build vmware tools for vmware WS 6.5 - "vm communication interface socket family" failure

failure :"vm communication interface socket family"

vsock isn't essential to the use of the Workstation 6.5 beta. However, it's remedied simply, but if you're brand new to Linux it might be slightly intimidating.

The problem is that the 2.6.24 kernel as packaged by Ubuntu 8.04 "hardy" changed how its source code provides certain information. In order to change the vsock module's source code to comply, do this.

First, unpack the vsock source:

$ tar xf /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source/vsock.tar


Now change some of its auto-configuration tests to comply:

$ cd vsock-only
$ sed -i 's/^\#include //' autoconf/*.c


This removes all lines that look like

#include


from the test code in vsock-only/autoconf/.c that the build system uses to figure out what features are available.

Now, build the code:

$ make


and copy the driver over where VMware's startup scripts can find it:

$ sudo cp vsock.o /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/misc
$ sudo ln -s vsock.o /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/misc/vsock.ko
$ sudo depmod -a