I have several issues with the new VMWare Server 2 that will stop me from using it on production systems until fixed or I will have to reluctantly look at another free virtualization solution. I'm pretty sure the problem is VMWare and not my OS as I never had these kind of issues on version 1 and I have the same issue on 2 different versions of Ubuntu and diffrent hardware.
Setup:
Ubuntu Intrepid and Hardy both x86_64
VMWare Server 2 x86_64
Intrepid running on Dell Precision M6300 Laptop
Core 2 duo 2.4ghz, 3GB RAM
Hardy running on Generic Hardware
Gigabyte MB
Intel Quad Core 2 duo 2.5ghz, 2GB RAM
To avoid typing the same words out the whole time here are a few abbreviations I am going to use:
VMWare infrastructure Web Access - VIWA
VM Guest Console - VGC
VM guest - VG
Virtual NIC - VN
1. I constantly get permission errors on VG's I just had access to and have to close and re-open the VIWA to get access again, this does not always work. Sometimes waiting a few minutes makes it come right as well.
2. Sometimes cannot get access to anything on the VIWA windows, all is hung, and I have to close and re-open
3. Having to click in the VIWA console tab to open the VGC is silly as you cannot click fast enough to see the boot process. So you cannot interupt it and choose alternative boot options without having to set "boot to bios" and set it there. Cannot press F8 in Windows XP either. A better solution would be to always display the VGC inside the VIWA and have a button to lauch the VGC in a separate window
4. When trying to use a CD/DVD ISO to boot or load why am I restricted to only load those ISO's from the Virtual Machines folder? The only way I was able to load an ISO, without having to copy it there (wasting space and time), was to create a shortcut to the ISO in the Virtual machines folder. this also waste's time and is messy. Why can I not just choose an ISO that is available in any location on my server as per any previous version of VMWare Server?
5. When I have the VGC open and USB devices connected why is USB devices not in the list under the devices menu, surely this makes more sense than having to go back to the VIWA and choose USB devices there?
6. Why does the "Reset" button under the "Remote Console\Troubleshoot" menu on the VGC reset the VCG and not do what you would expect it to do and reboot the VG? It even has the same icon as reboot in the VIWA. Would it not be better to name that reboot, make it do what you would expect it to do and have another button and icon to reset the VGC?
7.Why am I now unable to easily disconnect, reconnect and edit VN settings straight from the icons at the bottom of the VGC? Now to disconnect a VN you have to go to the VIWA, click on the network icon, click edit, select disconnect and click ok. 5 or so clicks where 2 used to do just fine. That goes the same for turning it on. 10 clicks where 4 did just fine before.
I have been using VMWare Workstation since 2002 and GSX until VMWare Server was released and have since been using only this for all my virtualization requirements. I recommend VMWare before any other software out there. It is truly superior to anything else and I use it every single day. I can see the direction that VMWare is going and understand the benifit and actually like the new interface and features. But unfortunately the new version 2 is not ready for production and not very stable and it's not something I can recommend to anyone yet. I really hope someone can take note of what I have posted here and agree with me and hopefully these things could be fixed soon.
For my production machine I will have to go back to 1.0.7 but I will continue using and testing v2 on my test system until I feel it's ready and most of my issues have been resolved.
Thanks for your time.