VMWare makes it possible for you to run ClearOS in a virtualized environment. You will need a copy of VMWare Server running on a server. For purposes of this howto, I'm running VMWare Server under ClarkConnect 5.0 and I am configuring the server using the web-based management feature of VMWare on https port 8333 and SSH to the Clarkconnect host server.

From your SSH session, navigate to the root of your VMWare library and download the image using this command from the host with the following output:

wget http://www.clearfoundation.com/component/option,com_ionfiles/fileid,112/func,download/ && md5sum ClearOS5.2.tar.gz

035a474bc8f38b17a91aaf955a0f2720  ClearOS5.2.tar.gz

Extract the image using the following command:

tar xvzf ClearOS5.2.tar.gz

Add the virtual machine by clicking Virtual Machine » Add Virtual Machine to Inventory. Navigate to the ClearOS5.2.vmx file in the ClearOS5.2 directory. Click OK.

The default VMWare image and configuration comes with 3 partitions, namely;

• A utility and boot partition configured as IDE (hda). This partition comes with data
• A blank, 8GB, system partition configured as SCSI (sda).
• A blank, 8GB, data partition configured as SCSI (sda).

The default VMWare image comes with 2 network cards configured. The installation will install in Gateway mode. If you desire Standalone Mode, please install as Gateway and configure the server after the install.

• The first card (eth0) is configured for Bridging on the host servers interface.
• The second card (eth1) is configured for Host Only.

You may adjust, remove, and alter the configuration for the two SCSI disks. The installation will expect at least two SCSI devices for the system (sda) and data (sdb).

The utility partition comes with the installation media, you will not need the CDROM at this time but you can add it if you want to.

The default VMWare image comes without USB configured.

The default VMWare image comes without sound configured.

When you start the image, it will boot to the main utility partition menu and then after 5 seconds will attempt to boot.

If you have not installed yet and the timer exceeds 5 seconds before you make your selection, you will get a message indicating:

  Booting 'Normal boot'

root (hd1,0)

Error 5: Partition table invalid or corrupt

Press any key to continue...

If you get this message, simply press the space bar to return to the boot menu.

From the boot menu, select Install or re-install ClearOS. From the next menu, select any of the Install ClearOS options. Once you select your option the installation process will start.

Select a language at the next screen and a keyboard layout on the following screen. Since, neither the system or data drive has been initialized, you will be prompted to select 'Yes' by two warning screens. After this, the partitions will be created and the package installation will begin. After it is done, select 'Reboot'.

You will need to log into the interface and configure some setting for ClearOS. The ClearOS Enterprise 5.2 documentation contains much information about this process. To log in, use 'root' for the username and 'clearos' for the password. You should do the following things after the startup wizard.

• Change the root password
• Open appropriate firewall ports

The utility partition is a standalone boot loader with additional features. It is designed to be the installation media for ClearOS installs, a recovery utility for running data and system rescue, and a testing platform for testing memory, disk, and other hardware.

The utility partition comes with a menu driven grub interface for selecting various tasks, by default the menu will assign operations for booting to the next disk which by default is the bootloader for ClearOS.

You can edit this menu by booting to ClearOS or to the 'rescue mode' image and manipulating the grub.conf file. Make sure to backup this file if you edit it.

cd /mnt
mkdir 1
mount /dev/hda1 1
vi /mnt/1/grub/grub.conf

The utility partition does NOT use the typical ClearOS installer but uses an optionless ClearOS installer that supports kickstart and commandline options. The utility partition uses kickstart files to install the different modes of ClearOS. These files are contained on the second partition of the utility partition in the /clearos folder.

You can edit these files by booting to ClearOS or to the 'rescue mode' image and manipulating the files. Make sure to backup the files if you edit it.

cd /mnt
mkdir 2
mount /dev/hda2 2
cd 2/clearos/

The memory test included on the utility partition is the same as the one included with the standard ClearOS Enterprise installation media.

The rescue mode included on the utility partition is the same as the one included with the standard ClearOS Enterprise installation media. Use this partition to fix problems with your ClearOS installation when booting to the OS is not an option.

Special thanks to the developers and community of Parted Magic. Parted Magic is included on the utility partition and is useful for troubleshooting problems with ClearOS. In addition, the graphical interface is easy to use and intuitive. It also is capable of remote SSH so it is a good choice to boot if you need a hand with your ClearOS install and VMWare Console Management is not an option.