Vmware clipboard not working. Administration of the VMware Workstation platform. Teleportation to the future to solve pressing problems

After meeting this software product as VMware workstation (see the article: Installation and first acquaintance with the VMware workstation emulator), many newbies encounter problems in the inconvenience of using certain functions, and there is not enough sensible help in Russian on all VMware workstation functionality in order to eliminate " blank spots "in the setting, I decided to publish this article, where I will try to describe as much as possible everything that is hidden in the bins.
Let's proceed directly to the global settings of the program:

In the sidebar, we can place virtual machines into groups

Let's perform global program settings. Edit Menu - Preferences

1. Workspace. Allows you to set basic options for the workspace. Default Location for virtual machines and teams allows you to set the path to the directory where the default virtual machines will be saved. After we create a directory for virtual machines, and specify the path to it, by default, upon subsequent creation, each virtual machine will be located in this directory.

Remember opened tabs between session - Remembers open tabs between sessions - remembers open workspace tabs.
Keep VMs running after Workstation closes - Run enabled guest OSs in the background, a very convenient function if we want to have a parallel operating system, or a server running any services on our physical machine.
Enable all shared folders by default - Allow all shared folders by default - we will not use this function yet, and will touch on it a little later, while this checkbox can be unchecked.
Default hardware compatibuility - Default hardware compatibility - may be needed in case of a virtual machine previous version VMware Workstation... By default, the Workstation 8 compatibility mode is set. You can also see the inactive option "Compatibility with: ESX Server", what ESX Server is, I will tell you a little later in a separate article.
Save screenshots to - Save screenshots to: (Clipboard) Clipboard, (File) File - the function allows you to make a PrintScreen of the virtual machine screen and save it to the clipboard or to a specified location, respectively.
"Show Aero Pick thumbnails for open tabs" if in Russian it sounds something like this: "Show in Windows theme Aero thumbnails of open tabs of virtual machines ”. This function does not work in Windows XP.
Function "Privacy" or "Privacy" with the button "offer to save login information for remote hosts" This function allows you to save information about the login / password when connecting to a remote virtual machine.

Well, with the tab "Workspace" (Workspace) we figured out and now go to the tab "Input" (input method)

2. Input

"Grab keyboard and mouse input on mouse click" - Capture keyboard and mouse on mouse click
"Grab keyboard and mouse input on key press" - Capture keyboard and mouse on key press
Group "Cursor"
Warning: "You may need to install VMware Tools for these options to work correctly" - You may need to install VMware Tools for these options to work correctly.
"VMware Tools" drivers (utilities) for working with virtual machines are located \ VMware \ VMware Workstation in the directory installed program... I think I need to tell you a little about them because the success of comfortable work with virtual machines depends on the integration of VMware Tools by 50%. We will need them after installing the guest operating system, I will say in a nutshell what they are:
as I said earlier, these utilities are located by default in the "\ VMware \ VMware Workstation" directory in the * .iso image format, and if you look into this directory, you will see, among other system files:

freebsd.iso - for FreeBSD operating systems
linux.iso - for Linux operating systems
netware.iso - for NetWare operating systems
solaris.iso - for Solaris operating systems
windows.iso - for operating rooms Windows systems
winPre2k.iso - for Windows operating systems earlier than Windows 2000

in my opinion one more wonderful image "darwin.iso" for operating systems on the Mac OS platform is missing, and I will tell you about where to get it in one of the following articles a little later.

These images, as I said, will come in handy after installing the above operating systems. Now let's go back to the "Input" setting
Ungrab when cursor leaves window - Releases the capture of the mouse cursor when the cursor leaves the guest operating system window. This function allows you to work with the guest operating system as with a regular browser (without pressing the hotkeys to switch the cursor capture).

"Hide cursor on ungrab" - Do not show the cursor in the guest operating system if an interception has occurred. That is, the cursor of the guest operating system and the main host is merged.

"Grab when cursor enters window" - interception of the cursor when it is over the window of the guest OS.

