bit)

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

- Mandriva Linux 2006 and 2007
  Mandriva Corporate Desktop 4.0
  Mandriva Corporate Server 4.0
  Mandrake Linux 10.1
  Mandrake Linux 9.0 — stock 2.4.19
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4.5 (formerly called 4.0 Update 5)
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 4.0, updates 1, 2, 3, 4
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 4.0, updates 1, 2, 3, 4
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4.0, updates 1, 2, 3, 4
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3.0, updates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 3.0, updates 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 3.0, 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 SP1
  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 SP4
  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, 9 SP1, 9 SP2, 9 SP3
  (Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)
  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8, stock 2.4.19
  openSUSE 10.3
  openSUSE 10.2 (formerly known as SUSE Linux 10.2)
  SUSE Linux 10.1
  SUSE Linux 10
  SUSE Linux 9.3
  SUSE Linux 9.2, SP1)
  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 7.04
  Ubuntu Linux 6.10
  Ubuntu Linux 6.06
  Ubuntu Linux 5.10
  Ubuntu Linux 5.04
A Web browser is required for the Help system.

Linux Host Operating Systems (64-Bit)

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

- Mandriva Linux 2006 and 2007
  Mandriva Corporate Desktop 4.0
  Mandriva Corporate Server 4.0

Important: On 64‐bit Mandriva hosts, some 32‐bit compatibility libraries are required. Specifically, 32‐bit glibc, X11, and libXtst.so are required.

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.5 (formerly called 4.0 Update 5)
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 4.0, updates 3, 4
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 4.0, updates 3, 4
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4.0, updates 3, 4
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS 3.0, stock 2.4.21, updates 2.4.21‐15, 6, 7, 8
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux ES 3.0, stock 2.4.21, updates 2.4.21‐15, 6, 7, 8
  Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 3.0, stock 2.4.21, updates 2.4.21‐15, 6, 7, 8

- SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1
  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 SP4
  SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9, SP1, SP2, SP3
  (Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.)
  openSUSE 10.3
  openSUSE 10.2 (formerly known as SUSE Linux 10.2)
  SUSE Linux 10.1
  SUSE Linux 10
  SUSE Linux 9.3
  SUSE Linux 9.2, SP1
  SUSE Linux 9.1 — stock 2.6.4‐52

- Ubuntu Linux 7.04
  Ubuntu Linux 6.10
  Ubuntu Linux 6.06
  Ubuntu Linux 5.10
  Ubuntu Linux 5.04

Important: On 64‐bit Ubuntu 6.x hosts, some 32‐bit compatibility libraries are required. Specifically, 32‐bit glibc and X11 are required.