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vh1too
Contributor
Contributor

VMTools Cross Virtual Hardware Compatibility

Hello All,

We use VMWare (Workstation, Server, ESX, etc ) for application and PC build process testing. The same PC build process and OS image is used for all hardware. We create what we call "driver sets" to support each model PC. We have a VMWare driver set which, basically, just installs VMTools. Driver sets are automatically selected by the build processes based on Model Number information stored in BIOS. For VMware this value is "VMware Virtual Platform".

So my question.... Since every verson of Virtual machine is branded the same in BIOS (VMware Virtual Platform) how can i tell what version of VMware tools to install? Or can i just install the latest version of VMware Tools and expect it to work regardless of what Virtual hardware is running.

Why does VMWare do this? Why can't they brand "VMware Virtual Platform Version 4","VMware Virtual Platform Version 5", etc... If i can tell the difference between a "Latitude C600" and a "Latitude C610" why can't i tell what model VM my OS is running on?

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2 Replies
oreeh
Immortal
Immortal

Simply install the latest version of the Tools (the Tools share a common code base).

According to a VMware guy the "most complete" version of the Tools is the one bundled with VMware Studio.

Message was edited by: oreeh

vh1too
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks for the quick response. It figured this was the right answer but thought i'd get anothers opinion before i go down the road of implementing it.

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