Hi everyone,
I'm trying out vmware workstation 6, and have a few questions regarding expected transfer rates between guest and host os.
My setup:
host: linux mint 3.0 (which is like ubuntu 7.04)
guest: windows xp professional SP2
network: 100Mbit ethernet connection
both guest and host are on the same machine
Here are my questions:
1. First, can someone explain to me how the file transfers work? I mean, does everything go over the network, even when I'm using the vmware "shared-folders"? This seems strange to me because both operating systems (guest and host) reside on the same physical drive.
2. What's the best way to set things up so that I can seamlessly transfer files between the guest and host? Currently I have tested 3 options:
- samba
- nfs file sharing (I had to install the microsoft unix tools)
- vmware shared folders
With all three of these options, I mapped a network drive in windows explorer and then tested transfer speeds. I got speeds of 5-8 MBytes/second. Is this normal? I thought that the vmware shared folders transfer speed would be limited by the IDE hard drive speed. (but I'm probably wrong...)
3. I also tested a usb-key that should be getting 20MBytes/s write and 30MB/s read. Unfortunately, I seem to be just getting 5-8 MBytes/s...
4. Suppose that I installed a virtual machine directly on the hard drive (ie, as in setting up a special partition), instead of putting it in a .vmdk file. Would this improve data transfer rates between host and guest?
Sorry for all the questions. I've been spending lots of time trying to figure this out, but can't find anything definitive. Thanks a million for any help!
VMware Shared folder does not use networking
2. What's the best way to set things up so that I can
seamlessly transfer files between the guest and host?
Currently I have tested 3 options:
- samba
- nfs file sharing (I had to install the microsoft
unix tools)
- vmware shared folders
With all three of these options, I mapped a network
drive in windows explorer and then tested transfer
speeds. I got speeds of 5-8 MBytes/second. Is this
normal? I thought that the vmware shared folders
transfer speed would be limited by the IDE hard drive
speed. (but I'm probably wrong...)
VMware Shared folders is best when used to just move files, but the networking options you listed would be better if you need to read/write to this folder.
3. I also tested a usb-key that should be getting
20MBytes/s write and 30MB/s read. Unfortunately, I
seem to be just getting 5-8 MBytes/s...
The transfer rates are based on the CPU cycles that can be given to this task
4. Suppose that I installed a virtual machine
directly on the hard drive (ie, as in setting up a
special partition), instead of putting it in a .vmdk
file. Would this improve data transfer rates between
host and guest?
Using a physical disk to share file betwen the host and guest is unsafe and can result in data corruption
Sorry for all the questions. I've been spending lots
of time trying to figure this out, but can't find
anything definitive. Thanks a million for any help!Hi everyone,
I'm trying out vmware workstation 6, and have a
few questions regarding expected transfer rates
between guest and host os.
My setup:
host: linux mint 3.0 (which is like ubuntu 7.04)
guest: windows xp professional SP2
network: 100Mbit ethernet connection
both guest and host are on the same machine
Here are my questions:
1. First, can someone explain to me how the file
transfers work? I mean, does everything go over the
network, even when I'm using the vmware
"shared-folders"? This seems strange to me because
both operating systems (guest and host) reside on the
same physical drive.
Hi KevinG, thanks for your reply! That clears a few things up. If you don't mind, could you elaborate on a few points?
-Why aren't vmware shared folders the best for read/write access to a folder? For example, would anything bad happen if I added my host's /home directory as a vmware shared folder?
\- you said "The transfer rates are based on the CPU cycles that can be given to this task". What kind of speeds should I be expecting with a dual core athlon @2.3GHz?
Thanks!
You may want to apply the AMD Dual-Core Optimizer on your host.
http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_871_9706,00.html
If you notice any timing issues
You can share your home directory, it's just better if you for example read/write to a document to use a mapped network drive and use the VMware shared folder to just move files to and from the host.