creating multiple OS's using open source vmware on linux

[project x]

i have a dell poweredge 1950 server currently running linux redhat. i want to have 6 total instances of linux/centos running on this server. what is the best free vmware download that will suit my needs? i heard for freeware you can only use the windows version of vmware not centos/linux.. any help would be appreciated!

thanks!

[Salem]

You can run as many copies of the free VmWare player as you like
http://www.vmware.com/products/player/

But you can only run pre-built VmWare images inside the player. You can get them from many sources, such as here
http://www.vmware.com/appliances/

[project x]

thanks for the reply. i was reading up on this more. it looks like i need to use freeware VM server with no client/console. im setting up this linux server to run vnc so ppl can connect to it remotely and use one of the 6 vm images on the server..

just to clarify.. does this mean i have to reinstall the OS image a total of 6 times?

also can somone please point me into some simple/guided step by step instructions on how to install vmware on linux?

thanks!!!

[John A]

How about running VMWare server on Linux -- it's free, and it's significantly more powerful than VMWare Player:
http://pubs.vmware.com/server1/admin/install_server.3.13.html

Plus, it's designed around having multiple clients connect. It comes packaged with client programs that you can use to connect to the main server. I believe you can also clone images within the software (if not, it's pretty simply to copy the images at the OS level too), so there's no need to reinstall an operating system 6 times.

[DimaYasny]

go with kvm instead of vmware - totally free, opensource and has some tasty features, especially for unattended servers