At the moment, all 3 of the above functions should be left enabled, since these functions will provide us with a convenient and comfortable principle of working with guest OS.
and the last function with the drop-down list “Optimize mouse for games” is to optimize the mouse cursor for games (we leave the default value “Automatic”).

3. Hot Keys

Hot keys provide a shortcut to commonly-used virtual machine operations. Click the buttons below to modify your hot keys - Hotkeys provide quick access to frequently used operations on virtual machines.

Click the button below to change the hotkeys.
If these options are left by default, VMware will work with the following keyboard shortcuts:

To release from the current virtual machine, press Ctrl + Alt - press Ctrl + Alt to release the intercepted cursor
To enter or leave full screen mode, press Ctrl + Alt + Enter - to switch to / from full screen mode, press Ctrl + Alt + Enter
To switch to the previous full-screen virtual machine, press Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow - to switch from full-screen mode to the previous virtual machine, press Ctrl + Alt + Left Arrow
To switch to the next full-screen virtual machine, press Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow - to switch from full-screen mode to the next virtual machine, press Ctrl + Alt + Right Arrow

4. Display

Autofit group - Auto-fit or auto-align

Autofit window - automatic alignment of the main working area window. When the virtual machine display settings change, resize the application window to match - When the display settings are changed in the guest OS, the main work area will automatically be resized.
Autofit guest - automatic alignment of the guest OS window. When the application window is resized, change the virtual machine display settings to match - When the settings of the main work area are changed, the display size of the guest OS will be automatically resized.

Full screen group - Full screen mode

Autofit guest (change guest resolution) Requires VMware Tools to be installed - Automatically change the resolution (resolution) of the display in the guest OS. The VMware Tools must be installed.
Stretch guest (no resolution change) Stretches the guest screen to fill the host display - Stretch the display. Do not change the resolution (resolution) of the display when switching to full screen mode.
Center guest (no resolution change) Guest may appear with borders or scrollbars - Center the display. Do not change the resolution (resolution) of the display when switching to full screen mode. The guest OS can hide outside the main working window and be viewed through the scroll bars.

Menu and toolbar group - Menus and toolbars

Use a single button for power controls - Use a single button for power controls (allows you to set a toolbar drop-down list or different guest OS power control buttons).
Combine toolbar with menubar in windowed mode - combine menu and toolbar.
Show toolbar edge when unpinned in full screen - Shows the edges of the unpinned toolbar in full screen mode.

5. Unity (Compatibility Mode)

Unity applications menu hot key. Hot key: Ctrl + Shift + U
For more information on Compatibility Mode see the article: Compatible Mode in VMware workstation

6. Updates

There are three main options:

Check for product updates on startup - Check for updates when the program starts
Check software components as needed - This is about checking for updates to newer versions of the previously mentioned VMware Tools.
Automatically update VMware Tools on a virtual machine - automatically check for preinstalled VMware Tools utilities on guest OS.

7. Feedback
Here it is suggested to improve and improve the program by sending anonymous data to the VMware center.

8. Shared VMs (Shared access to guest operating systems, or sharing VMs)

Another new feature of VMware worstation is the ability to share operating systems. This is convenient if, for some reason, you cannot use one of the protocols for organizing access to a remote desktop. And also if you need to connect remotely to the console of the guest operating system. For example, you can demonstrate the capabilities of applications or functions directly inside the virtual environment without downloading the entire HDD a virtual machine from a remote server.
All ports for adding rules to the firewall, through which the protocol of remote VMware virtual machines works, can be viewed on the official website here
For VMs, a little information on configuring TCP \ IP ports on the official website
By default, to access a shared virtual machine in the firewall, you need to register rules for the following ports:

HTTPS - port 443 TCP
HTTP - port 80 TCP
VM console port 902 ANY

In the setup, you can see several options:

Virtual machine sharing and remote access is enabled and the Enable or Disable Sharing button is an option that allows you to start or stop a service that organizes access to a remote client.
Port used by VMware Workstation Server: Use port to connect clients to shared virtual machines.

The default is HTTPS 443 TCP. It is possible to change the port number only if the service is stopped.

