how does "Shut down guest" work?

[dimitrm]

can someone explain how "shut down guest" and "restart guest" work?

these are the commands that can be found, for example on the context menu when i right-click on a virtual machine in VC

my confusion comes from the fact that the shutdown script inside the VM is not modified, i.e. it is still the default "DO NOT modify this file directly, blah blah..." So, i select "shut down guest", VC communicates my wish to VMware Tools inside the VM and VMware Tools takes care of the shut down. But how, if the shutdown script is blank

thanks much, gurus

[oreeh]

But how, if the shutdown script is blank

Then the VMware Tools simply initiate the "normal" OS shutdown sequence.

[dimitrm]

how does VM tools know it should not execute the script but rather execute the "normal" shutdown sequence? obviously, it doesn't check the script because I can add my own script and not put anything it it and this command still works

so, this functionality must be separate from all the "automatic" shutdown procedures implemented in VC and ESX?

[oreeh]

I assume it works the following way:

The tools invoke the script and after the execution of the script ended they invoke the normal shutdown sequence as well.

But I'm not sure! Maybe a VMware developer can shed some light on this.

[dimitrm]

thank you oreeh

i am not really looking for a deep insight into how this was coded. more likely, looking for an assurance that this method for shutting down/restarting VMs is as reliable as the other methods

I guess so long as the VMware Tools is running inside the VM

[oreeh]

I guess so long as the VMware Tools is running inside the VM

This is a must.