Recently, I’ve created a few Ubnuntu 14.04.04 LTS (GNU/Linux 4.2.0-36-generic x86_64)LAMP Severs. Since these VMs are not Windows, I wanted to find out how to install VMware tools for HA. So, that if the ESXi host has problems, it can talk to the guest OS, in this case Linux Ubuntu Server 14.04.4. I found these steps helpful.

I first tried to install Vmware Tools using the open-vm-tools command

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Ubuntu sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools-lts-trusty
Debian sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools

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After the installation the VMware Tools status had a ? rather than the green check mark

Running (Current).

It also stated

3rd-party/independent

I uninstalled open-vm-tools
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Ubuntu and Debian sudo apt-get remove open-vm-tools

Ubuntu Server With Only A Command Line Interface (Legacy)

Go to Virtual Machine > Install VMware Tools (or VM > Install VMware Tools).

Note: If you are running the light version of Fusion, or a version of Workstation without VMware Tools, or VMware Player, you are prompted to download the Tools before they can be installed. Click Download Now to begin the download.

In the Ubuntu guest, run these commands:

Run this command to create a directory to mount the CD-ROM:
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username@hostname:/$ sudo mkdir /mnt/cdrom

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When prompted for a password, enter your Ubuntu admin user password.

Note: For security reasons, the typed password is not displayed. You do not need to enter your password again for the next five minutes.

Run this command to mount the CD-ROM:
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username@hostname:/$ sudo mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

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The file name of the VMware Tools bundle varies depending on your version of the VMware product. Run this command to find the exact name:

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username@hostname:/$ ls /mnt/cdrom 

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Run this command to extract the contents of the VMware Tools bundle:

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username@hostname:/$ tar xzvf /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-x.x.x-xxxx.tar.gz -C /tmp/

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Note: x.x.x-xxxx is the version discovered in the previous step.

Run this command to change directories into the VMware Tools distribution:

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username@hostname:~$ cd /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib/

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Run this command to install VMware Tools:

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username@hostname:~/vmware-tools-distrib$ sudo ./vmware-install.pl

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After a series of prompts, it should read

Initializing...

After the last set of prompts, vSphere will ask to disconnect and override the lock ejecting the ISO. Click Yes.

Run this command to reboot the virtual machine after the installation completes:

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username@hostname:/vmware-tools-distrib$ sudo reboot

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References

VMware (2016). Installing VMware Tools in an Ubuntu virtual machine (1022525). Retrieved from: https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1022525
VMware (2016). Operating System Specific Packages fail to install on Ubuntu 8.10 if Ubuntu Multiverse Repository is used (1010169).
Retreived from: https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1010169