Build a VPS Host in 24 Hours: VMware Server 2.0 Install

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After your new Ubuntu VPS server has rebooted, you'll want to log into it to complete some preliminary steps in preparation for installing VMware Server 2.0. First, install any outstanding system updates by executing the following commands:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade --show-upgraded

The updates will most likely include a kernel update. After the updates are installed, reboot your server to use the updated kernel before proceeding. Next, you'll need to assign a static IP address to your server. If you're using DHCP from your router, you'll want to choose an address outside the DHCP range.

sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Your updated network interfaces file will resemble the following, adjusted to fit your LAN's particular configuration.

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto eth0
iface eth0 inet static
	address 192.168.1.10
	netmask 255.255.255.0
	gateway 192.168.1.1

It's important that the "gateway" entry be filled in with your LAN router's IP address. This is what allows your server to communicate with the outside world. If you're in doubt, you can use the "route" command to see what your current "default route" IP address is. Save your changes to the network configuration file by pressing "Ctrl+O", and then press "Ctrl+X" to exit the editor. Restart networking and verify the new settings as shown below.

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart
ifconfig
ping ping.symantec.com

For the remainder of this tutorial, you can use SSH from another machine to access your VPS server. If you're using Linux or MacOSX on your workstation, this is easy; if you're usin Windows, you can download PuTTY, an excellent free SSH client.

You'll need to install some prerequisite packages. Use the following command to install kernel headers and required compiler tools (all on one line).

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-`uname -r` build-essential xinetd

Download VMware Server 2.0 from the VMware website. You'll need to complete a free registration to download the product and obtain an installation key. Once it's downloaded, you can copy the tar.gz file to your Ubuntu server via SFTP. If you're using Windows, you can use WinSCP to accomplish this step, otherwise you can use probably just use your file browser in Linux or MacOSX. Untar the file and start the installer as shown below. During the setup, you will probably receive a compiler version warning; this can be safely ignored. When you're asked about setting up a different administrative user, enter your Ubuntu username. When asked about the directory for virtual server files, specify "/vservers" (or pick your own desired location). Accept the defaults for all other configuration questions.

gzip -d VMware-server-*gz
tar -xvf VMware-server-*tar
cd vmware-server-distrib/
sudo ./vmware-install.pl

Once the installer completes, reboot the server to make sure everything comes back up properly. Your server is now ready to host its first virtual machine.

sudo reboot

Next Part - Creating a Debian Virtual Machine