• VMware ESX is a server virtualization product. Certain virtual machine settings such as operating system, memory and hardware are stored in a vmx file. This file is automatically generated when you create the virtual machine. However, it can be edited by hand in any plain text editor such as Notepad, vi or emacs. Editing the vmx file while the virtual machine is powered on can result in a corrupted virtual machine file.
  
  

The "config.version" Option

• The "config.version" option determines which version of VMware the vmx file is designed for. This option should be set to "8" for ESX 4 or 3 and "6" for previous versions. The entire string for ESX 4, including quotes is:
  
  config.version = "8"
  
  

The "virtualHW.version" Option

• The "virtualHW.version" option determines the type of virtual computer being simulated, which is specific to each version of VMware. This option should be set to "7" for ESX 4, "4" for ESX 3 and "3" for previous ESX versions. The entire string for ESX 4 would be:
  
  virtualHW.version = "7"
  
  

The "guestOS" Option

• The "guestOS" option indicates the operating system for which the virtual machine is configured. While you can install any compatible operating system on a physical computer, the virtual machine is tailored to the operating system. The following options are available: winxphome, winxppro, winxppro-64, winvista, winvista-64, win7, win7-64, ubuntu, ubuntu-64, redhat, rhel3 (Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3), rhel3-64, rhel4, rhel4-64, rhel4-64, suse, suse-64, sles (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server), sles-64, other26xlinux (Other 2.6 Kernel Linux), other26xlinux-64, solaris7, solaris8, solaris9, solaris10, solaris10-64, solaris11, netware4, netware5, netware6, freebsd, freebsd-64. The "-64" options are for 64-bit versions of the operating systems. These should only be installed on an ESX server with a 64-bit processor. The full string for a virtual machine running Windows Vista is:
  
  guestOS = "winvista"
  
  

The "ideX:X.present" Option

• The virtual IDE controller is used to connect virtual and real CD-ROM devices, and virtual hard drives. The first "X" should be replaced by the controller number, starting with "0" for the first controller. The second "X" is replaced by the device number, also starting from "0." Each controller can have two devices attached to it. This option only indicates that the device exists, but not what type of device it is. To indicate that the second device on the first controller is present, you would enter this string:
  
  ide0:1.present = TRUE
  
  

The "ideX:X.deviceType" Option

• This option indicates the type of device attached to the IDE controller. The controller and device numbers should match the preceding "ideX:X.present" option. There are three options available: "cdrom-image," used for ISO images, "atapi-cdrom," used for physical DVD/CD drives attached to the host computer and "disk," used for virtual hard drives. The string to indicate that the second device on the first controller is a physical CD-ROM is:
  
  ide0:1.deviceType = "atapi-cdrom"
  
  

The "memsize" Option

• The "memsize" option indicates the amount of memory available to the virtual machine. This amount can't exceed the amount of memory in the host computer. The maximum recommended size is the host computer's memory minus 512 MB. Memory sizes must be indicated in multiples of four, or the virtual machine will not start. The string to indicate a memory size of 512 MB is:
  
  memsize = "512"