Upgrade Workstation Pro on a Linux Host

You can upgrade to the current version of Workstation Pro on a Linux host system by running the Linux bundle installer for Workstation Pro. On most Linux distributions, the Linux bundle installer launches a GUI wizard. On some Linux distributions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1, the bundle installer launches a command-line wizard instead of a GUI wizard. You can run the installer with the --console option to upgrade Workstation Pro in a terminal window.

Remote connections and virtual machine sharing are enabled by default when you upgrade Workstation Pro. With remote connections, you can connect to remote hosts and run remote virtual machines. With virtual machine sharing, you can create virtual machines that other instances of Workstation Pro can access remotely.

Shared virtual machines are stored in the shared virtual machines directory, where VMware Workstation Server (vmware-workstation-server) manages them. Remote users connect to VMware Workstation Server through HTTPS port 443 on the host system.

To change the shared virtual machines directory or select a different port during the upgrade process, you must specify the --custom option. You can also change the shared virtual machines directory, select a different port, and disable remote connections and virtual machine sharing after Workstation Pro is upgraded by modifying the Shared VMs Workstation Pro preference setting.

Prerequisites

• Verify that the host system meets the host system requirements. See Host System Requirements for Workstation Pro.
• Verify that you have a license key.
• Prepare for the upgrade. See Prepare for an Upgrade.
• Familiarize yourself with the Linux command-line installation options. You must use the --custom option to specify certain configuration settings. See Linux Command Line Installation Options.
• Verify that you have root access to the host system.

Procedure

1. Log in to the host system with the user name that you plan to use when you run Workstation Pro.
2. Become root.
   For example: su root

   The command that you use depends on your Linux distribution and configuration.

3. Change directories to the directory that contains the Workstation Pro installer file.
4. Run the appropriate Workstation Pro installer for the host system.
   For example: sh VMware-Workstation-xxxx-xxxxxxx.architecture.bundle [--option]
   xxxx-xxxxxxx is the version and build numbers, architecture is x86_64, and option is a command-line option.
5. Accept the Open Virtualization Format (OVF) Tool license agreement.
   If you are using the --console option or installing Workstation Pro on a host system that does not support the GUI wizard, press Enter to scroll through and read the license agreement or type q to skip to the [yes/no] prompt.
6. Follow the prompts to finish the installation.

Results

After Workstation Pro is upgraded, vmware-workstation-server starts on the host system. vmware-workstation-server starts whenever you restart the host system.

What to do next

To use the latest features, upgrade existing virtual machines to the new version of Workstation Pro. See Change the Hardware Compatibility of a Virtual Machine.

If you used bridged settings to map virtual networks to specific physical or virtual adapters in the previous version of Workstation Pro, recreate the mappings. If you created teams in the previous version of Workstation, convert the teams to use them in the new version of Workstation Pro.