For some reason, console connections to running virtual machines can be really slow on VMware Server. For example, I have experienced that doing a simple ‘ls’ or ‘cat’ in console (no X server) would require 100% CPU utilization on the host for several seconds. I could literally see each line scroll by.

Part of the reason for the low performance is that SSL is enabled by default for console connections. By disabling SSL, I got much better performance, although still not to the level of VMware Fusion.

Here is how to do it:

1. Select Host -> Settings
2. In the dialog select the Connections tab
3. Uncheck “Use SSL for Console communications”
4. Click OK

Note: by disabling SSL, you are lowering security, so please consider the implications before using this tip.

After setting up our new server running Windows 2003 Server R2 x64 and VMware Server V1.04 I was continually getting the message “Invalid Virtual Machine Error”.

This was occurring when I tried to open any of our virtual machine templates in the VMware Console after copying it to the new server. I was able to come up with a solution after searching through the VMware forums.

If you’re using [VMWare Server Console] in local mode, switch to remote mode with a valid Admin-level login and try again.

I simply closed the Console, restarted it and entered my login credentials in remote mode instead of choosing “local mode”. This work-around allowed me to add the server templates without further error!