How To Install VMWare Workstation Pro 14 On Linux
There are a lot of virtualization tools for the Linux platform, but by far, one of the most used (at least in terms of the enterprise) is VMware. It’s not hard to see why many people go with VMware. It’s a solid set of tools, backed up by a huge company, with support around the clock and etc. If you’re new to using VMware, especially on Linux we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’ll go over all the steps you’ll need to follow to install VMWare Workstation Pro 14 on Linux. We’ll go over installation steps for both a Linux server and workstation PC.
Please keep in mind that VMware Workstation Pro 14 isn’t free software, nor is it open source. You must buy the software to get the full experience. That said, there is a free trial available. Download the latest version for Linux here.
Note: the VMware free trial lasts 30 days and gives users the full VMware Workstation experience without limitations.
Install Vmware Workstation Pro 14
VMware Workstation Pro 14 for Linux comes in a “bundle” file. This file is a binary and will work on anything remotely Linux. VMware does not have any distro-specific packages, so this is the only way to install the software. Install it by running these commands:
cd ~/Downloads sudo -s ./VMware-*
Running these three commands should bring up a graphical installer. The first step in the installer is the end-user license agreement. Click the “I accept the terms in the license agreement” to continue through the installation process (you may have to do this several times).
After getting through all the legal jargon, the VMware installer will ask to notify you of new product updates. Leave it at “Yes” and click next to continue on.
Following all the questions, the VMware installer asks what user will be using the software. Enter your username and click “Next”.
In the next step of the installation process, VMware needs to know where it should place virtual machines. The default location VMware Workstation Pro 14 stores VMs is /var/lib/vmware/Shared VMs and you don’t really need to change it. Click “Next” to move on.
At one point in the installer, you’ll need to specify ports. Leave it at the default, and click “Next” to move on to the next step in the installation.
VMware has all the information it needs to install — almost. The next step in the process is to enter a product key. If you’ve got one, enter it now. If you’re just interested in demoing the software, click “Next”. You’ll need to enter a key when the trial ends.
After taking care of the VMware product key business, click “Install” to start the installation. When the installation finishes, an “Installation was successful” message will appear.
Using VMware Workstation Pro 14
The VMware Workstation Pro 14 software package comes with 3 separate pieces of software. Specifically, “VMware Workstation”, “VMware Player”, and “Virtual Network Editor”. To use any of the software, open up your application menu and look for “VMware”. Click on any of the three installed programs.
When you launch a VMware application on the Linux desktop, you’ll see a pop-up message asking for a product key. Click the option to try the software for 30 days, and the pop-up will go away.
Create a VM
Creating virtual machines in VMware is quite easy, and it starts out by going to the main window in VMware Workstation and selecting the “Create a New Virtual Machine” option.
In the setup wizard, be sure that “Typical” is selected. Selecting this button makes configuring a new machine easier than the advanced mode.
On the next page, select “Use ISO image” and click the “Browse” button. Using the file browser, find the ISO file for the operating system you’d like to virtualize and select “open”.
Choose the type of “Guest” operating system the VM will be. Options to choose from for the Guest are “Microsoft Windows“, “Linux”, Novell NetWare”, “Solaris”, “VMware ESX”, and “Other”.
Selecting the type of “Guest” requires a “Version” selection too. For example, if you choose “Linux” as the guest, go to the “Version” drop-down menu and select the distribution (like Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.)
Press next when a “Guest” is chosen, write in the name of your VM under “name” and click the “Next” button to continue on.
Disk size comes after naming in the VM creation tool. VMware should automatically guess the size, so click next to continue.
Note: need a larger hard drive for the VM? Go to “Maximum disk size (in GB)” in the wizard and change it from the default.
With the virtual hard drive configured, the VM is ready to go. Finish the creation process by clicking the “Finish” button.
To start up your VMware virtual machine, go back to the main window, select the VM and click “Start up this guest operating system”.
