Wednesday, December 13, 2017

How to Create a Virtual Machine Running Ubuntu Linux with VMware Workstation



 
This is a step by step guide outlining how to install and set up Ubuntu Linux on a virtual machine. You can do this fairly easily using either Virtual Box or VMware Workstation software. This guide assumes you have already installed which ever client you choose to use.

1.       Download the Ubuntu ISO from https://www.ubuntu.com/download. being an operating system, this is a large file so make sure you have enough room on your computer before downloading it. I was running tight on space so I download all of my ISO’s to an external hard drive. Keep in mind once you create the machine you will no longer need the ISO so it can be deleted right after installation to conserve space.


2.       Open VMware Workstation you could also use Virtual Box which is a free open source version of workstation I will be using VMware workstation because I am more familiar with it and therefore prefer it to Virtual Box. Also get a free license to use it through school. 

3.       Once open make sure you are on the home tab and click on the “create new virtual machine” button. The New Virtual Machine Wizard will open and ask you what type of configuration you want. I’m selecting typical for this guide and suggest you do to unless you have a specific reason to do a custom installation. Click next.



4.       You will now be prompted to select the operating system you wish to install on this new VM. Click browse and navigate to where you downloaded the Ubuntu ISO and select it. Then click next.


5.       In the next prompt, you must enter a full name for your account as well as a username and a password. Make sure to remember this password as you will need it to access this machine after installation. Click next.


6.       Now you will be asked to enter a name for the virtual machine and to select where you want the machine to be saved. I keep all of my VMs in the same folder for easy access. Once you have selected the Ubuntu ISO click next.

7.       In the next dialog box, you are asked to allocate space for the hard drive of this virtual machine as well as if you want the disk created as a single file or split into multiple files.  I chose the recommended 20 GB for the drive. Don’t worry about it using the whole amount of space for your virtual machine. It will not tie up space not being used on that drive. This is nice because you can share that open space across several virtual machines and you host computer. I always store the disk as one file because I don’t move my virtual machines and appreciate the bump in performance. Click next.

8.       Now it’s time to create the machine, click finish

Next the Virtual Machine will power up and begin loading the Ubuntu installation wizard. Make a snack, sit back and wait. It will take a while for Ubuntu to install.


9.       Once Ubuntu is finished installing you will be asked to login using your predetermined credentials. Enter this information and log in. Congratulations you have now successfully created a Virtual Machine running Ubuntu Linux operating system.




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