Using Advanced Linux Sound Architecture(ALSA) in VMware Workstation

Workstation 7.x and later versions support Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA). You might need to perform certain preparation tasks before you can use ALSA in a virtual machine.

To use ALSA, the host system must meet certain requirements.
+ The ALSA library version on the host system must be version 1.0.16 or later.
+  The sound card on the host system must support ALSA. The ALSA project Web site maintains a current listing of sound cards and chipsets that support ALSA.
+ The ALSA sound card on the host system must not be muted.
+ The current user must have the appropriate permissions to use the ALSA sound card.

Override the ALSA Library Version Requirement for a Virtual Machine

If the host system has an earlier version of the ALSA library, you can override the requirement for version 1.0.16.

If the host system does not meet ALSA requirements, or for some other reason cannot use ALSA, Workstation uses the OSS API for sound playback and recording. Depending on the sound card in the host system, the sound quality might not be as good when an older version of the ALSA library is used.

You should upgrade the host system to use the latest sound drivers and libraries.

Procedure

1 Open the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file in a text editor.
2 Add the sound.skipAlsaVersionCheck property and set it to TRUE.
For example: sound.skipAlsaVersionCheck = "TRUE".

Obtain ALSA Sound Card Information

You can type commands at the command prompt on a Linux host system to obtain information about the ALSA sound card and determine whether the current user has the appropriate permissions to access it.

 

Prerequisites

Obtain the documentation for the alsamixer program. The documentation is available on the Internet.

 

Procedure

+ Use the alsamixer program to determine whether the current user has the appropriate permissions to access the ALSA sound card.

If the user does not have the appropriate permissions, an error similar to alsamixer: function snd_ctl_open failed for default: No such device. appears.

+ If a user does not have the appropriate permissions to access the ALSA sound card, give the user read, write, and execute permissions to the directory that contains the ALSA sound card.

The ALSA sound card is usually located in /dev/snd/. This location can vary depending on the Linux distribution.

+ To list the name and type of sound chipset on the host system, type the command lspci | grep –I audio.

+ To list the sound cards on the host system, type the command cat /proc/asound/cards.

+ If the ALSA sound card is muted, use the alsamixer program to unmute it.

Configure a Virtual Machine to Use an ALSA Sound Card

You can configure a virtual machine to use an ALSA sound card by modifying virtual machine settings.

 

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.
2 On the Hardware tab, select Sound Card.
3 Select Connected and Connect at power on.
4 Select Specify host sound card and select the ALSA sound card.
5 If the ALSA sound card does not appear in the list, use the alsa-utils package to list the ALSA sound cards on the host system and select Specify host sound card again.

For example: aplay -L
6 Click OK to save your changes.