Virtual machine fails to start, when Fusion is deployed to macOS 10.14.5 or above where host does not have internet access

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:
After using Fusion mass deploy package "Deploy VMware Fusion.mpkg" to deploy Fusion to macOS 10.14.5 or above operating system which has no Internet access, Fusion kernel extensions cannot be loaded when the deployed Fusion is launched, due to which virtual machine fails to start.

Environment

VMware Fusion 11.x

Resolution

This is a known issue.

Workaround:
To work around this issue, use one of these options:

• Ensure that the macOS 10.14.5 or above host to which Fusion is deployed has Internet access.

• When preparing the "Deploy VMware Fusion.mpkg" for mass deployment, perform the following steps to staple notary ticket to the "VMware Fusion.app" inside the "Deploy VMware Fusion.mpkg":

1. In Terminal, change directory to where the "Deploy VMware Fusion.mpkg" is located.
2. In Terminal, run the command:

/Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer/usr/bin/stapler staple "Deploy VMware Fusion.mpkg/Contents/00Fusion_Deployment_Items/VMware Fusion.app"

The command returns "The staple and validate action worked!"

Notes: The version of the Xcode application must be 10.1 or above.

3. Use the "Deploy VMware Fusion.mpkg" to deploy Fusion to macOS 10.14.5 or above host. The deployed Fusion can launch kernel extensions and power on virtual machine even when the host has no Internet access.