Shared VMs locations - Path to the directory where shared virtual machines are stored.

9. Memory
Reserved Memory Group
How mach host RAM should the system be able to reserve for all running virtual machines? - How much physical memory can be allocated for all running virtual machines?

Here it comes of course about RAM (random access memory). If you have about 1024 Mb of RAM allocated for virtual machines, then two 1024 Mb machines will not be possible to start. Accordingly, a maximum of 2 virtual 512 Mb each. You can allocate memory for virtual systems depending on how much free memory remains when working with the host operating system.
Additional memory group
How should the system allocate memory for all virtual machines - how to allocate a virtual memory system for all guest operating systems
I should note that virtual machines allow you to place RAM not only in RAM but also in the paging file of the host OS. And the next three options allow you to set the memory allocation parameters.

Fit all virtual machine memory into reserved host RAM - Use only the physical memory of the host OS.
Allow most virtual machine memory to be swapped - Allow most virtual machines to place virtual memory in the host OS paging file.
Allow some virtual machine memory to be swapped - Allow some virtual machines to allocate virtual memory in the host OS paging file.

Accordingly, if the guest OS allocates virtual memory in the paging file, thereby freeing up physical memory, and vice versa. Consequently, with a lower cost of physical memory, we can run more virtual machines and vice versa. But do not get carried away much, since the paging file is much slower than RAM, which means that the performance of the guest OS will be much slower than when using physical memory.

10. Priority

Default Process Priority group

Input Grabbed - interception of the current guest OS
Input Ungrabbed - Guest OS background mode

These two options allow you to set global process priority settings for the physical processor used by the current guest OS and running in the background.
Snapshots group

Take snapshots in the background when possible - Take snapshots in the background when possible.
Restore snapshots in the background when possible - Restore snapshots in the background when possible.

Let's dwell on the pictures. A snapshot in virtualization programs is a function that allows you to make recovery points before any changes, for example, you can back up a running virtual machine (guest OS) without turning off its power.

11. Devices
Removable media group - Removable media

If CD-DVD discs on the physical host, they allow auto-start (Autorun), temporarily we can disable it while the guest OS is running in order to connect the drive inside the virtual machine. This is done with the option:

Disable Autorun on the host when a VM is running - Disable autorun on the host when the virtual machine is running

The main controls for virtual machines are found in three areas of the main interface of VMware Workstation.

The main menu of the program is located in the upper part of the window. V new version programs have merged the main menu with the default toolbar. To disconnect them, you must select in the main menu Edit> Preferences> Display> uncheck the checkbox Combine toolbar with menubar in windowed mode.

On the left side of the window there is a panel Library(Library), which is used to display a list of virtual machines. This panel can be closed, to open it, use the corresponding icon, or in the main menu, select from the menu View> Customize> Library or F9.

The right part of the window is occupied by the working area of the program, the tab Home with the main menu items, as well as the tabs of the created virtual machines.

Instruments

1. Drop-down list of system activity commands.

Using this icon, you can start or resume the paused virtual machine, shutdown or restart. BIOS download function is also available Power on to BIOS, which can be used when the virtual machine is turned on. If you need to enter the BIOS on reboot, you can use the key F2.

2. Ctrl + Alt + Del

3. Take a snapshot of this virtual machine- creating a snapshot (snapshot) of the state of the virtual machine.

The VMware Workstation program implements a rollback mechanism (restoring some previous state virtual machine). This mechanism is based on creating snapshots. A snapshot can be taken at any time (when the guest system is off or running). You can then easily return to the locked state. All changes made in the past period will be canceled. You can take an unlimited number of snapshots of the guest system and revert to any of them.

You can also take a snapshot through the main menu VM> Snapshot> Take snapshot

4. Revert this virtual machine to its parent snapshot- return to the state of the virtual machine saved as a snapshot.

5. Manage snapshots for this virtual machine- calling an additional window for managing snapshots of virtual machines.

The snapshot manager window displays a diagram showing the sequence and relationship of virtual machine snapshots. The diagram is interactive: you can select any snapshot and perform the required operation (delete a snapshot, return to a specific state of the system).

