Installing VMWare Server v1.0.4 on Ubuntu Server v7.10 - Part 1

OK, so I'm getting closer and closer to my dream of 86'ing these Dell PowerEdge 600 SC's. I configured a GX280 desktop to serve as my new Ubuntu server and I'm now in the process of preparing to install the VMWare server applications. Here's a little narrative of the process thus far...

Installing VMWare Server v1.0.4 on Ubuntu Server v7.10.

OK. So I looked and looked and couldn't find a well written tutorial on how to do this, so I decided to put all of the information together and write up a tutorial myself.

First, I started with a clean system. A Dell GX280 desktop with 1GB of RAM, an 80GB IDE hard drive, and an 80GB SATA hard drive. I set the BIOS to boot from CD, then dropped my Ubuntu Server CD in the tray and rebooted.

This, of course, takes me to the setup of Ubuntu Server. This is pretty straight forward, so I'll spare you the details. Just know that I gave my macine a name and had it auto-assign the IP address, I can always change this later, but it's also easy enough on my home network to just reserve an IP for this machine.

Next, I set myself up as root and made some modifications to the sources.list file in /etc/apt.

I typed:

sudo bash

Enter my password and I Am Root!
This gave me root access. Now I can begin the process of making a couple of changes to the sources.list file. The only changes I made was to un-comment the backport and Canonnical repositories. I'll start by making a backup of the original sources.list file:

cd /etc/apt
cp /etc/apt/sources.list /etc/apt/sources.list.bak

Next, I use vi to make the changes. To do this I typed:

vi /etc/apt/sources.list

Once in vi, I find the lines I want to change, change them, then type

:q!

This closes and saves the file.

Next I type:

apt-get update

Then I type:

apt-get upgrade

This pulls down all the latest upgrades for apps I have running. I set my server up to also be a LAMP server, so it took a little while to get all of the downloads.

Once all of the upgrades were complete, I went to my trusty gOS laptop and hit the VMWare website to find the path to the downloads. While I'm there, I go ahead and register and obtain my serial numbers for the installation. Next, I go back to my Ubuntu Server and and type:

cd / (This takes me to the root directory)
cd /usr
mkdir vmware
cd vmware

Now that I have a home set up for my downloads, and I have the path to get them, I simply type:

wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-server-1.0.4-56528.tar.gz (then wait for the download to complete)
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-mui-1.0.4-56528.tar.gz (then wait for the download to complete)
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-server-linux-client-1.0.4-56528.zip

Now I simply need to unpack everything and begin the install...

• Will Gary be able to figure out how to unpack the applications?
• Will he be able to successfully install all of the necessary applications to build his dream VMWare server?
  
• Will the VM Server work with P2V 3.0 so he can successfully convert his existing domain controller and file/mail server?
• What will become of the innocent Dell PowerEdge 600 SC servers, once his diabolical plan is complete?

Find out next week in the exciting conclusion of "Installing VMWare Server v1.0.4 on Ubuntu Server v7.10"! (AKA Part 2, coming soon to a browser near you)