Category Archives: VMware

Kernel – 4.15-rc7 Released – And there will be an -rc8..

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Kernel 4.15-rc7 is out, and (brief) details of changes since -rc6 are here:  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1801.0/04858.html.    The preamble is worth a read, as it pays tribute to the work done on the x86 PTI fixes.. Vmmon-patched VMware 14.1.0 is OK (see: https://github.com/mkubecek/vmware-host-modules/tree/workstation-14.1.0 ) and the latest NVIDIA drivers – 384.111 and 390.12 are both still OK. As mentioned, in … Continue reading →

Kernel – Urgent Changes in Latest Versions, to Fix Intel CPU Security..

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Apparently, there has been a major security defect discovered in Intel CPUs, and full details have been embargoed until early-January, but there is a comprehensive article in The Register, here:  https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/01/02/intel_cpu_design_flaw/ The Linux Kernel devs have been working to provide a workaround, as – apparently – there is no other practical solution: https://lkml.org/lkml/2017/12/4/709 The article does hint … Continue reading →

VMware – 14.1.0 released – OK with Kernel 4.14, Still Broken with 4.15, and a Nasty Hack to Fix..

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Just updated to VMware Workstation 14.1.0, and release notes are here:  https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/14.0.0/rn/workstation-141-release-notes.html This now works OK with Kernel 4.14 (tested with 4.14.8) but vmmon is still broken with Kernel 4.15 (tested with 4.15-rc4): ……………. /tmp/modconfig-04hK9s/vmmon-only/linux/hostif.c: In function ‘HostIF_InitUptime’: /tmp/modconfig-04hK9s/vmmon-only/linux/hostif.c:1770:4: error: implicit declaration of function ‘init_timer’; did you mean ‘init_timers’? [-Werror=implicit-function-declaration] init_timer(&uptimeState.timer); ^~~~~~~~~~ init_timers /tmp/modconfig-04hK9s/vmmon-only/linux/hostif.c:1771:31: error: assignment from … Continue reading →

VMware – Fix for Kernel 4.15-rc1..

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Thanks – again – to mkubecek, there is now a fix for VMware 14.0.0 and Kernel 4.15 – and details are here:   https://github.com/mkubecek/vmware-host-modules/commit/562121d7bc06 The fix involves changes to vmmon-only/linux/driver.c and vmmon-only/linux/hostif.c, and a new file: vmmon-only/include/compat_timer.h .    I have tested this on 4.15-rc1, and now vmmon compiles, and vmware loads/runs, correctly. Robert Gadsdon.  November 27, 2017.

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Kernel – 4.15-rc1 is Out – Breaks VMware and NVIDIA…

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Kernel 4.15-rc1 has been released, and brief details are here:  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1711.3/00971.html With VMware 14.0.0 – plus the 4.14 vmmon patch – vmmon breaks again: ……………………… /tmp/modconfig-hOVOTM/vmmon-only/linux/driver.c: In function ‘LinuxDriverInitTSCkHz’: /tmp/modconfig-hOVOTM/vmmon-only/linux/driver.c:254:22: error: assignment from incompatible pointer type [-Werror=incompatible-pointer-types] tscTimer.function = LinuxDriverEstimateTSCkHzDeferred; ^ /tmp/modconfig-hOVOTM/vmmon-only/linux/driver.c:256:12: error: ‘struct timer_list’ has no member named ‘data’ tscTimer.data = 0; ^ /tmp/modconfig-hOVOTM/vmmon-only/linux/driver.c: In function … Continue reading →

VMware – 12.5.8 Released – Still Incompatible..

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There has been a new release of Workstation 12.5 – 12.5.8 – and the – rather vague – release notes are here:  https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/12.0/rn/workstation-1258-release-notes.html I tested this with a ‘clean’ install on my cash-and-burn system, and basically, it suffers from the same compatibility problems as 12.5.7.    GCC7, Fedora 26/27, and Kernel 14.x all cause it to fail. # … Continue reading →

Kernel – 4.14 Released – OK with Latest NVIDIA and – Patched – VMware

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Kernel 4.14 is now out, and brief details – including updates from -rc8 – are here:  http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1711.1/03305.html As expected, the latest NVIDIA drivers (384.98 and 387.22) are OK with this release, and VMware 14.0.0 – with the vmmon patch ( see https://rglinuxtech.com/?p=2090 ) – is OK as well.. Robert Gadsdon.  November 12, 2017.

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Kernel – 4.14-rc8 Released, After All..

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Kernel 4.14-rc8 is out, and brief details of changes since -rc7 are here: http://lkml.iu.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/1711.0/03395.html This might have been 4.14 ‘final’ but there were still too many changes to warrant that..    Th 4.14 ‘final’ release may be slightly delayed, as it would now clash with the US ‘Thanksgiving’ holiday.. The latest NVIDIA drivers (384.98 and 387.22 beta) both … Continue reading →

VMware – Potential Fix for W/S 14 Performance/Memory Issues..

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I had found that although VMware 14.0.0 installed OK with Kernel 4.13, the runtime performance was rather ‘sluggish’, and others have reported more serious memory issues… There is a patch that may help with this – and thanks to Roke for reporting this, and to mkubecek for the actual patch.. Details are in this posting, on the … Continue reading →

VMware – Potential Fix for W/S 14 Performance/Memory Issues..

Adventures With Linux ™ Posted on by

I had found that although VMware 14.0.0 installed OK with Kernel 4.13, the runtime performance was rather ‘sluggish’, and others have reported more serious memory issues… There is a patch that may help with this – and thanks to Roke for reporting this, and to mkubecek for the actual patch.. Details are in this posting, on the … Continue reading →