Vmware tools Status?

[RanjnaAggarwal]

I saw this in some virtual machines Vmware Tools status is shown as 3rd Party/ Independent. Even in this KB that is listed what is the meaning of this status how these kind vmware tools are installed in vm

VMware KB: vSphere Client shows VMware Tools as Unsupported

[damianerangey]

What OS is your VM running ?    

[DavoudTeimouri]

Hi,

Some virtual appliances are created by VMware partner companies such as Symantec, Teradici and others for some special management reasons.

Most of the virtual appliances are Linux based and they are customized.

Just don't try to change base configuration on them, for example don't change type of NIC.

Davoud

[RanjnaAggarwal]

but i heard in some organizations virtual machines those are created by their professionals those are also having 3rd Party Tools Status in summary tab how these tools are installed in their VM's. Is this installed with the help of vmware support team?

[tomtom901]

No, this is not the case. You can also get this (in example) when you have a RHEL linux VM and you install vmware-tools via the repository (yum) instead of mounting the CD and compiling / installing the tools yourself via the .pl file.

[RanjnaAggarwal]

so you mean to say whenever it is installed manually then the status is 3rd Party/ Independent.

[tomtom901]

No, not manually installed, but rather, not compiled via the installation on the CD (Guest -> Install / Upgrade VMware Tools).

[RanjnaAggarwal]

is it means for those OS tools are not available on ESXi by default?

[alexanderjn]

What you're seeing is a VM with the OSP version of VMware Tools or open-vm-tools installed.

"Operating system specific packages (OSPs) are a packaging and distribution mechanism for VMware Tools. These VMware Tools OSPs are packaged using the native package formats and standards, for example, rpm and deb, of the supported guest operating systems. OSPs are an alternative to the existing mechanism for installing VMware Tools from the VI Client. VMware Tools OSPs allow you to use your Operating System's native update mechanisms to automatically download, install, and manage VMware Tools for these supported Operating Systems. This enables managing VMware Tools from within the guest in the same way as other standard software."

- from https://www.vmware.com/support/packages.html

“After VMware Tools OSPs are installed on a guest, the VMware vSphere Client reports the status of VMware Tools for that guest as 3rd-party/Independent. This status indicates that OSPs are installed. In this situation, do not attempt to install the standard VMware Tools through the VMware vSphere Client.”

- from http://packages.vmware.com/tools/docs/manuals/osp-esxi-51-install-guide.pdf

If you have open-vm-tools installed it also appears as “3rd-party/Independent”

- Open Virtual Machine Tools FAQ: http://open-vm-tools.sourceforge.net/faq.php

- VMware support of open-vm-tools: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2073803