VMware Tools is a set of utilities and drivers that enhances the performance and usability of virtual machines. Installing VMware Tools is highly recommended and should be one of the first tasks after setting up a new Ubuntu virtual machine (VM).
In this comprehensive guide, we will go through the entire process of adding VMware Tools to an Ubuntu VM step-by-step including:
- Explaining the benefits of VMware Tools
- Covering compatibility with various Ubuntu/VMware versions
- Detailing the full installation procedure with visuals
- Configuring useful post-install features
- Troubleshooting common VMware Tools problems
Follow along and you will be able to fully unlock the potential of your Ubuntu virtual machine with VMware Tools.
Benefits of Installing VMware Tools
Here are some of the major advantages you can expect after setting up VMware Tools on an Ubuntu VM:
Enhanced VM Performance
VMware Tools installs several performance drivers and modules that significantly improve speed and responsiveness.
For example, VMware‘s own internal benchmarks show guest operating systems seeing these typical gains with VMware tools installed versus without:
- CPU utilization drops 15-25% for most workloads
- Memory usage is lowered by 20-25% due to pre-allocation optimization
- Disk I/O improves throughput by 2-5x as latency is reduced
- Network utilization is more efficient with 30-70% higher throughput
So simply adding VMware Tools allows your Ubuntu VMs to make much better use of the resources allocated to them.
Improved Usability
VMware Tools adds significant usability enhancements like:
- Drag-and-drop files between Ubuntu guest and host OS
- Automated screen resolution when resizing the VM window
- Better clipboard integration for cut/copy between guest and host
- Seamless mouse movement across VM boundaries
This makes everyday tasks easier without having to remotely access or manually adjust settings in the guest Ubuntu system.
Enhanced Administration
Management capabilities also see a boost with VMware Tools through:
- Faster guest OS power operations like reboot/shutdown
- Better remote management integration with VMware infrastructure
- Centralized scripting across multiple VMs via VMware Tools commands
Overall, it unlocks more efficient centralized control of Ubuntu VMs at scale.
With a good understanding now of these benefits accessible by adding VMware Tools to Ubuntu guests, let‘s take a look at version compatibility next.
VMware Tools and Ubuntu Version Compatibility
VMware Tools needs to match both the VMware product and Ubuntu guest operating system version ranges for full feature support.
Refer to this compatibility matrix when planning your Ubuntu and VMware Tools installations:
| VMware Product Version | Compatible Ubuntu Releases | VMware Tools Version |
| ESXi 7.0 Update 2 | Ubuntu 18.04+, Ubuntu 20.04+ | VMware Tools 11.0 and above |
| Workstation 16 Pro | Ubuntu 18.04+, Ubuntu 20.04+ | VMware Tools 11.0 and above |
| Fusion 12 Pro | Ubuntu 18.04+, Ubuntu 20.04+ | VMware Tools 11.0 and above |
The key compatibility points to note are:
- Ubuntu versions 18.04 and 20.04 work with the latest VMware products and tools releases
- Older Ubuntu releases have support up till VMware Tools 10.x only
- Newer VMware versions mandate upgrading VMware Tools to match for feature parity
With the foundations covered, we will now jump into the installation and configuration process.
Installing VMware Tools on Ubuntu Step-by-Step
Follow along these step-by-step instructions to properly set up VMware Tools on your Ubuntu 18.04/20.04 virtual machine:
1. Update apt Repository Cache
Start off by refreshing your apt repositories to pull latest package versions:
sudo apt update2. Remove any Existing Open VM Tools
Uninstall Open VM Tools if already present:
sudo apt remove --purge open-vm-tools*
You cannot have both Open VM Tools and VMware Tools installed at the same time.
3. Install Compiler and Kernel Headers
We need essential build tools and kernel headers before proceeding:
sudo apt install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)
The compiler helps build custom VMware kernel modules required later down the road.
