How to Enable Sound in VMWare with No Physical Sound Card

[vippat]

First, is there a way?

Running VMware 3.01 on Linux Hosts (IBM Hardware) but the physical servers do not have sound cards. Is there a way to add a sound card and enable sound within the VM's.

[KevinG]

You need a physical sound card in the host to use sound in a virtual machine

[admin]

How are you accessing the VMs? If it's RDP, you don't need a sound card in the host to get sound.

http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=558228

Or you could get a USB sound card and use a USB-over-IP solution to ge the USB to the VM.

http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=330100

[ramasan]

I am trying to build an XP box to run Skype for our conference calls. Don't laugh, we pay for a nice server, pay for colo, but we don't want to pay for a good conference call solution.

Now that is out of the way, I am struggling with Skype. I can run Skype, but as soon as I try to initiate a conference call, Skype crashes. My guess is that it has something to do with not having a sound card.

We have a Dell 2950 server (obviously with no sound card).

So if there is no way to fool ESX into supplying a virtual sound card to the guest OS, then I have to see about hacking Skype somehow. Or getting another box at the colo. Or paying for a d@mn conference call.

[asatoran]

If you don't need to call other Skype users, (e.g.: you only need conf call between your two offices or any other offices in the USA) take a look at Magicjack . It's a USB device to do VoIP using your PC's internet connection. The reason I suggest this is because if you have to connect using RDP to get sound, then you already have a workstation and you can plug Magicjack in to. No need to run this as a VM.

You can either use the sound card and mic on the PC or you can plug in a normal RJ11 telephone in to the Magicjack unit. So plug in whatever speakerphone you want; no need for a sound card. Magicjack does 3 way calling but I don't know if it can handle more than that. (More than two incoming calls.)

If you still want to use Skype with ESX but without RDP, then as suggested, you need a sound card. From all your other posts, you were installing ESX on your 2950. So unless you were going to be sitting next to your server, you'd have to remotly run the XP VM from a workstation running the VI client or something. So it would seem to me that RDP is what you want anyway.

[ramasan]

sorry for hijacking the thread, but since we are pretty much there...

in fact we really do want skype. our small company has skype thoroughly ingrained. we have users in shenzen, geneva, san fran, santa cruz, north carolina, chicago. a fair amount of these users have a solid broadband connection and connect to our conference calls using their laptops. some need to be called on a POT/cell.

in any case, the idea is to have the guest os/XP which is sitting on the 2950 at the colo initiate the conference call - due to rock solid bandwidth and cpu. so someone will console into the guest XP install and run skype from there.

in the meantime, i have been snooping and seen asterisk, trixbox, fonality, etc. it may be what we really want is a stripped down asterisk install. im downloading a trixbox ISO as we speak - they have a vmware appliance but it seems very old.

if indeed i can buy VOIP DID lines(bandwidth) cheap, that may ultimately be the way to go to have more control and better quality (at a slightly higher price).