Ctrl + M or VM> Snapshot> Take Snapshot Manager.

6. Show or hide the library- opening or closing the panel Library(library)

7. Show or hide the library the thumbnail bar- show or hide the console

8. Enter full screen mode- transfer of the virtual machine window to full-screen mode.

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Enter

9. Enter unity mode- starting unity mode

Working hours Unity allows you to work with the virtual system and its programs with the greatest convenience in the so-called transparent mode

You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + U

10. Show or hide console view- guest systems monitor

Main menu items

1. Create a New Virtual Machine

Creation of a new virtual machine. The same can be done using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + N or File> New virtual Machine

2. Open a Virtual Machine

Opening a virtual machine. You can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + O or File> Open

If the created virtual machine is located on a different medium, or the VM tab was closed and the link was removed from the library, it can be started using the item Open a Virtual Machine. You can also start a virtual machine by opening the directory with the installed virtual machine by running a file with the extension .vmx

3. Connect to a Remote Server

Connecting to a remote server

4. Virtualize a Physical Machine

Physical machine virtualization. Actions are also available through the main menu File> Virtualize a Physical Machine

5. Software Updates

Updating software. Similar actions can be performed through the main menu Help> Software Updates

6. Leave Feedback

Give feedback on using the beta version of VMware Workstation

Basic Settings for VMware Workstation

Platform VMware Workstation allows you to flexibly configure environment parameters to support virtual systems and create a convenient environment for the user.

To edit the settings through the user interface, select in the main menu of the program Edit> Preferences.

In chapter Workspace you can customize the workspace environment VMware Workstation:

1. Default location for virtual machines – this setting allows you to specify the folder where virtual machines will be located.

2. Virtual machines

Remember opened tabs between sessions- setting allows you to save all open tabs upon completion of work with the VMware Workstation program
Keep VMs running after Workstation doses- the setting allows running virtual machines to run in the background. When you close VMware Workstation, the guests will remain powered on. The main thing is not to forget about this when rebooting or shutting down the main system.
Enable all shared folders by default - this option enables shared folders by default
Show Aero Peek thumbnails for open tabs- this parameter allows you to show thumbnails of Aero Peek for open tabs
Show tray icon - show system tray icon
Default hardware compatibility - setting up hardware compatibility. This setting is useful when running virtual machines on older versions of VMware Workstation. By default (Figure 6), the compatibility mode with the beta version of VMware Workstation is set.
Seconds between powering on multiple VMs - configuring the change in the time (in seconds) of the delay in starting several virtual machines, which avoids overloading the CPU.
Save screenshots - using this setting, you can choose where to save a screenshot of the virtual machine, to the clipboard and / or a separate directory.

3. Privacy- this setting allows you to save information about the login and password when connecting to a remote machine

In chapter Input you can customize the parameters VMware Workstation related to mouse focus:

1. Keyboard and mouse

Grab keyboard and mouse input on mouse click- setting allows you to transfer focus to the guest system by pressing the mouse button in the console area of the guest system
Grab keyboard and mouse input on key press - setting allows you to transfer focus to the guest system by pressing a key on the keyboard

2. Cursor

Automatically grab and ungrab the mouse - setting allows focus to be displayed on the host system when leaving the area of the guest system with the mouse pointer
Hide cursor on ungrab- setting allows you to hide the cursor when removing focus from the guest system
Optimize mouse for games- select the option to optimize the mouse for games

In chapter Hot keys hotkeys can be configured VMware Workstation:

Hotkeys in VMware Workstation

Ctrl + Alt	Returning mouse control to the host system
Ctrl + Alt + Insert	Calling the task manager for the guest system
	Running a virtual machine
	Shutting down a virtual machine
	Pause a virtual machine from an active state to a pause state

