History: I have been playing around with VMWare products for about a year+ (since I found they were free). I have a home 1u Server that is adequate to play around with and started with U8.04 with VMServer using an IDE drive. As most of you learned, it was very complicated installation. I really wanted to install ESXi 3.5 Upgrade 2 with a SATA, but it would always fail to install, but luckily there was help on the net that got me behind the gui and it installed. I was up and running in no time with a 500gig drive using bare-metal ESXi.

The one thing I did loose was the USB options in ESXi, which I used a USB sound card since my server does not have a sound card. When I was running U8.04/Server with VMServer it was sweet. I created a VM that allowed us to install all my son’s PC games and my own, so we can play each other over the network. Once I moved to ESXi that was all gone.

Now I'm thinking, can I go back to VMServer, but on U9.10. Now I don’t want to mess with my ESXi server, and wanted to test doing a package on a USB solution. So I downloaded Upgrade 4 for ESXi 3.5 as ESXi 4 is 64bit and I'm running only 32. I installed it onto a 4gig mem per a couple of web instructions and whoola, I booted my server and ESXi U4 was up and running. What was really need, it detected my 500gig drive with all my VMs intact and I was able to use it as a datastore, I was literally up and running in 30 min, amazing. (Note: I Backed up all my VMs to a SCSI datastore just in Case).

Ok so this is it, I can run my server via USB ESXi, I got my HDD as a backup in case something happens, now for the real test. VMServer with Ubuntu on a USB.

Another reason for moving to VMServer is that I liked that it was all Web based and nothing to install on all the PCs in the house. Now I don’t want to loose this flexibility that I have just got, and I like to keep this Hot-Swap VMWare going….

What you will need: Windows PC and the following...

Two(2); 2gig and 4 gig USB mem sticks (bestbuy.com for $12/$15 bucks cant beat it) – LABEL them with tape USB1 and USB2, it will get confusing in the steps below)

1. USB1 = 4gig

2. USB2 = 2gig

3. The USB# and size is important, as U910Server with VMServer will be bigger than 2gig. Follow my Steps....

• 1 x ISO of Ubuntu Desktop 9.10 --
  

• 1 x ISO of Ubuntu Server 9.10

• VMWare Server 2 tar.gz (yeah
  register yourself and get the key, don’t bother with torrents) --
  

• UNETBootin for Windows --
  _[http://unetbootin.sourceforge.net/]_

• WinRar Zip/Unip Software

Follow steps assuming you downloaded all the above already.

Step 1: Move your VMServer tar.gz & Ubuntu 9.10 Server ISO file to a folder that is easy to get to, as you will need this in Step 3 and Step 5.

Step 2: Setup USB1 as Desktop 9.10 LIVE

From a Windows PC/Laptop and using UNetBootin follow the steps on their website to install U9.10 ISO to USB1. Remember in UNetBootin, use LIVE settings

Step 3: Boot your PC or Laptop from USB1 (make sure Bios can do this, else forget it)

• (DO NOT INSTALL UBUNTU, just use LIVE. Your problem if you wipe out your PC HDD!!!!)

• Once the PC is all set up and running, put USB2 into your PC and let it AutoDetect.

• Click System > Administration > USB Startup Disk Creator, from Ubuntu menu.

• When it asks for ISO, navigate to the System HDD in Step 1 and use the Ubuntu 9.10 server ISO.

• Make sure its pointing to to USB2 pen (Again! DO NOT Select your PC HDD)

• Once Completed, you now can shutdown PC then take out USB1 & USB2

Step 4: Boot back to WINDOWS no USBs

• Once your WIN is up and running plug USB1 back in and Format it. Yes, since we only invested in 2
  USB’s one needs to be wiped out and the 4gig drive needs to be the installed U910 Server and VMWare. (now if your not cheap, then buy 3, but one has to be 4gig)

• Shutdown WIN PC

Step 5: Boot USB2 in PC and start the Ubuntu 9.10 Server Installation

• Put USB1 back in PC after USB2 boots

• Now caution, depending on your PC’s USB ports it decides which one is first bootable. So play around to make sure USB2 is the first boot, otherwise you get that dreaded BLACK sceeen with no OS error.

