Installing VMware Tools in a Solaris virtual machine

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to install VMware Tools in a Solaris guest operating system.

• For an overview of VMware Tools, see Overview of VMware Tools.
• For general VMware Tools installation information, see How to install VMware Tools.

Resolution

Install VMware Tools in a Solaris guest operating system

1. In the vSphere Client, ensure the Solaris virtual machine is powered on.
2. If running a GUI interface on the Solaris virtual machine, open a command shell.
   
   Note: Log in as a root user, or use the sudo command to complete each of these steps.
    
3. In the vSphere Client, click VM in the virtual machine menu.
4. Click Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools and click OK.
5. In the Solaris virtual machine, copy the vmware-solaris-tools.tar.gz file from /cdrom/vmwaretools to a temporary directory (/tmp/).
   
   Notes:
   • The /cdrom folder may need to be created before proceeding.
   • If the CD-ROM device is not mounted, run these commands and then attempt to copy the file:
     
     cd /var/svc/profile
sudo svcadm enable -r volfs
      
6. Decompress the file using the gunzip command. For example:
   
   gunzip vmware-solaris-tools.tar.gz
    
7. Extract the contents of the tar file:
   
   tar xvf vmware-solaris-tools.tar
    
8. Change directory:
   
   cd vmware-tools-distrib
    
9. To install the VMware Tools, run the following command from the directory in step 8.
   
   ./vmware-install.pl
    
10. Press Enter to accept all of the default values.
11. Reboot the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.
12. Check if the VMware tools service is running:
    
    /etc/init.d/vmware-tools status
    
    Example Output
    
    vmtoolsd is running
     
13. Add vmware-toolbox to the list of startup commands of the desktop.
    
    If using Java Desktop System, release 3:
     
    1. Go to Launch > Preferences > Desktop Preferences > Sessions.
    2. Click Startup Programs tab and add these entries:
       
       /usr/bin/vmware-user
/usr/bin/vmware-toolbox

Notes:

• Vmware Tools for Solaris available at  ProductFiles - Support Portal - Broadcom support portal.
• VMware Tools 10.3.10 freezes support for Solaris guests. Refer to VMware Tools 10.3.10 Release Notes.
• If the problem still exists after trying the steps in this article, file a support request with VMware Support and note this Knowledge Base article ID in the problem description. For more information, see Creating and managing Broadcom support cases.

Additional Information

For more information on:

• VMware Tools versions, see Determining the version of VMware Tools running in a Solaris virtual machine.
• The versions of Solaris that are supported on which versions of ESX or ESXi, see the Broadcom Compatibility Guide.
• VMware Tools installation information, see How to install VMware Tools.