Host Operating System

VMware Workstation is available for Windows and Linux host operating systems. VMware ACE features are included only in the version of Workstation that runs on Windows hosts.

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Windows Host Operating Systems

Workstation supports the following Windows 32-bit and 64-bit host operating systems.

 

Table 1-1. Supported Windows Host Operating Systems 

Operating System Type	Operating System Edition
32-bit	Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Windows 7 Enterprise Edition Windows 7 Professional Windows 7 Home Basic and Premium
	Windows Vista Enterprise Edition, SP1, SP2 Windows Vista Business Edition, SP1, SP2 Windows Vista Home Basic and Premium Editions, SP1, SP2 Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, SP1, SP2 Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.
	Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, SP1, R2 Windows Server 2008 Standard, SP1, R2
	Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with SP1, R2, SP2 Windows Server 2003 Small Business Edition with SP1, R2, SP2 Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with SP1, R2,SP2
	Windows XP Home Edition with SP2 or later service pack Windows XP Professional with SP2 or later service pack
64-bit	Windows 7 Ultimate Edition Windows 7 Enterprise Edition Windows 7 Professional Windows 7 Home Basic and Premium
	Windows Vista Enterprise Edition, SP1, SP2 Windows Vista Business Edition, SP1, SP2 Windows Vista Home Basic and Premium Editions, SP1, SP2 Windows Vista Ultimate Edition, SP1, SP2 Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.
	Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, SP1, R2 Windows Server 2008 Standard, SP1, R2
	Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition with SP1, R2, SP2 Windows Server 2003 Small Business Edition with SP1, R2, SP2 Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with SP1, R2,SP2Windows
	Windows XP Professional x64 Edition with SP1 or later service pack

Linux Host Operating Systems

Workstation supports the following Linux 32-bit and 64-bit distributions and kernels for the host operating systems. Workstation might not run on systems that do not meet these requirements.

As newer Linux kernels and distributions are released, VMware modifies and tests its products for stability and reliability on those host platforms. VMware makes every effort to add support for new kernels and distributions in a timely manner, but until a kernel or distribution is added to the following list, its use with VMware products is not supported. Look for newer prebuilt modules in the Downloads area of the VMware Web site.

In Workstation 7.0, only Linux kernels version 2.6.9 and later are supported.

 

Table 1-2. Supported Linux Host Operating Systems 

Operating System Type	Operating System Edition
32-bit	Asianux Server 3
	CentOS 5.2 CentOS 5.1 CentOS 5.0
	Mandriva 2009 Mandriva 2008, 2008-1
	Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.2 Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.1 Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.0
	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0 WS, AS, ES
	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.8 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4.5 (formerly 4.0 Update 5) WS, AS, ES
	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1, SP2 SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, SP1, SP2 Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.
32-bit	openSUSE 11.2 openSUSE 11.1 openSUSE 11 openSUSE 10.3 openSUSE 10.2 (formerly known as SUSE Linux 10.2)
	Ubuntu Linux 9.04 Ubuntu Linux 8.10 Ubuntu Linux 8.04, 8.04.1, 8.04.2, 8.04.3 Ubuntu Linux 6.06
64-bit	Asianux Server 3
	CentOS 5.2 CentOS 5.1 CentOS 5.0
	Mandriva 2009 Mandriva 2008, 2008-1 Note: On 64-bit Mandriva hosts, some 32-bit compatibility libraries are required. Specifically, 32-bit glibc, X11, and libXtst.so are required.
	Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.2 Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.1 Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.0
	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0 WS, AS, ES
	Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.8 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.7 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.6 WS, AS, ES Red Hat Enterprise Linux WS 4.5 (formerly 4.0 Update 5) WS, AS, ES
	SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1, SP2 SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10, SP1, SP2 Listed versions are also supported with no service pack.
64-bit	openSUSE 11.2 openSUSE 11.1 openSUSE 11 openSUSE 10.3 openSUSE 10.2 (formerly known as SUSE Linux 10.2)
	Ubuntu Linux 9.04 Ubuntu Linux 8.10 Ubuntu Linux 8.04, 8.04.1, 8.04.2, 8.04.3 Ubuntu Linux 6.06 Note: On 64-bit Ubuntu 6.x hosts, some 32-bit compatibility libraries are required. Specifically, 32-bit glibc and X11 are required.