1. Install required packages

apt-get install psmisc make gcc gcc-4.1 linux-headers-$(uname -r)


2. Download VMware server

Register at vmware.com, download the latest VMware server binary and upload to your server.

3. Extract

tar zxvf VMware-server-2.x.tar.gz


Replace the filename with the downloaded filename.

4. Use gcc 4.1 instead of the default version: 4.3

Lenny is configured to use gcc 4.3 but WMware server requires gcc 4.1. Temporarily use 4.1 while configuring VMware server:

ln -sf /usr/bin/gcc-4.1 /usr/bin/gcc


5. Install and configure VMware server

cd vmware-server-distrib
./vmware-install.pl


You can accept the defaults for all questions in the installer and configuration tool but read carefully to make sure they fit your requirements.

6. Change the default gcc version

ln -sf /usr/bin/gcc-4.3 /usr/bin/gcc


7. Installation complete

You can now access the web interface by navigating to http://your-server:8222 or https://your-server:8333

Install kernel headers and some tools used to install VMware tools:
apt-get install binutils cpp gcc make psmisc linux-headers-$(uname -r)


Mount the cdrom drive. Make sure you have mounted the VMware tools virtual cd from the host before moving on.
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/


Extract VMware tools to the tmp directory:
tar -C /tmp -zxvf /mnt/VMwareTools-x.x.x.tar.gz

The filename depends on the host software/OS.

Unmount the virtual cd:
umount /mnt


Lenny is configured to use gcc 4.3 but WMware tools requires gcc 4.1. Both versions of gcc are installed by default so we'll temporarily use 4.1 while building VMware tools:
ln -sf /usr/bin/gcc-4.1 /usr/bin/gcc


Make sure you run the following command from the Console, don't try to run it using SSH because the network will be restarted and the installation will fail.
cd /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl

Accept the defaults for every question. Make sure you're located inside the vmware-tools-distrib folder when executing the vmware-install.pl script or the installation will fail.

After the build has completed, configure the system to use gcc 4.3 again:
ln -sf /usr/bin/gcc-4.3 /usr/bin/gcc


To finish the installation and start the virtual machine with VMware tools installed, reboot the virtual machine:
reboot


In this tutorial we'll install the free VMware server 1.x and VMware Management Interface to a Debian etch system.

First install required packages

apt-get install kernel-headers-`uname -r` psmisc libx11-6 libx11-dev xspecs libxtst6 libXt-dev libXrender-dev libxi6 lvm-common lvm2 xfsprogs


Download and extract source

cd /tmp
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-server-1.0.6-91891.tar.gz
tar zxvf VMware-server-1.0.6-91891.tar.gz


Install

cd vmware-server-distrib/
./vmware-install.pl


You will be asked a bunch of questions in the installer and the defaults will fit for most systems.

Install VMware Management Interface (optional)

cd /tmp
wget http://download3.vmware.com/software/vmserver/VMware-mui-1.0.6-91891.tar.gz
tar zxvf VMware-mui-1.0.6-91891.tar.gz
cd vmware-mui-distrib
./vmware-install.pl


You can now access VMware server using the web management interface. Navigate to https://your-server:8333

Install kernel headers and some tools used to install VMware tools
apt-get install binutils cpp gcc make psmisc linux-headers-$(uname -r)


Mount the cdrom drive. Make sure you have mounted the VMware tools virtual cd from the host before moving on.
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/


Extract VMware tools to the tmp directory:
tar -C /tmp -zxvf /mnt/VMwareTools-3.5.0-67921.tar.gz

The filename depends on the host software/OS. Here is a reference to a VMware ESX 3i VMware tools package.

Unmount the virtual cd
umount /mnt


Make sure you run the following command from the Console, don't try to run it using SSH because the network will be restarted and the installation will fail.
cd /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl

Accept the defaults for every question. Make sure you're located inside the vmware-tools-distrib folder when executing the vmware-install.pl script or the installation will fail.

To finish the installation and start the virtual machine with VMware tools installed, reboot the virtual machine:
reboot