4. Mount VMware Tools Virtual CD/DVD Drive
Go to: VM > Install VMware Tools (for VM clients like Workstation and Fusion)
This attaches the VMwareTools ISO image as a virtual CD/DVD drive inside Ubuntu.
5. Copy VMware Tools Tar Archive to Filesystem
Open up the mounted tools disc and launch a terminal in that path with:
cd /media/$USER/VMware\ Tools
Copy the VMwareTools .tar.gz file to ~/Downloads with:
cp VMwareTools-*.tar.gz ~/Downloads
We will extract this archive in the next step.
6. Extract vmware-tools-distrib Directory
Navigate to ~/Downloads and extract the archive using:
tar -xzvf VMwareTools-*.tar.gz
This creates a new vmware-tools-distrib/ folder.
7. Execute vmware-install.pl Installer Script
Go inside vmware-tools-distrib/ and launch the installer:
sudo ./vmware-install.pl
Accept license terms when prompted. Sit back as the script builds, compiles, registers, and installs all VMware Tools components.
8. Reboot Ubuntu VM to Finalize Installation
After the script completes, reboot your Ubuntu VM to load the freshly built kernel modules:
sudo reboot
When Ubuntu finishes restarting, VMware Tools will be fully operational.
The entire installation procedure is visually depicted in this screenshot summary:
Next up, we will configure some handy post-install settings.
Configuring VMware Tools Features
After rebooting, log back into the Ubuntu VM to tweak some commonly used VMware Tools features:
Enable Copy/Paste Between Host and Guest
Edit /etc/vmware-tools/tools.conf and set:
[vmblock]
enable = "TRUE"
Now you can directly copy/paste text between Ubuntu and the host OS!
Enable Drag and Drop for File Transfers
Open the VMware VM settings editor and tick:
VM Options > Advanced > Drag and drop = Enable
Dragging files between host file explorer and Ubuntu in both directions should now work.
Configure Automatic Screen Resolution
When resizing the VMware window, Ubuntu desktop size can change as well by adding this to /usr/lib/vmware-tools/modules/binary/sway.so:
[resolutionSet]
enable=TRUE
No more messing with display settings after resizing.
Explore documentation for further options like shared folders, using VMware client tools for management, performance tweaks and more as needed.
Now that everything is setup, what if something goes wrong? Let‘s discuss some troubleshooting tips…
Troubleshooting VMware Tools Issues
In rare cases, you may run into problems while deploying VMware Tools. Here are solutions for some common scenarios:
Kernel Headers/Compiler Dependency Errors
Running the install script triggers warnings like:
Unable to find the sources of your current running kernel
This arises due to missing compiler/kernel-headers. Rerun Step 3 properly to fix.
Tool Services Not Starting
If executing vmware-toolbox-cmd fails with:
Failed to initialize tool proxy. Error = 13
Typically caused by vmware-tools-services not starting up properly after reboot.
Force systemctl restart using:
sudo systemctl restart vmware-tools-services
Then check status with:
systemctl status vmware-tools-services
Should be green now and working again!
VMware Kernel Modules Not Building
Installation script errors like this:
Unable to build the vmmon module
Indicate a GCC version mismatch between your current kernel and build environment.
Fix by temporarily updating kernel headers:
sudo apt install --reinstall linux-headers-$(uname -r)
Rerun vmware-install.pl once headers are upgraded.
For any further VMware Tools problems, consult the official VMware docs or community forums.
Closing Thoughts
Getting VMware Tools up and running is critical to boosting Ubuntu VM efficiency. This guide covered the entire process start to finish including:
- The performance, usability and management benefits unlocked
- How to match Ubuntu distro version with VMware Tools releases
- Comprehensive Ubuntu installation instructions with visuals
- Configuring drag-and-drop, copy-paste, auto resize, and more
- Troubleshooting advice for potential VMware Tools issues
With VMware Tools properly set up per these best practices, your Ubuntu VMs will run faster, smoother and enable tighter integration across the VMware platform.