Red Hat NETSCAPE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 4.5 User Manual download pdf (Page 147)

Running VMware ESX Server

147

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Passing a String from the Console Operating System to the

Guest Operating System

With ESX Server and knowledge of a scripting language like Perl or NetShell (in a

Windows 2000 guest operating system), you can pass a string from your virtual

machine’s configuration file to the guest operating system when you use the

configuration file to launch a virtual machine. This string is known as machine.id.

The content of the string you pass to the guest operating system is up to you.

For additional details and sample scripts, including information on passing messages

both ways between the console operating system and a guest, see the VMware Perl

API documentation at www.vmware.com/support/developer/perl-API/doc/.

You should use this feature only if you have a good understanding of a scripting

language and know how to modify system startup scripts.

Example of Passing a String from the Console Operating System to the Guest

If you use multiple configuration files that point to the same virtual disk, each

configuration file can contain its own unique machine.id line.

<config_file_1>.cfg contains:

scsi0:1.present = TRUE

scsi0:1.name = "my_common_virtual_hard_drive.dsk"

scsi0:1.mode = "persistent"

machine.id = "the_id_for_my_first_vm"

<config_file_2>.cfg contains:

scsi0:1.present = TRUE

scsi0:1.name = "my_common_virtual_hard_drive.dsk"

scsi0:1.mode = "persistent"

machine.id = "the_id_for_my_second_vm"

Using machine.id, you may pass such strings as the Windows system ID (SID), a

machine name or an IP address. In the guest operating system startup script, you may

then have the guest service retrieve this string, which can then be used by your script

to set your virtual machine's system ID, machine name or IP address.

In the following example, we use a Linux guest to illustrate how you can use the guest

service to retrieve a string containing what becomes the virtual machine’s machine

name and IP address. We use RedHat62VM as the machine name and 148.30.16.24 as

the IP address.

1. Define the machine.id string. Add the following line to your virtual machine’s

configuration file:

machine.id = "RedHat62VM 148.30.16.24"

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Red Hat NETSCAPE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 4.5 User Manual Page 147