Host: HP laptop with Intel i7-3720QM CPU (4 cores, 2 threads per core), 16GB memory, OpenSuse 12.3, VMware Workstation 9.0.2
Guest: Windows 7, VMware tools 9.2.3.21136, configured for 4 processors and 4GB memory, sound card auto, USB 2.0, bridged networking
Problem: I frequently make voice calls to co-workers in Microsoft Lync 2010. Lync frequently displays an error message "Your computer is causing poor audio quality." I often hear stuttering/skipping in the audio when others are talking. Sometimes Lync appears to lose the microphone and/or speakers entirely and displays a message saying "Your microphone/speaker has stopped working" even though the call is still connected.
I did not have these problems when I had Windows installed as the host OS (no VMware) on the same laptop. I don't think it's CPU or memory related. Running task manager inside the guest reports only 65% of memory in use and CPU use of 20-30%. I have also tried two different audio devices (a Logitech webcam and a Plantronics headset) and get the same results with both. I'm wondering if it's a network connectivity issue but I don't really know how to troubleshoot that. Microsoft's help pages for Lync are pretty useless. I have networking configured as bridged hoping that would create the least interference/contention between the host and the guest, but maybe this is not the case? This also allows me to run my company's VPN client in the guest without affecting the hosts' network traffic at all.
