VMware

2 min readArticle

VMware (now owned by Broadcom) is the dominant enterprise virtualization platform. Their products range from desktop hypervisors to enterprise data center solutions. If you work in IT or security, you'll interact with VMware products constantly.

Product Family Overview

Product	Platform	Use Case
vmware-fusion-guide	macOS	Desktop virtualization on Mac
vmware-workstation-guide	Windows/Linux	Desktop virtualization on PC
vmware-esxi-guide	Bare metal	Enterprise server hypervisor
vCenter Server	Server	Centralized ESXi management
vmware-horizon-vdi-guide	Enterprise	Virtual desktops (VDI)
vSphere	Enterprise	Full stack (ESXi + vCenter)
NSX	Enterprise	Software-defined networking
vSAN	Enterprise	Software-defined storage

Quick Comparison — Desktop Products

Feature	Fusion (macOS)	Workstation (Win/Lin)
Price	Free (personal)	~$200
Host OS	macOS	Windows, Linux
Performance	Excellent on Apple Silicon	Excellent
Use case	Mac-based security labs	Windows/Linux security labs

VMware in Security Labs

VMware products are the standard for building security lab environments:

shell

Typical Lab Setup:
  VMware Fusion / Workstation
    ├── Kali Linux VM (attacker)
    ├── Metasploitable 2/3 (vulnerable target)
    ├── Windows Server VM (AD lab)
    └── Ubuntu Server (various services)

Network segments for lab:

Host-only network — isolated lab (no internet)
NAT network — VMs share host internet
Bridged — VM on real network

Key Concepts Across All VMware Products

Snapshots

Critical for security work — always snapshot before attacking a target VM:

bash

# VMware CLI (vmrun)
vmrun snapshot /path/to/vm.vmx "before-exploit"
vmrun revertToSnapshot /path/to/vm.vmx "before-exploit"
vmrun listSnapshots /path/to/vm.vmx

OVA/OVF Import

Standard format for sharing VMs (VulnHub, HackTheBox, TryHackMe):

OVA — single file archive
OVF — multi-file format
Import via: File → Import / Open a VM

VMware Tools

Guest OS integration package — should always install:

Enables shared folders
Better display resolution and resizing
Copy/paste between host and guest
Time sync

bash

# Install VMware Tools on Linux guest
sudo apt install open-vm-tools
sudo systemctl enable open-vm-tools --now

Useful Resources

VulnHub.com — free vulnerable VMs to import
HackTheBox / TryHackMe — pre-built lab environments
Kali Linux VMware images — from kali.org/get-kali

VMware CLI Quick Reference

bash

# vmrun (works with Fusion and Workstation)
vmrun list                              # List running VMs
vmrun start /path/vm.vmx               # Start VM
vmrun stop /path/vm.vmx                # Stop VM
vmrun suspend /path/vm.vmx             # Suspend VM
vmrun snapshot /path/vm.vmx "name"     # Take snapshot
vmrun revertToSnapshot /path/vm.vmx "name"  # Revert

Sub-pages

vmware-fusion-guide - VMware Fusion (macOS)
vmware-workstation-guide - VMware Workstation (Windows/Linux)
vmware-esxi-guide - VMware ESXi (bare metal server)
vmware-horizon-vdi-guide - VMware Horizon (VDI)

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