Ctrl + Alt + Enter	Putting the virtual machine window in full screen mode
Ctrl + Alt	Returning to windowed virtual machine mode
	Launching the virtual machine settings window
	Copy the selected item to the clipboard
	Paste an item from the clipboard
	Select all
Ctrl + Tab	Switching between running virtual machines
	Opening the System Snapshot Manager
Ctrl + N	Creating a virtual machine
Ctrl + O	Opening a virtual machine

In chapter Display you can customize the display parameters of graphical consoles:

1. Autofit

Autofit window- automatic alignment of the main working area window
Autofit guest - automatic guest window alignment

2. Full screen

Autofit guest - automatically change the screen resolution of the guest system
Stretch guest - setting allows you to stretch the guest screen
Center guest - centering the guest window

3. Menu and toolbar

Use a single button for power controls- use of one button for power control
Combine toolbar with menubar in windowed mode- combining toolbar and main menu in windowed mode
Combine tabs with toolbar in full screen - merging a tabbed toolbar in full screen mode
Show toolbar edge when unpinned in full screen- setting allows you to show the edges of the toolbar when undocked in full screen mode

In chapter Unity you can set a keyboard shortcut to invoke this mode, as well as specify whether to minimize the guest system when this mode is used.

In chapter Updates you can configure the update settings:

1. Software updates

Check for product updates on startup- by checking the box in this checkbox, when the VMware Workstation program is launched, the update will be checked
Check for software components as needed- checking for new versions of VMware software components

2. VMware Tools updates

Automatically update VMware Tools on a virtual machine – automatic update VMware Tools utilities

In chapter Feedback you can check the checkbox Help improve VMware Workstation to send anonymous information about the system and statistics on the use of the program.

In chapter Shared VMs you can configure the settings for sharing virtual machines:

1.VMware Workstation Server

Virtual machine sharing and remote access is enabled - setting allows you to start or stop the service organizing general access to guest systems.
Port used by VMware Workstation Server - using this setting, you can specify the port for remote work with virtual machines.

2. Shared VMs location- the path to the directory for storing guest systems in the public domain.

In chapter Memory you can configure the total amount of memory allocated to virtual systems, as well as the ability to use paging files.

1. Reserved memory- this setting allows you to specify the maximum amount of allocated RAM for guest systems.

The minimum value of this parameter corresponds to the minimum amount of RAM at which VMware can work, the maximum value is determined by the remaining part of the RAM that is minimally required for the host system to work.

2. Additional memory

Fit all virtual machine memory into reserved host RAM- when setting the radio button at this point, it will be possible to use only the physical memory of the host system
Allow some virtual machine memory to be swapped- the setting allows you to place virtual memory in the paging file of the host system for some virtual machines. If, when starting the virtual machine, it turns out that there is no free memory, then VMware will allow the host system to move part of the data from RAM to the hard disk (to the system paging file).
Allow most virtual machine memory to be swapped- the setting allows you to place virtual memory in the paging file of the host system for most virtual machines

In chapter Priority you can configure the priority of guest systems:

1.Default process priority

Input grabbed - capture input device
Input ungrabbed - freeing the input device

2. Snapshots

Take snapshots in the background when possible - taking snapshots of systems in the background
Restore snapshots in the background when possible - restoring system snapshots in the background

In chapter Devices you can enable or disable CD / DVD autoplay on the host system.

1. Disable Autorun on the host when a VM is running- this function can be useful when you need to temporarily disable autoplay on the host system in order to connect the CD / DVD to the guest system.

Solving common problems in the IaaS cloud based on the VMware hypervisor Part 1. Clipboard.

How often do companies face problems in a virtual environment? The answer to this question depends on many factors, including the level of professionalism of users and specialists of a particular organization. Each of you is probably familiar with the concept of "default setting", that is, the default options, which, as you know, can disable certain functionality of the system. And if in a particular case you need to activate an option or expand the capabilities of the solution, they resort to changing the default settings.

