VMware Tools/Open VM Tools and Hardware Version
Overview
VMware Tools are a suite of utilities that you install within a VM’s OS to improve its performance and enable many features. As soon as you deploy a VM on a VMware Host, it is necessary to install VMware Tools to access the latest features. More details HERE.
- You must keep VMware Tools up to date.
- These same features can be available in open-source mode by installing open-vm-tools.
- For proper Backup operation, you need the latest version of VMware Tools compatible with the ESXi version of CaV.
- You can update the Virtual Hardware following the matrix and compatibility guide.
It is always recommended to update VMware Tools first, then the Hardware Version.
Prerequisites
VMware Tools
Insert VMware Tools
From the DETAILS menu > General > VMware Tools
You will find information about VMware Tools.
If your version is Deprecated or Not Installed, an UPDATE is required.
From the ACTIONS menu of a VM, install VMware Tools
Installation for Windows
1- From the console of your virtual machine (VM), verify that the VMware Tools ISO is mounted in the VM’s DVD drive.
2- Open the DVD drive and launch the setup64.exe file.
3- Follow the installation wizard until the step of selecting the installation type.
Choose Custom Installation, then disable the VSS option.
4- Complete the installation wizard.
Reboot the VM when prompted to complete the installation.
The VMware Tools section is up to date.
If you do not have a CD-ROM drive on your VM, you can download the package: HERE
Installation for Linux
Mount the CD-ROM:
mount /dev/cdrom /cdrom
Run the VMware Tools update program:
cd /tmp
tar zxpf /cdrom/VMwareTools-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.tar.gz
Unmount the CD-ROM:
umount /dev/cdrom
Start the installation:
cd vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl
Restart network services:
/etc/init.d/network restart
Verify that the installation was successful
Hardware Version
Compatibility Guide
You can verify which hardware version is compatible with your OS using this Compatibility Guide
For our example, referring to the compatibility matrix, Windows Server 2016 is compatible with Hardware Version 21
Verify and Update the Hardware Version
From the DETAILS menu of your VM > General > Virtual Hardware Version
To perform the update, go to the ACTIONS menu of your VM > Upgrade Virtual Hardware Version and click “UPGRADE“
Reminder: The VM must be Powered Off.
Open VM Tools
Here is the list of OS that support and the Installation link for Open-Vm-Tools:
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.0 and later versions
- SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 and later versions
- Ubuntu 14.04 and later versions
- CentOS 7 and later versions
- Debian 7.x and later versions
- Oracle Linux 7 and later versions
- Fedora 19 and later versions
- openSUSE 11.x and later versions
If during the VMware Tools update you get the following message:
“The required VMware Tools ISO image does not exist or is inaccessible.”
- You need to install the open-vm-tools package.
- Log in to the VM
- Enter the command: apt-get install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-dbg
- Reboot the VM.