• Follow all the on screen setups until you get to DRIVE PARTITIONING

• THIS IS CRITICAL, DO NOT INSTALL ON YOUR HDD ****

• Make sure you pick MANUAL PARTITIONING!!!!!!! IM NOT KIDDING YOU MESS THIS STEP UP YOUR HDD IS GONE!!!! If you REALLY want to be careful disconnect you IDE/SATA cables and power cables to you HDD

• Using Manual Partitioning, Make sure you select USB1 to partition and install Ubuntu Server. You can
  allow it to do Auto partitioning.

• Once you pass that step continue with the installation until the Software Selection Screen.

1. I normally do not install anything like DNS, SAMBA….etc these are only USB sticks and you can run out of space, don’t forget you need to install VMWare Server still

2. It will ask you to install GRUB it is autmatically will default to the USB1.

• Continue until the Installation is complete. Shutdown the PC

Step 6: Get VMServer tar.gz onto a USB2 & mr. radu.ro script

• Since Ubuntu 9.10 server is now ready to boot from on USB1, lets label it and put it to the side, we
  want to get back into Windows and get VMServer & script.

• Boot your PC/Laptop into Windows

• Insert USB2 port and navigate to VMServer tar.gz file.

• Copy the tar.gz file to USB2

• Downloaded this script file to the same folder or root directory on USB2
  _[http://codebin.cotescu.com/vmware/vmware-server-2.0.x-kernel-2.6.31-14-install.sh]_

• Once complete shutdown Windows, your ready for VMServer Installation

• Pull out USB2 NOW

Step 7: Reboot Ubuntu 9.10 Server

• Make sure your connected via CAT5E to lan

• Insert USB1

• Reboot your PC/Laptop as Ubuntu Server. You now need to put your Userid and Password that you put in
  during installation.

• Insert USB2 back into your PC or At the time of Booting Server

• Now Mount USB2

• Find out
  what drive USB2 was detected

• sudo fdisk
  -l (Mine was /dev/sdc1)

• Make a mount folder

• sudo mkdir
  /mnt/sdc1

• Add mount to folder: sudo mount -t vfat /dev/sdc1 /mnt/sdc1

• You should now be able to navigate to the folder and read USB2

• cd /mnt/sdc1

• ls -l

Step 8: VMWare Installation with script

• VMServer 2.02 will not install correctly and I prepared you in Step 5. This Blog provides an
  explanation and what the script does.
  _[http://radu.cotescu.com/2009/10/30/how-to-install-vmware-server-2-0-x-on-ubuntu-9-10-karmic-koala/]_

I will provide the same steps with some tweaks as I already made you download the script in Step 5

• Navigate to the directory: cd /mnt/sdc1/

• Run the script : sudo ./vmware-server-2.0.x-kernel-2.6.31-14-install.sh

• (The script will take it from here, don't get nervous.. there are lots of stuff going on, and lots of errors... don't worry)

• The Script will end with the prompt to start the Configuration, _before _hitting <enter> type NO then <enter>

• NOW PLEASE CHECK THIS:
  for my installation, I had to go to /usr/share/doc/vmware and rename eula to EULA before configuration would work. If your file is LOWER CASE then you will not get thru the configuration, so you will have to do the next bullet. If it is UPPER CASE, then skip th next bullet and proceed with the /usr/bin/vmware-config.pl

• Type: sudo mv eula EULA

• Now Configure: /usr/bin/vmware-config.pl

• This will prompt you a couple of times, just leave the defaults

There are many webpages that will help you configureVMWare those I leave to you to find and use what best fits your solution