VMware Remote Console (VMRC) is a lightweight client that lets you open full remote consoles to virtual machines running on ESXi or vSphere, including access to local devices and USB redirection. If you work with VMware this is a fantastically useful tool that will make administration of the various VMs much more efficient. The great thing is, VMware does support Linux clients of VMRC but it is not quite as straight forward to install. This is my process for getting this to work.
Bottom Line Up Front: After jumping through the series of VMware/Broadcom hoops, this works and works very well for me. As I proofread the content, I am coming back to this section to say that this article largely falls in line with my Nearly Seamless Integration | openSUSE in a Microsoft Office 365 Environment as this is not what I would call a native, open source friendly, environment for Linux clients but once you are up and operational, it works well.
The Problem
The initial problem is getting access to the download. Once upon a time, before Broadcom purchased VMware, getting VMRC was extremely easy. Within your running instance of VMware ESXi or vSphere, you could literally click to download the latest copy of the application. That is no longer the case. You will have to have an account, of some kind. Since my company does have this, that part was easy enough. What Broadcom is allowing today, is anybody’s guess.
Install VMware Remote Conosle on a Client
For Windows, there is your standard .exe file. Easy enough to understand. For Linux, on the other hand, it is distributed as a .bundle file rather than an RPM or DEB package or even a .tar.gz.
This guide walks through installing VMRC 12.0.5 (build 22744838) on openSUSE Tumbleweed. The same process will likely apply to other recent versions and for the next few versions. Some of this information should translate to other distributions but I am primarily using openSUSE Tumbleweed, so it is verified working for that distribution only.
What is a .bundle file?
A .bundle is VMware’s self-extracting installer for Linux. It is a shell script (usually bash) with the program files and binaries embedded at the end. When you run it, the script extracts everything and launches either a graphical or text-based installer. This is the standard delivery method for VMware products on Linux (Remote Console, Workstation, Player, etc.). I must say, I don’t always remember this as being the case but I could be misremembering.
Prerequisites
- An x86_64 openSUSE Tumbleweed system
- Root / sudo access
- The downloaded file: VMware-Remote-Console-12.0.5-22744838.x86_64.bundle (or later)
- Optional but recommended: libaioBash
sudo zypper install libaio1
Note: VMware Remote Console and VMware Workstation cannot be installed on the same machine because they share components.
Installation Steps
Open a terminal and change to the directory containing the bundle (usually ~/Downloads):
cd ~/Downloads
Make the installer executable:
chmod +x VMware-Remote-Console-12.0.5-22744838.x86_64.bundle
Note: Adjust this version as necessary.
Run the installer as root.
GUI mode (recommended if you have a desktop environment):
sudo ./VMware-Remote-Console-12.0.5-22744838.x86_64.bundle
Text/console mode (useful over SSH or if the GUI does not start):
sudo ./VMware-Remote-Console-12.0.5-22744838.x86_64.bundle --console
Follow the prompts:
- Accept the license agreement (in console mode type yes after reading or skipping with q).
- Choose whether to check for product updates.
- Decide whether to join the Customer Experience Improvement Program (optional).
System Service Scripts Directory Prompt
During installation the installer asks:
System service scripts directory (commonly /etc/init.d).
openSUSE Tumbleweed uses systemd, so /etc/init.d is a legacy location. You have two practical options: Keep the Default or use the systemd-freindly method
- Default (less advised for Tumbleweed): Create the directory if it does not exist, then accept the default.
sudo mkdir -p /etc/init.d
Then press Enter (or type /etc/init.d).
Alternatively, and what I did was the more systemd-friendly method:
Enter at the prompt
/etc/systemd/system
Either choice works for VMRC. Any warning about missing rc*.d directories can usually be ignored on a systemd system.
Verify the Installation
After the installer finishes, confirm the USB arbitrator service is running:
systemctl list-units | grep -i vmware
You should see something like:
vmware-USBArbitrator.service loaded active running VMware host USB services for Workstation and VMRC
Check its status:
systemctl status vmware-USBArbitrator
If you try to launch VMRC from the terminal:
vmrc
You will receive an error that with an I/O warning:
I/O warning : failed to load external entity "/etc/vmware/hostd/proxy.xml"
vmrc: requires either a host or a VMRC URI as arguments.
Try 'vmrc --help' for more information.
That is perfectly normal. You must have it directed towards some running compatible entity.
VMRC did not create an application menu entry for me bit it registers itself to handle vmrc:// links from the vSphere Client or ESXi Host Client.
You can optionally confirm the version:
vmrc --version
Handy Bits and Gotchas
Some additional bits of important information as some of these steps may not be as vital for your use case.
- Basic console access works even if the USB arbitrator service is not running. The service is mainly needed for USB device redirection.
- If the installer complains about missing libraries, install them with zypper and re-run the bundle. This should clear up any issues.
- To uninstall later, use the VMware installer utility that was placed on the system (typically
vmware-installer -u vmware-vmrcor similar. checkvmware-installer -h). - Keep the original .bundle file somewhere safe in case you need to reinstall, install on another machine or uninstall cleanly.
With these steps, VMware Remote Console is ready for use on openSUSE Tumbleweed. This may work for other distributions but you will have to use the appropriate package manager. The next time you need to install it (or a newer version), you can refer back to this guide. At least, I probably will because that is why I write these things.
Final Thoughts
VMware is not my preferred hypervisor but it does work very well and I need to work with it. It only makes sense to increase efficiency when working with it so that my days of working within VMware go just a bit better. It is also great to have the tools I need working on my distribution of choice.
References
Install VMware Remote Conosle on a Client
https://get.opensuse.org
Nearly Seamless Integration | openSUSE in a Microsoft Office 365 Environment
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