---
title: "Working with VMware Tools"
sidebar_label: "VMware Tools"
sidebar_position: 9
description: "How to install VMware Tools on a virtual machine, check the version, or update it to work with guest OSes"
---

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# Working with VMware Tools

VMware Tools™ (open-vm-tools) is a set of services for managing guest OSes. Read more about VMware Tools in the [About VMware Tools Administration](https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Tools/12.0.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vmwaretools.doc/GUID-594192DA-0306-425D-B0CD-CB141C4C6874.html) section of the VMware documentation.

For Windows, the VMware Tools version must be at least 12288. For Linux, the actual version number depends on the OS.

[Check the installed version](#check-vmware-tools-version) in Cloud Director. If the version is not up to date, [update VMware Tools](#update-vmware-tools).

## Install VMware Tools \{#install-vmware-tools}

The latest version of VMware Tools is installed automatically during the initial installation.

<Tabs queryString="install-vmware-tools">
  <TabItem value="windows">
    <TabItemLabel>
      Windows
    </TabItemLabel>

    1. From the [control panel](https://my.selectel.ru/vmware/), open the Cloud Director panel: in the top menu, click **Products** → **VMware-based Cloud** → section **Cloud Director**.

    2. Open the virtual data center page.

    3. Go to the **Compute** → **Virtual Machines**.

    4. In the **ACTIONS** menu of the virtual machine, select **Install VMware Tools** → **Install**.

    5. Open the list of installed programs and check for VMware Tools.

    6. Check if VMware Tools is working: open the **Services** application → **VMware Tools** and check the **Status** column. It should show **Running**, and the startup type should be **Automatic**.
  </TabItem>

  <TabItem value="ubuntu-debian">
    <TabItemLabel>
      Ubuntu/Debian
    </TabItemLabel>

    1. Update the information about the latest packages from all configured sources:

       ```bash
       sudo apt update
       ```

    2. Install the open-vm-tools package:

       ```bash
       sudo apt install open-vm-tools
       ```

    3. Enable the service to start automatically:

       ```bash
       sudo systemctl enable vmtoolsd
       ```

    4. Restart the virtual machine:

       ```bash
       sudo reboot
       ```
  </TabItem>

  <TabItem value="rhel-centos">
    <TabItemLabel>
      RHEL/CentOS
    </TabItemLabel>

    1. Update the information about the latest packages from all configured sources:

       ```bash
       sudo dnf check-update
       ```

    2. Install the open-vm-tools package:

       ```bash
       sudo dnf install open-vm-tools
       ```

    3. Enable the service to start automatically:

       ```bash
       sudo systemctl enable vmtoolsd
       ```

    4. Restart the virtual machine:

       ```bash
       sudo reboot
       ```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

## Check VMware Tools version \{#check-vmware-tools-version}

1. From the [control panel](https://my.selectel.ru/vmware/), open the Cloud Director panel: in the top menu, click **Products** → **VMware-based Cloud** → section **Cloud Director**.
2. Open the virtual data center page.
3. Go to the **Compute** → **Virtual Machines**.
4. In the virtual machine card, click **DETAILS**.
5. In the **General** section, in the **VMware Tools** field, check the VMware Tools version. If it says **Not installed**, VMware Tools is not installed.

## Update VMware Tools \{#update-vmware-tools}

We recommend always updating VMware Tools to the latest version.

<Tabs queryString="os-update-vmtools">
  <TabItem value="windows" default>
    <TabItemLabel>
      Windows
    </TabItemLabel>

    1. Download the VMware Tools installer from the [official VMware repository](https://packages.vmware.com/tools/releases/latest/windows/x64/).
    2. Run the installer and follow all the steps.
    3. Restart the virtual machine.
  </TabItem>

  <TabItem value="ubuntu-debian">
    <TabItemLabel>
      Ubuntu/Debian
    </TabItemLabel>

    1. Update the information about the latest packages from all configured sources:

       ```bash
       sudo apt update
       ```

    2. Check for available updates:

       ```bash
       sudo apt list —upgradable | grep open-vm-tools
       ```

    3. If an update is available, install it:

       ```bash
       sudo apt install open-vm-tools
       ```
  </TabItem>

  <TabItem value="rhel-centos">
    <TabItemLabel>
      RHEL/CentOS
    </TabItemLabel>

    1. Update the information about the latest packages from all configured sources:

       ```bash
       sudo dnf check-update
       ```

    2. Check for available updates:

       ```bash
       sudo dnf list available | grep open-vm-tools
       ```

    3. If an update is available, install it:

       ```bash
       sudo dnf install open-vm-tools
       ```
  </TabItem>
</Tabs>

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