This post shows students and new users the steps to install VMware Workstation Pro on Ubuntu Linux. VMware Workstation Pro is a mature and stable virtualization solution that enables anyone to run multiple isolated guest virtual machines on a single host computer simultaneously.
These guest machines can be configured to run multiple operating systems such as Windows, Linux, and MacOS in an isolated environment. VMware Workstation Pro is not free or open source software. You will need to purchase a license to use it, either for personal or commercial use.
If you are looking for virtualization software that is free to use anywhere, you may want to look at VirtualBox.
If you are a student or a new user learning Linux, the easiest place to start learning is on Ubuntu Linux. Ubuntu is the modern open source Linux operating system for desktops, servers, and other devices.
To start installing VMware Workstation Pro on Ubuntu Linux, follow the steps below:
How to install packages on Ubuntu Linux
To install VMware Workstation Pro on Ubuntu, you must first install the support packages and create dependencies.
To do that, run the following commands:
sudo apt update sudo apt install wget gcc build-essential linux-headers-generic linux-headers-$(uname -r)
How to download and install VMware Pro on Ubuntu Linux
After installing the above packages, download VMware Workstation Pror from its download page and install it. The link below takes you there.
https://www.vmware.com/go/getworkstation-linux
Alternatively, run the following commands to download the latest version of VMware Workstation Player on the terminal console.
At the time of writing, the latest version of VMware Workstation Pro is at 16.1.2.
cd /tmp wget https://download3.vmware.com/software/wkst/file/VMware-Workstation-Full-16.1.2-17966106.x86_64.bundle
After the above download, run the following commands to make the package executable and install VMware Workstation Pro.
sudo chmod +x VMware-Workstation-*.bundle sudo ./VMware-Workstation-*.bundle
On Ubuntu, the installation will run non-interactively. This means that you will not have to complete an installation wizard.
After a short moment, the installation should complete with a success message similar to the one shown below. Once you see the message below, you are done.
Extracting VMware Installer…done. Installing VMware Workstation 16.1.2 Configuring… [######################################################################] 100% Installation was successful.
After the above installation, go and start VMware Workstation Pro from the Activity Pane. Click on the Show app button at the bottom left.
In the apps panel, find and select VMware Workstation.
Once you click on the app, its welcome wizard will open. Accept the license terms to continue
Agree to check for product updates at startup and continue
Skip the license key page for a 30-day trial period. After the 30-day trial period, you will be forced to purchase a license to use after that time.
Finally, click on Install on pc to begin the installation.
When you are done with the wizard, the VMware Workstation home should open.
You should do that!
Conclusion:
In this tutorial we have seen how to install and use VMware Workstation Pro on Ubuntu Linux. If you find any errors above or have something to add, use the comment form below.