However, users, regarding the lack of this or that functionality as a mistake, begin to reproach and scold the software manufacturer for the crooked hands of developers. Although bugs can be found on the life path of vendors who offer customers a complete solution, you should not rush to accuse them. Often, problems, referred to in slang as glitches, arise for a number of reasons that do not depend on the curvature of the manufacturer's hands, but are directly related to the lack of user rights and permissions, restrictions in settings or the disabling of functionality that is activated by a simple click of a button or a couple of lines of code.

Have you encountered a situation where a virtual machine (VM) was not started via the remote console? Or maybe you had to work with a terribly slow functioning VM? In this article series, we will talk about the most common problems encountered in the cloud environment and how to solve them. For a visual representation and a better understanding of the situation, consider a few practical scenarios illustrating operational and technical problems.

Teleportation to the future to solve pressing problems

So, imagine that you are entering a tall glass building. The clock shows 9:00, recalling the start of a new working day at one of the most promising companies in 2096 - PanContinental teleportation corporation.

The company teleports people and things around the globe. After a quick payment for the service, any person, having indicated a waypoint as a destination, instantly finds himself in the required location. But the technology the company uses is not magic. The offered service is based on virtualization solutions based on VMware vSphere 6.0. Being the largest and most reliable global network in providing teleportation services, PanContinental prioritizes customer safety and business continuity. This responsibility falls on the shoulders of you and your colleagues.

Clipboard issue: copy / paste not working

And then one day something went wrong with a new PanContinental employee. The user ran into a problem and asked to deal with the incorrect, according to him, functionality of the new linux-base-01 virtual machine. This VM is used to solve one of the most important tasks - transferring critical information from a research laboratory to the cloud via the clipboard. Agree, a typical task is when the "copy" function is called on one side, and "paste" is called on the other side. In the scenario under consideration, the user found the clipboard inoperable, which made it impossible to copy data from the user's research laptop to the virtual machine directory. An urgent need to resolve the problem.

VSphere Web Client Connection Window

The way to solve this problem is quite simple. This requires opening a web browser and connecting to the vSphere Web Client. Note that this example uses Windows authentication. After successful authentication, the management console opens.

Going to the Home tab, click on the Hosts and Clusters icon:

VSphere Web Client Management Console Overview

Then we connect to the vDC where the linux-base-01 virtual machine is located.

Connecting to VM linux-base-01 using vSphere Web Client

Note the possibility of using the Launch Remote Console here. But before starting, you should make sure that the virtual machine is powered on, that is, it is in a powered on state. In our example, the VM is running and waiting for a connection. To access it, use the appropriate username and password.

Connecting to linux-base-01

Having connected to the VM, we have to fix the problem of inability to copy user data. To access the documents, we refer to the user's directory located on the virtual machine desktop.

Linux-base-01 virtual machine desktop overview

The user provided us with a fragment of the study in the form of a readme.txt file, which we placed on our desktop. Now you need to solve the problem, which is as follows:

Resolve the clipboard issue to be able to use the copy / paste function on the linux-base-01 machine.
Copy a piece of text from a file on your desktop.
Paste a piece of text into the protocol.txt document of the linux-base-01 virtual machine in the cloud.

Overview of the workflow for working with documents

By the way, the ability to use the clipboard can be enabled both for a single virtual machine and for all VMs of an ESXi host. However, this feature is disabled by default. To enable copy and paste for a specific virtual machine, follow these steps:

Make sure VMware Tools are installed.
Connect to the vSphere Web Client console.
Connect to vDC where linux-base-01 VM is located.
Turn off the virtual machine - put it into the power off status.
Select a virtual machine and go to the Summary tab.
Open the Edit Settings window.
Go to the virtual machine options tab to be able to edit the required parameters: VM Options -> Advanced -> Configuration Parameters -> Edit Configuration.

Overview of virtual machine configuration parameters

Now you need to enable the use of the "copy / paste" function. To do this, press the Add Row button and enter the following configuration values:

Then we save the changes by pressing the OK button.

Conclusion

In this article, we looked at an example of how to solve an issue related to the clipboard of a virtual machine in the cloud. Stay tuned for new content from the first Enterprise IaaS blog. In the next case, we will look at an example of a solution to the problem associated with excessively low VM performance.

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