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Open VM Tools

The Open VM Tools package installs the open-source VMware guest tools on a FreeSense virtual machine. It lets the VMware host see the guest’s IP addresses and tools status, and handle power operations such as Shut Down Guest. In FreeSense 1.1.0 the package is FreeSense-pkg-Open-VM-Tools 10.1.0 (port revision 8), which installs open-vm-tools-nox11 13.1.0, the build without graphical components.

Install it only when FreeSense runs as a guest on VMware ESXi, Workstation, or Fusion. On other hypervisors or on hardware it is not needed. The guest daemon checks for VMware on every start and does nothing elsewhere.

Install

Section titled “Install”
  1. Open System → Package Manager → Available Packages.
  2. Find Open VM Tools (package FreeSense-pkg-Open-VM-Tools) and select Install.

The installer writes /usr/local/share/vmware-tools/tools.conf, sets up the two rc scripts, and starts both services.

Stable packages are published for amd64 and, starting with 1.1.1, arm64. The port is built for amd64 and aarch64.

Where to find it

Section titled “Where to find it”

The package has no configuration page and no menu entry. Its two services appear under Status → Services:

Service Description
vmware-guestd VMware Guest Daemon
vmware-kmod VMware Kernel Modules

First-time setup

Section titled “First-time setup”
  1. Install the package on the FreeSense virtual machine.
  2. Open Status → Services and check that VMware Guest Daemon is running.
  3. In the VMware client, check that the virtual machine reports VMware Tools as running and shows the guest’s IP addresses.
  4. In a maintenance window, test Shut Down Guest (or Restart Guest) from VMware and confirm that FreeSense shuts down cleanly. The daemon runs the normal FreeSense shutdown (filesystems synced, power off) within about twenty seconds.

Settings reference

Section titled “Settings reference”

There are no WebUI settings. The installer writes this tools.conf, which leaves all power operation scripts empty, so VMware power operations run no extra scripts in the guest:

[powerops]
poweron-script=
resume-script=
suspend-script=
poweroff-script=

The rc scripts read these variables, which you normally leave alone:

Variable What it does Default
vmware_guestd_enable Starts vmtoolsd. YES when vmware-checkvm detects VMware, otherwise NO
vmware_guest_kmod_enable Default for all kernel modules below. YES
vmware_guest_vmmemctl_enable Loads the vmmemctl memory balloon module. Follows vmware_guest_kmod_enable
vmware_guest_vmxnet_enable Loads the vmxnet module. Follows vmware_guest_kmod_enable
vmware_guest_vmblock_enable Loads the vmblock module. Follows vmware_guest_kmod_enable

open-vm-tools-nox11 13.1.0 on FreeBSD 16 ships none of these kernel modules, so the vmware-kmod service reports vmmemctl and vmblock as not loaded. That is expected: the guest daemon, IP reporting and power operations work without them, and the vmx network driver comes from the System kernel.

Firewall rules and interfaces

Section titled “Firewall rules and interfaces”

None. The tools talk to the host through the VMware backdoor channel, not over the network. Network adapter drivers come from the System kernel, not from this package.

Service, logs, and status

Section titled “Service, logs, and status”
Item Value
Guest daemon /usr/local/bin/vmtoolsd, started by /usr/local/etc/rc.d/vmware-guestd with the vmsvc plugins
PID file /var/run/vmware_guestd.pid
Kernel modules Loaded from /usr/local/lib/vmware-tools/modules/drivers/ by /usr/local/etc/rc.d/vmware-kmod
VMware check /usr/local/bin/vmware-checkvm

Status → Services shows the state of both services. From a shell, /usr/local/etc/rc.d/vmware-kmod status lists each module as loaded or not loaded. Errors while writing tools.conf are logged with the tag open-vm-tools.

Upgrade, backup, and removal

Section titled “Upgrade, backup, and removal”
  • The package stores nothing in config.xml, so there is nothing to back up or restore.
  • On install, the package copies its own copies of the vmware-guestd and vmware-kmod rc scripts into place if they are missing. This repairs systems where an older uninstall removed them.
  • Removing the package deletes the vmware-guestd.sh and vmware-kmod.sh links. The open-vm-tools-nox11 dependency may stay installed until pkg removes unused packages.
  • A VMware snapshot is not a replacement for a FreeSense configuration backup.

Troubleshooting

Section titled “Troubleshooting”
Symptom What to check
VMware shows Tools as not running VMware Guest Daemon is stopped. Start it from Status → Services. If it will not start, run /usr/local/bin/vmware-checkvm from a shell; the daemon only starts when VMware is detected.
VMware Kernel Modules shows as stopped Expected with open-vm-tools-nox11 13.1.0, which ships no kernel modules (/usr/local/lib/vmware-tools/modules/drivers/ is empty). /usr/local/etc/rc.d/vmware-kmod status lists vmmemctl and vmblock as not loaded. The guest daemon works without them.
Services missing after a package update Reinstall the package; the installer restores the rc scripts if they are gone.
Installed on a non-VMware hypervisor Remove the package. It does no harm, but has no use there.

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