VMware Guest - Run program

Declaration

<AMVMWAREGUEST ACTIVITY="run_program" HOSTTYPE="text (options)" SERVER="text" USERNAME="text" PASSWORD="text (encrypted)" VMPATH="text" GUESTUSERNAME="text" CONSOLE="YES" LAUNCHGUI="YES/NO" TIMEOUT="number" GUESTPASSWORD="text (encrypted)" OPENVMTIMEOUT="number" POWERONTIMEOUT="number" TOOLSTIMEOUT="number" LOGINTIMEOUT="number" CONNECTIONTIMEOUT="number" PROGRAMNAME="text" ARGUMENTS="text" RESULTDATASET="text" RETURNIMMEDIATELY="YES/NO" ACTIVATEWINDOW="YES/NO" />

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Description

Runs a program in the guest operating system.

NOTE: All functions that execute in a guest operating system require VMware Tools to be installed and running. Additionally, a valid guest login is required to run this activity.

Practical usage

Used to start a program or application on the guest OS.

Parameters

Connection

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Connection --- --- --- --- Indicates where connection details, guest credentials and other preferences should originate from. The available options are: The available options are:
  • Host (default) - Connection details, guest credentials and other preferences are configured individually for this activity. Select this option if only a single activity is required to complete an operation.
  • Session - Connection details, guest credentials and other preferences are obtained from a session created in a previous step with the use of the WMware Guest - Connect activity. Select this option if a combination of activities within the same action group are required to complete an operation. Linking several activities to a single session eliminates redundancy and improves efficiency. Several sessions can exist in a single task. Multiple sessions can run simultaneously without interference.
NOTE: This parameter does not contain markup and is only displayed in visual mode for task construction and configuration purposes.
Session Text Yes, if Connection is set to Session GuestOSOpsSession1 SESSION="MySession" The name of an existing session to associate this activity with. This parameter is available only if the Connection parameter is set to Session.
Host type Text (options) Yes if Connection set to Host VMWare VI Server
  • HOSTTYPE="Server"
  • HOSTTYPE="Workstation"
  • HOSTTYPE="VIServer"
  • HOSTTYPE="Player"
 Indicates the VMware software type running on the host where the virtual machine is located. If you are using VMware Server to connect to a remote host, it does not matter which VMware product (if any) is running on the local host. This parameter is available only if the Connection parameter is set to Host. The available options are:
  • VMWare Server (1.0x)
  • VMWare Workstation
  • VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0)
  • VMWare Player
Host name Text Yes (Empty)
  • SERVER="host.server.com"
  • SERVER="xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx"
 The hostname or IP address of the computer where the virtual machine is located. This parameter is active only if the Host type parameter is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0).
[Host] Username Text Yes (Empty) USERNAME="theUser" The username identifying a valid user account on the virtual machine. This parameter is active only if the Host type parameter is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0).
[Host] Password Text Yes (Empty) PASSWORD="encrypted" The password identifying a valid user account on the virtual machine. This parameter is active only if the Host type parameter is set to VMWare Server (1.0x) or VMWare VI Server (ESX/ESXi, vCenter, VMWare Server 2.0).
Virtual machine path Text Yes (Empty) VMPATH="c:\My Virtual Machines\<vm_name>.vmx" The path to the virtual machine. (Example: c:\My Virtual Machines\<virtual_machine_name>.vmx ).
[Guest Credentials] Username Text Yes (Empty) GUESTUSERNAME="user" The username to authenticate the guest user.
[Guest Credentials] Password Text Yes (Empty) GUESTPASSWORD="encrypted" The password to authenticate the guest user.
Log on to console session Yes/No No No CONSOLE="yes" If selected, the user will be logged onto the console session. This parameter is disabled by default.
Launch GUI Yes/No No No LAUNCHGUI="yes" If selected, a GUI (Graphic User Interface) will appear on the desktop upon connection. If disabled (default), no GUI will be launched and operations will execute in the background.

Connection - Host > Timeout

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Open VM Number No 60 OPENVMTIMEOUT="2" The maximum time period in seconds during which this activity must be completed or the step times out. The default value is 60 seconds.
Power on Number No 60 POWERONTIMEOUT="3" The maximum time period in seconds during which the VM must power on or the step times out. The default value is 60 seconds.
VMware tools Number No 300 TOOLSTIMEOUT="4" The maximum time period in seconds during which VMWare Tools must start on the guest operating system or the step times out. The default value is 300 seconds.
Log on Number No 60 LOGINTIMEOUT="5" The maximum time period in seconds during which the log on process must be completed or the step times out. The default value is 60 seconds.
Connection Number No 60 CONNECTIONTIMEOUT="6" The maximum time period in seconds during which a connection must be established or the step times out. The default value is 60 seconds.

Guest OS Operations

Property Type Required Default Markup Description
Path to executable Text Yes (Empty) PROGRAMNAME="C:\temp\program.exe" The path to the executable file on the guest operating system in which to run.
Command-line arguments Text Yes (Empty) ARGUMENTS="cmd_arguments" A string to be passed as command line arguments to the executable to run.
Return immediately Yes/No No No RETURNIMMEDIATELY="yes" If selected, this function reports completion to the job handle as soon as the program starts in the guest. If disabled, this function will report completion to the job handle when the program exits in the guest operating system. Disabled by default.
Activate window Yes/No No No ACTIVATEWINDOW="yes" If selected, when running a program with a graphical user interface in Windows guest operating systems, the application's window will be visible and not minimized on the guest's screen. Disabled by default.
Create and populate dataset Text No (Empty) RESULTDATASET="theData" The dataset to create and populate with process information about the program that  ran.
Timeout (seconds) Number No 300 TIMEOUT="20" The maximum value in seconds that this activity should be allowed to execute or the step times out.

Description

Error Causes

On Error

Example

NOTE:
  • Copy and paste the sample AML code below directly into the Task Builder Steps Panel.
  • To successfully run the sample code, update parameters containing user credentials, files, file paths, or other information specific to the task to match your environment.

Description

This sample task runs a program into the guest operating system and then creates and populates a dataset with information about the program..

Copy 
<AMVMWAREGUEST ACTIVITY="run_program" PROGRAMNAME="C:\program files\myprogram.exe" ARGUMENTS="cmd_arg" RETURNIMMEDIATELY="yes" ACTIVATEWINDOW="yes" RESULTDATASET="theDataset" TIMEOUT="800" SESSION="theSession" />