installing VMware - linux SMP - lil advice please

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Hi all,

Nooby cruncher but im looking to stomp some people this week :) Windows cruncher is pants, so want to install VM ubuntu.

I am following the guide written by Peter Spain (thx for writing so many guides):

http://smp.aeternum.co.uk/guide/4

It advices to install VMware Server, which i have done, im just about to configure it. Now in the guide it says select 2 cores. (im assuming its written for dual cores) So I have a quad core.. if i select 4 will it render my windows useless as all 4 cores will goto the VM Unbuntu?

The machine im running VM on is my work machine but im mainly just in autocad / spreadsheets during the day so 1/2 cores is plenty.

Q6600 @3.2
4gig ram

Should i set like 3cores & 1.1gig ram for VM. (i think i read that u only need 1gig ram for the biggest proteins)

Thx in advance!
 
I run Notfred's diskless folding CD (a _very_ small, simple linux folding OS + client) on VMWare player. It's easy to setup compared to VMware server and ubuntu. Also VMWare player is a free download with no registration and no trial period.

I can't go into much detail right now as I'm in work but it's worth looking into IMO.
 
VMware server will only let you assign 2 cores to each client (for more than two cores, i think Microsoft's hyper-v is the only solution, and this is a server 2008 product). When the VMs are running, they run just as processes, so you can look at them in task manager. If you set the VM to have two processors, it will only use two cores of your quad, and likewise two VMs would use 4 cores. VMware doesnt lock those cores to the virtual machines - they behave just as normal processes, and are set to a 'normal' priority in task manager by default, so take all the cpu time they need.

This can make windows/other programs a little slow, so i manually change the priority of the VMS to low. In this case, they only use the spare CPU cycles and let other programs use all the cpu time they need. It does slow windows down a little, particularly if there is something that requires a lot of memory, but slowdown is pretty minimal.
 
VMware server will only let you assign 2 cores to each client (for more than two cores, i think Microsoft's hyper-v is the only solution, and this is a server 2008 product). When the VMs are running, they run just as processes, so you can look at them in task manager. If you set the VM to have two processors, it will only use two cores of your quad, and likewise two VMs would use 4 cores. VMware doesnt lock those cores to the virtual machines - they behave just as normal processes, and are set to a 'normal' priority in task manager by default, so take all the cpu time they need.

This can make windows/other programs a little slow, so i manually change the priority of the VMS to low. In this case, they only use the spare CPU cycles and let other programs use all the cpu time they need. It does slow windows down a little, particularly if there is something that requires a lot of memory, but slowdown is pretty minimal.

Hmm i had a lil trouble opening the VMware server, when i clicked it, it failed because it said the certificate was self validated or something. do i need to change the HTML port as it was 8222 or 8333 prob should have 8080 or something right?
 
Hmm... this is a little complicated. Im not sure about your specific setup, but if you just installed it on a desktop machine, port 8333 should be correct. I advise you to use internet explorer to start with as i found Opera (not sure on other browsers) to be a little funny with VMware. When you click the VMware server link, the page it links to should be somthing like 'https://localhost:8333/ui' or 'https://xxxxx-xxxx:8333/ui' (where the x's are your computers name.

IE will tell you the security certificate is invalid, buy you need to ignore this and click continue anyway. I dont think it will cause any harm, and i do it all the time! You may also have to add the page to the trusted sites section of IE, although i have not had to do this on my latest clean install (a few days ago).

Its a bit more complicated i think if using 'localhost' or your computers name doesnt work. You may have to try using your PCs IP address, although i would ask elsewhere for advice on this!

If you get it to log in to the oage correctly, your away. You may like to try using the VIclient interface though instead of the web interface, because, to be honest, the web interface is crap! Heres a link that shows you how to setup the VIclient interface - you need to follow the bit towards the top and read the bit right at the bottom:

http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-2401

Hope this helps!
 
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