Debian 7

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Debian 7 documentation covers information on how to install the operating system in a virtual machine. For additional information about the operating system, refer to the instructions included in the installation media.

Debian 7 documentation includes the following topics:

• Installation Instructions
• VMware Tools in a Debian 7 Guest
• Knowledge Base Articles for Debian 7
• VMware Compatibility Guide

Installation Instructions

The easiest method of installing Debian 7 in a virtual machine is to use the standard Debian 7 distribution CD.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, verify that the following tasks are complete:

• Read General Installation Instructions for All VMware Products.
• With many Linux guest operating systems, various problems have been observed when the BusLogic virtual SCSI adapter is used with VMware virtual machines. VMware recommends that you use the Vmware Paravirtual SCSI adapter or LSI Logic virtual SCSI adapter with this guest operating system.

Installation Steps

1. Insert the Debian 7 installation media in the CD-ROM drive.
2. Power on the virtual machine.
3. From the Boot options, select Install for text mode installation or Graphical Install for graphic user interface installation.
4. During the installation you might be prompted to Configure the package manager using Scan another CD or DVD or Use a network mirror.
1. If you have additional installation media to install software select Yes and follow the prompts.
2. If you select Use a network mirror to install software, you are prompted for HTTP Proxy information.
3. (Optional) If you have the HTTP proxy information, type it in the space provided, otherwise leave it blank.
5. Follow the prompts to complete the installation.
6. Install either Open VM Tools or VMware Tools. VMware recommends using the Open VM Tools included with Debian 7.

VMware Tools in a Debian 7 Guest

Use the guest OS provided Open VM Tools or install the VMware Tools, as needed.

Open VM Tools

Open VM Tools is the open source implementation of VMware Tools and consist of a suite of virtualization utilities that improves the functionality, administration, and management of virtual machines on VMware hypervisors. VMware recommends using the Open VM Tools redistributed by the operating system vendors. For additional information, see knowledge base article 2073803, VMware support of open-vm-tools, at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2073803.

Install Open VM Tools

1. Add the following line to the /etc/apt/sources.list file.
   deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian/ wheezy main contrib
2. Run the commands:
   $ sudo apt-get update
   $ sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools

Add the vmhgfs Driver

If you use the file sharing feature by using Shared Folders in VMware Workstation and Fusion, install the vmhgfs driver in the virtual machine. This driver is not included inbox in the operating system. Installing the additional vmhgfs driver does not disturb the other inbox VMware drivers or Open VMware Tools. To install this driver:

1. Install Open VMware Tools.
2. Install the traditional TAR Format VMware Tools that is bundled with VMware Workstation or Fusion products

VMware Tools

For information on VMware Tools, see Knowledge base article 1014294, General VMware Tools installation instructions, at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1014294.

Knowledge Base Articles for Debian 7

The following link refers to knowledge base articles on operating system specific issues. See VMware Knowledge Base for a list of known issues about the operating system.

VMware Compatibility Guide

The VMware Compatibility Guide Web site lists supported guest and host operating systems and provides related support information.