VMware Server configuration question

Kevin J. Cummings cummings at kjchome.homeip.net
Thu May 6 04:56:50 UTC 2010


On 05/06/2010 12:16 AM, Robert G. (Doc) Savage wrote:
> 
> On Wed, 2010-05-05 at 20:31 -0400, Kevin J. Cummings wrote:
>> On 05/05/2010 07:39 PM, Robert G. (Doc) Savage wrote:
>>> Trying to configure the latest VMware Server v2.0.2 under F13Beta.
>>> (Annoyingly) near the beginning of vmware-config.pl -- in fact the next
>>> question after "Where's the CC compiler?" -- it asks:
>>>
>>> What is the location of the directory of C header files that match your
>>> running kernel? [/usr/src/linux/include]
>>
>> On my F12 laptop, the default is:
>>
>>> [/lib/modules/2.6.32.11-99.fc12.x86_64/build/include] 
>>
>> I believe that you need to have the appropriate kernel-headers RPM
>> installed for the kernel you are building for.  In my case, its
>>
>>> kernel-headers-2.6.32.11-99.fc12.x86_64
>>
>>> I've always answered <Enter> at this question and it was accepted. Now
>>> it says:
>>>
>>> The path "/usr/src/linux/include" is not an existing directory.
>>>
>>> I don't have much to go on here. Does anyone know the right answer for
>>> F13?
>>
>> Install the correct kernel-headers package for your kernel.
>>
>> Question:  Have you gotten VMWare-server to build?  I have not yet
>> gotten it to build for me on F12.  The last I had is working on was F11
>> (though admittedly, I haven't yet spent the same amount of time on it
>> that I did when I got it working on F11).  There are necessary patches
>> to make it work with 2.6.31 kernels (F12), and F13 Beta has a 2.6.32
>> kernel....
> 
> Kevin,
> 
> Two things to report.
> 
> (1) The latest batch of F13 updates upgraded gcc to v4.4.4. This is a
> problem:
> 
>         None of the pre-built vmmon modules for VMware Server is
>         suitable for your running kernel. Do you want this program to
>         try to build the vmmon module for your system (you need to have
>         a C compiler installed on your system)? [yes]
>         
>         Using compiler "/usr/bin/gcc". Use environment variable CC to
>         override.
>         
>         Your kernel was built with "gcc" version "4.4.3", while you are
>         trying to use "/usr/bin/gcc" version "4.4.4". This configuration
>         is not recommended and VMware Server may crash if you'll
>         continue. Please try to use exactly same compiler a one used for
>         building your kernel. Do you want to go with compiler
>         "/usr/bin/gcc" version "4.4.4" anyway? [no] yes

The last time I ran into this (between FC6 and F9), it worked just fine
for me.  There is not supposed to be any major change in the runtime
support between gcc 4.4.3 and 4.4.4.

> (2) Proceeding, I get the same error I got before upgrading to gcc
> 4.4.4:
> 
>         What is the location of the directory of C header files that
>         match your running kernel?
>         [/usr/src/linux/include] /lib/modules/2.6.33.2-41.fc13.x86_64/build/include
>         
>         The directory of kernel headers (version @@VMWARE@@ UTS_RELEASE)
>         does not match your running kernel (version
>         2.6.33.2-41.fc13.x86_64). Even if the module were to compile
>         successfully, it would not load into the running kernel.

Ugh.  What's up with your kernel headers?  Or, more to the point, why
can't if figure out what version they are?

> Contents of ./linux/version.h:
>         #define LINUX_VERSION_CODE 132641
>         #define KERNEL_VERSION(a,b,c) (((a) << 16) + ((b) << 8) + (c))
> 
> I get the same second error using any of the three F13 Beta and update
> kernels that have been released to date (all 2.6.33 kernels BTW).
> 
> I'm no kernel hacker, but I suspect there's been a significant --
> possibly structural -- change to the kernel that's confusing the
> configuration script.
> 
> It's going to be important to find a fix for this, especially if RHEL6
> is based on a similar kernel.

I think that's going to be the important point.  As soon as RedHat
releases RHEL6, VMWare is going to have to release a fixed RPM with
support for it, since VMWare claims that it supports RHEL.

> --Doc Savage
>   Fairview Heights, IL

-- 
Kevin J. Cummings
kjchome at rcn.com
cummings at kjchome.homeip.net
cummings at kjc386.framingham.ma.us
Registered Linux User #1232 (http://counter.li.org)


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