Start and stop VMWARE VPS / virtual machine guest operating system from command line
Vmware server comes with the nifty vmware-cmd utility. It allows an administrator to perform various operations on a virtual machine from Linux command line / shell prompt such as:
=> Stop / Start VM
=> Get VM status
=> Setup variables
=> Powerdown VM and much more
Task: Lists the virtual machines on the local server
You can list all servers and config file, enter:
# vmware-cmd -l
Output:
/nas/vms/Ubuntu/Ubuntu.vmx /nas/vms/FreeBSD/FreeBSD.vmx /nas/vms/OpenBSD/OpenBSD.vmx /nas/vms/Debian4/Debian4.vmx /nas/vms/CentOS5/CentOS5.vmx
Turn on VM / Power up VPS
Just pas start option to vmware-cmd,
# vmware-cmd /nas/vms/FreeBSD/FreeBSD.vmx start
To stop VM/VPS, enter:
# vmware-cmd /nas/vms/FreeBSD/FreeBSD.vmx stop
To reset VM/VPS, enter:
# vmware-cmd /nas/vms/FreeBSD/FreeBSD.vmx reset
To suspend VM/VPS, enter:
# vmware-cmd /nas/vms/FreeBSD/FreeBSD.vmx suspend
Find out if OpenBSD VM is on or off:
# vmware-cmd /disk2.vmware/vms/OpenBSD/OpenBSD.vmx getstate
Output:
getstate() = off
vmware-cmd offers other options, please consult VMWARE documentation for more information.
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Tags: Linux, linux command, linux_distributions, nifty-tool, superior_solution, virtual machines, vmware server
One minor problem with your 1st command to list the VMs. The command should be vmware-cmd -l
Sir Geek,
Thanks for the heads up… post has been updated
I have installed VMWare Server 1.0.4 on RHEL5.1 64 bit version. When I try to power on a virtual machine the OS panics. I am not a linux expert so I have no idea as to how to deal with this issue. I do not have physical access to the server and remotely I was able to take a screenshot of the panic screen. The last line read “Kernel Panic - not syncing: Fatal exception”.
Your help would be highly appreciated.
Hmm. After a reboot vmware seems not to be running. I can’t connect or start any virtual machines.
What daemons need to be enabled with chkconfig? What modules need to load?
Try
/etc/init.d/vmware startDid you upgraded kernel? If so you need to reconfigure vmware
vmware-config.pl -dThank you!
A friends server went down due to power failure and this info helped me solve the problem.
Where can i get a complete list of such commands?
oh and by the way, you still need to change the -1 to -l (L) because had he not have seen the error we would not have been able to use the info here. Also, please let people know that the information after # vmware-cmd /this/blah/blah is the path and will be different for all users
Cheers and thanks again
Jay
vmware-cmd -?