VMware Server 2.0 (free) gotchas

Just a couple gotchas I figure I would document for my own use later and for anyone else that finds it using google.

Gotcha1: USB Devices in VMware guests

Using VMware Server 2.0 (free), I ran into my first requirement of needing a USB Software Dongle Key to work inside a virtual machine running Windows XP. All the documentation kept mentioning the steps of a) add a USB Controller to the virtual guest inside the VMware Server control web interface (this was the easy part) and then b) Enable the USB Device in the web interface on the VM.

I for the life of me couldn't find where it meant there was somewhere to enable the specific plugged in USB device that you had plugged into the Host machine, allowing it to work on a specific guest... after much googling and not coming up with something, I finally noticed a new button on the VMware guest page in the web interface, to the right of the regular 4 buttons (Stop, Pause, Play, Restart), a new button appears with the USB Icon, and you can enable/connect the USB Device to the VMware guest by clicking on it, and checking off the appropriate USB device... as simple as that. (gee whiz)

Gotcha2: Adding Datastores to VMware 2.0 (free)

I was trying to determine how to add additional datastores to VMware Server 2.0 to no avail... everything kept mentioning or even showing pictures of the screen with the boxes to fill in, but nothing mentioned how to get this screen up in the first place, or at least not enough for me to clue in and I was unable to find it... after googling for a while, I went back to the web interface, and eventually lucked out (and apparently I am blind... or was very tired), and determined that if you just click on the Server in the list on the far left of the web interface, on the far right is your standard options such as "Create Virtual Machine", "Add Virtual Machine to Inventory", and... you guessed it, "Add Datastore" ... not sure how I missed that one... but I actually didn't "SEE" it until I clicked on the one original/default datastore that was added during configuration, from the list/display window in the middle of the web interface with the server selected... which showed some additional options for that datastore (rename, refresh, remove datastore).. and I finally saw the "Add Datastore above all those new options.

So, I guess the 2nd one wasn't really a gotcha... just more of a blind mistake or I was more tired than I originally thought. Anyways, a heads-up for anything that may be blind like myself.

Gotcha3: VMware Server 2.0 (free) 64-bit Host, but unable to successfully use 64-bit Guests

I am using some second-hand HP DL585 G1 servers with 4 x Opteron 848 2.2Ghz CPU's in them... I totally forgot about having earlier checked if they had VT/AMD-V capabilities months earlier (they don't with this cpu revision of CG or C0 (I forget which C* they are, but anything C* generation or older do not work ie. stepping CG does not, but E1, E4 or E6 does support it))

So, off to HP's site to see if there are firmwares that work with the E* revision cpu's, and then off to Ebay to try and poach some.. since they seem to be quite reasonable prices.. assuming they work with my server(s). Just for anyone else that might be trying to run older gen Opteron's without AMD-V support, and trying to setup 64-bit virtual guests unsuccessfully.

fi.