Installing VMware Tools on Solaris 10 fails

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Installing VMware Tools on a Solaris 10 virtual machine fails.
  
  
• You are unable to install VMware Tools on a Solaris 10 virtual machine, and a core dump file is generated.
  
  
• After running the command /usr/bin/vmware-config-tools.pl you see messages similar to:
  
  Initializing...
  testlab01 genunix: NOTICE: core_log: vmware-checkvm[1290] core dumped: /var/core/core_testlab01_vmware-checkvm_0_0_1322838821_1290
  Segmentation Fault - core dumped
  testlab01 genunix: NOTICE: core_log: vmware-checkvm[1292] core dumped: /var/core/core_testlab01_vmware-checkvm_0_0_1322838821_1292
  Segmentation Fault - core dumped
  testlab01 genunix: NOTICE: core_log: vmware-checkvm[1294] core dumped: /var/core/core_testlab01_vmware-checkvm_0_0_1322838822_1294
  Segmentation Fault - core dumped
  This configuration program is to be executed in a virtual machine.
  
  Execution aborted.
  
  
• In the vmware.log you see errors similar to:
  
  vmx| TOOLS INSTALL entering BEGINNING state.
  vmx| TOOLS INSTALL Scanning device ide1:1 ((null)).
  vmx| TOOLS INSTALL Attempting image mount.
  vmx| TOOLS INSTALL using device 'ide1:0'.
  vmx| TOOLS INSTALL entering INSERTED state.
  vmx| CDROM: Connecting ide1:0 to '/usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/solaris.iso'. img=1 raw=0 remote=0
  vmx| DMG_Open: Not an unencrypted .dmg file (footer signature 0x00000000).
  vmx| DMG_Close: max cached entries 8
  vmx| CDROM: Checking initial physical media state...
  vmx| CDROM: initial physical CDROM state is 1 (sense)
  vcpu-0| CDROM: switching CDROM state from 4 to 5 using error sense key.
  vcpu-0| CDROM: switching CDROM state from 5 to 1 using error sense key.
  vcpu-0| CDROM: Mode Sense for Unsupported Page 0x3
  ...
  vcpu-0| CDROM ide1:0: CMD 0x44 (READ HEADER) FAILED (key 0x5 asc 0x20 ascq 0)
  vcpu-0| CDROM ide1:0: CMD 0x44 (READ HEADER) FAILED (key 0x5 asc 0x20 ascq 0)
  vcpu-0| CDROM: Mode Sense for Unsupported Page 0x3
  vmx| CDROM: Guest eject on ide1:0. Cancelling tools install.
  vmx| TOOLS INSTALL Cancellation requested.TOOLS INSTALL cancelling tools installation.
  
  Initializing...
  
  Segmentation Fault - core dumped
  Segmentation Fault - core dumped
  Segmentation Fault - core dumped
  This configuration program is to be executed in a virtual machine.
  Execution aborted.
  Found VMware Tools CDROM mounted at /cdrom/vmwaretools. Ejecting device
  /vol/dev/dsk/c0t0d0/vmwaretools ...

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x

Cause

This is a known issue with the LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable in Solaris 10. It is not a VMware issue.

Resolution

To work around this issue, perform one of these options:

• Remove /usr/lib/ from the LD_LIBRARY_PATH variable and reinstall VMware Tools.