VMware Server On A CentOS

This tutorial provides step-by-step instructions on how to install VMware Server on a CentOS 5.2 desktop system. With VMware Server you can create and run guest operating systems ("virtual machines") such as Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, etc. under a host operating system. This has the benefit that you can run multiple operating systems on the same hardware which saves a lot of money, and you can move virtual machines from one VMware Server to the next one.

Operating System:
CentOS5.2

VMware Server Version:
VMware Server 1.0.3

Preparing CentOS before installing VMware Server

#yum –y install system-config-services xinetd kernel-devel

Downloading VMware Server

To get the serial number you need to run VMware Server, go to http://register.vmware.com/content/registration.html. Fill in your personal details. Afterwards you will get a page with a serial number for VMware Server. Write it down or print it out:

#cd /usr/local/src
#wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-server-1.0.3-44356.tar.gz
#tar zxvf VMware-server-1.0.3-44356.tar.gz
#cd vmware-server-distrib
#./vmware-install.pl

The installer will ask you a lot of questions. You can always accept the default values simply by hitting . When it asks you

You will now find VMware Server under Applications > System Tools:

When you start it, select Local host:

Source: