Sharing virtual machines with other users – VMware GSX 3 User Manual

Page 183

Advertising
background image

C H A P T E R 5 Moving and Sharing Virtual Machines

183

Sharing Virtual Machines

with Other Users

If you intend to have other users access your virtual machines, you should consider
the following points:

On Windows hosts, the virtual machine files should be in a location on a system
that is accessible to those users. When you configure the virtual machine in the
New Virtual Machine Wizard, you can specify a location for the virtual machine
elsewhere on your system or on the network.

On Linux hosts, permissions for the virtual machine files — especially the
configuration file (.vmx) and virtual disks (.vmdk) — should be set for other
users according to how you want them to use the virtual machine. For instance,
if you want users to run a virtual machine but not be able to modify its
configuration, do not make the configuration file writable.

If your virtual machine was created under GSX Server 3 or another VMware
product (such as Workstation 4 or higher) and uses independent disks in
nonpersistent mode, consider changing the location of the redo-log file, since
by default it is placed in your TEMP directory, to which other users may not have
access. To change the location of the redo-log file, take the following steps.

a. With the virtual machine powered off, open the virtual machine settings

editor. Choose VM > Settings.

b. Click the Options tab.

c. Click Browse and select a directory that is shared with other users.

d. Click OK to save the change and close the virtual machine settings editor.

Note: GSX Server 2 virtual machines with disks in nonpersistent mode perform
better when the redo-log files for those disks are located in the system’s TEMP
directory.

The virtual machine must be located in a directory with permissions set so that it
is accessible to all users of the virtual machine.

The virtual machine must not be private. For more information, see

Only You Can

See Virtual Machines You Create on page 116

.

Advertising