Does anyone have experience running VMware Workstation 6 files over a mounted CIFS share on Linux? All aspects in my setup appear to be working flawlessly, except the VM's WorkingDir. After launching a VM that is stored on the mounted CIFS share, if I attempt to edit the VM's settings I am prompted with an error stating that the WorkingDir cannot be located.

The WorkingDir referenced within the error message is a valid location on the mounted CIFS share but the GUI does not appear capable of accessing the location. All other aspects of the VM can access the WorkingDir, just not the GUI. This makes it increasingly difficult to modify the WorkingDir to another location on the CIFS share. To actually change the directory, I have to edit the WorkingDir="" value within the <VM>.VMX file directly.

Given that the GUI can clearly load the VMX file and launch the VM, there does not appear to be a permission issue with the mount share. I have searched the VMware logs but have not found anything to indicate what the problem is. I have included the basic steps taken to mount the share and then launch the VM below for your reference.

Summary of steps taken:
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1. Mount the CIFS share.
- /sbin/mount.cifs //<host>/<share> /home/<user>/VMs -o username=<user>

2. Launch the VM from the mounted share.
- vmware /home/<user>/VMs/WindowsServer2003/WindowsServer2003.VMX

3. The VM will load successfully, but when attempting to edit the settings an error message states that "Working Directory /home/<user>/VMs/WindowsServer2003 cannot be found".

4. The VM can be launched and snapshots can be taken, which are created in the Working Directory noted above. This indicates that the path is clearly accurate. However, the GUI for editing settings is unable to locate the path for some unknown reason.
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This issue is only present when launching a VM from a mounted CIFS share. If launched from the Linux server's local disk, the VM's WorkingDir is properly located by the configuration GUI. I have attempted multiple changes to how I mount the CIFS share but have been unsuccessful in correcting the problem. I am very versed in Linux administration and mounting CIFS shares and I do not see any problems related to the mounting method used.

Has anyone out there experienced this odd behavior? If so, have you found that this is a limitation of VMware Workstation 6 or CIFS?

Any input would be appreciated.

If you would like additional details please let me know.

Thanks.

Let me understand this.

A virtual machine .vhd is located on a cifs mounted share. You launch the vm from a local host. Then you wish to access the share's.

I'd guess the share would need to be relative to the local machine not the remote's location.

Guess an odd chance the network it too tied up.

"Best Practices", Event viewer, host file, perfmon, are in my top 10

Thanks for the reply.

All of the VMware files are located on the mounted CIFS share. The virtual machine will run perfectly fine. The only issue is that the VMware configuration interface does not seem to "see" the WorkingDir value ( which points to the same location as the VMX file, which is on the CIFS share ) as a valid path.

However, this does not seem to make sense given that the same configuration GUI is able to edit the other settings within the VMX file. This, along with the fact that the VM runs fine, indicates the WorkingDir value is valid. The configuration GUI does not seem "aware" of the mounted CIFS share but ONLY as it relates to the WorkingDir parameter in the <vm>.VMX file.

This issue is certainly up there in my list of completely odd software behavior.

Any additional thoughts?