[Tfug] VMware Stuff

[Shawn Nock]

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Charles R. Kiss wrote:
> So, if I have an i686, with a Sarge kernel and grub, with a Windows XP, 
> dual boot system, does the Free VMWare Server get underneath all that 
> without messing up my Linux OS and its applications?

You can install VMware server under your Windows installation or your
Linux installation. It acts as an application (that installs a few
device drivers). You launch the application from the host OS. This
application allows you  (within a window) to create virtual machines,
and use their consoles (graphical or text). So, unless you consider the
rather large disk space requirements "messing up", it is really just
another application.

>  Once I install it, 
> do I have to login/logout of each OS, or are there two or more windows 
> running separate and simultaneous Microsoft and Linux applications?

Your VMs appear as windows in your primary (host) OS. A common session
goes something like this (assuming a windows host OS):

1. Boot windows (just like normal)
2. Run the VMware client application
3. Select a VM (or multiple VMs) from the GUI interface to start using.
4. Inside this window the guest OS boot and you watch the progress in
the window.
5. You begin using the guest OS inside the window as normal.

>  Is 
> it important to format and/or partition drives, or can I just download 
> and install the new Etch kernel at anytime?

Err... I am unsure about the Debian specific parts, but you don't need
to partition drives necessarily. You can install and run guest operating
systems from image files stored on the filesystem of the host OS.

If you'd like to use the Linux install you are currently dual-booting
under VMware you can edit the VM settings to use a physical drive or
partition instead of a file. "installing the new Etch" should be pretty
independent from the virtualization. If you are using Linux as the host
OS (e.g. running windows after booting Linux), you will have to run
VMware setup after any upgrade to the host linux kernel.

> Shouldn't I just start from 
> scratch and get a new computer with a 64bit processor?

No need really... I mean any excuse for a faster computer is a good one
(right?), but VMware will work just fine on nearly any x86 processor.

In summary, VMware is just a fancy application; little to no
modification to hardware or software is needed. Just download it and
give it a try... believe me when I say it's pretty hard to break your
existing installation.

Yours in service,
Shawn

- --
Shawn Nock (OpenPGP: 0xB64200E1)
Unix Systems Group; CCIT
University of Arizona
nock at email.arizona.edu
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