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I have a couple of premade Win2k3 VMs that I need to use for some application testing that need to be run at the same time on the same machine. I'm running 13.04 Desktop and do this often with VirtualBox, whereby I run multiple instances at the same time.

I assumed that I could do the same with VMWare Player (I have version 6), but quickly noticed that by default it only allows me to run one instance.

Is there a way to run multiple guests at the same time from Player? I do have an eSXI server that I normally might use, but I need to be portable and it would be preferable to just have these run at the same time...

jobin
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Kendor
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  • While I also have the same question, this seems a lot like a VMWare question and not a Ubuntu question. – mHurley Mar 12 '14 at 16:21

4 Answers4

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Unlike VirtualBox, by default with VMware Player if one tries to launch a second instance (e.g. another machine that you want to run at the same time), the original running machine comes into focus and one doesn't get to the 'library" list. One never is able to get back to interface in 'home' state where you can choose the machine while a machine is running. After some experimentation, I did discover that one can do an ALT+F2 and type in "vmplayer" and get to the machine picker mode... from there, one can indeed run another machine... I think I just need to create launchers specific to my machines....

Kendor
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  • Footnote to above... If one wants to create launchers to machine that will run from the free VMware Player, one will need to uninstall Player and install workstation. Workstation, will install Player, but also a tool called vmrun... once set up, one can create a launcher with this type of syntax: vmrun -T player start "/path to/nameof.vmx" – Kendor Oct 20 '13 at 16:26
  • Not sure what host OS was meant here, but for Windows instead of ALT+F2 use WIN+R and type vmplayer in the Run window that pops up. – Mark Achée Nov 23 '15 at 20:28
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Since the latest VirtualBox was having visual issues with Ubuntu 14.10 (At least until a new virtualbox comes out), I used VMWare PLayer to practice some Server-Client stuff. Since I needed at least 2 Guests, the way I opened multiple VMs with VMWare was to simply middle click the VMWare icon on the Launcher or simply open another VMWare in dash.

This is the same mouse button which closes browser tabs or opens Chrome/Firefox links in another tab. In my case it is the scroll wheel button.

From there I used a different VM since opening the same VM on different VMWare players can create a problem. Here is an image of how it looks right now:

enter image description here

A couple of tips regarding this:

  • VMWare Player does NOT come with an easy to use multiple VM management window for simultaneous VMs. It only has the main window where it offers which VM you want to run and that's it. You have to open one VMWare Player for each VM. Big difference when compared to VirtualBox for example where the main window stays independent of how many VMs you end up running (I have tested at least 8 VMs at the same time). So you need to open an additional VMWare Player for each VM you wish to run.

  • Doing CTRL+ALT to escape a VM sometimes will make the Ubuntu HUD appear on the host. To make this less annoying, do the key combination backwards, like ALT+CTRL

  • Make sure that no VM is sharing any resource with another VM (Like a HDD, CDROM or Webcam), because they might have issues, especially if it is the same Virtual HDD they are sharing.

  • As a comparison I did between VirtualBox and VMWare in Ubuntu Discourse the more VMWare Players you have, the more blood sucking cpu/memory draining VMs you will have as shown in the image below:

    enter image description here

    I am currently running only 3 VMs, two are assigned 2GB of RAM and one 4 GB. So if you are running one VM, you can easily choose between VirtualBox or VMWare Player, but if you are looking into creating a virtual network on guest VMs, VMWare Player would not be recommended over VirtualBox. In my particular case, I would rather wait until VirtualBox has correct support for Ubuntu 14.10 than having to stay with VMWare Player.

Luis Alvarado
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  • Thank you for your very clear reply. It did work for me as you suggested with the mouse scroll button. I was also able to communicate two VMs both in bridged mode as well as in NAT mode. I am using Player 7 on Ubuntu 14.04 LTS. – Mushtaq Hussain Apr 22 '15 at 15:40
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VMware Player runs virtual machines in a separate window. VMware Player includes features that enable users to create and configure their own virtual machines for optimal performance and access any devices connected to their PC.

Use VMware Player to create virtual machines with the latest 32-bit and 64-bit Windows and Linux operating systems. With Easy Install it’s easier than installing them directly on your PC.

VMware Player can be used by anyone to run virtual machines on a Windows or Linux PC. VMware Player makes it quick and easy to take advantage of the security, flexibility, and portability of virtual machines.VMware Player

Yes its possible to run multiple OS's with it at the same time. I have XUbunutu 13.10 running as host, with Windows 8, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04, and Fedora 20.

Also you may take a look at Run Multiple Operating Systems At Once With VMware Player for more info.

Mitch
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    This does not address the question "Is there a way to run multiple guests at the same time from Player," at all. – mHurley Mar 12 '14 at 16:22
  • @mHurley How so? It clear that it can, and possible. – Mitch Mar 12 '14 at 19:23
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    This is a copy-paste from the VMware website and only talks about what VMware is used for. Your answer does not say whether or not VMware can run two guest VMs on the same host. – mHurley Mar 12 '14 at 19:28
  • The answer reference that its from their site. It also says that you can run multiple OS's with it at the same time. I have XUbunutu 13.10 running as host, with Windows 8, Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 12.04, and Fedora 20. – Mitch Mar 12 '14 at 19:32
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    That information would have made your answer much more useful ;-) That last part (the link) would make this a link-only answer, which is discouraged because if the link breaks, your answer is useless. **If you're running multiple OSs with VMware, put that in your answer, and describe how it's done!** THAT would make a great answer. – mHurley Mar 12 '14 at 19:34
  • The last link is there as extra reading and/or information, and not necessarily part of the answer. – Mitch Mar 12 '14 at 19:37
  • Thanks for the edit. That's much more clear. Before that, the link was the only thing that talked about running multiple guests on the same host with VMware, which means that the link was required reading. Just for curiosity's sake, I'd also like to know HOW to get VMware to run multiple guests, and if there are any special considerations. – mHurley Mar 12 '14 at 19:41
  • let us [continue this discussion in chat](http://chat.stackexchange.com/rooms/13561/discussion-between-mitch-and-mhurley) – Mitch Mar 12 '14 at 19:41
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Based on this answer to my only slightly related question, it seems like it should be possible, but only with VMware Workstation.

While I asked about running identical VMs simultaneously, the answer indicates that VMware Player requires an extension of some kind called Workstation in order to run multiple guests on the same host.

I wish I could be more helpful, but this might at least get you close ;-)

mHurley
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