VMware Tools ISO selection is performed based on the value of guestOS setting in the VM configuration. The guestOS value is derived from the Guest OS Family and Guest OS Version values selected during VM creation. guestOS value selected might be inaccurate due to:

• upgrade of guest operating systems
• incorrect selection of Guest OS Family and Guest OS Version values in VM settings
• host upgrade which allows supporting more number of guest operating systems
• upgrade of the version of VMware Tools available in the host.

VMware Tools 10.1.0

Prior to virtual hardware version 13 released in vSphere 6.5, CentOS and Oracle Linux guest operating system designations only distinguish between 32-bit or 64-bit versions. Hardware version 13 added types of guest operating systems for the 6.x and 7.x OS releases. VMware Tools 10.1.0 uses glibc 2.5 or later on more recent Linux releases.

Older Linux releases that use glibc version earlier than 2.5 is supported by VMware Tools 10.0.12 on the linuxPreGlibc25.iso. VMware Tools 10.1.0 takes a conservative approach for the selection of the VMware Tools ISO image for installation or upgrade of a generic CentOS or Oracle Linux guest operating system. linuxPreGlibc25.iso is selected by default to install on all OS release versions from 4.x to 7.x.

Inaccurate guestOS value leads to incorrect selection of VMware Tools ISO image for the VM during VMware Tools installation or upgrade process. Incorrect selection of VMware Tools ISO image might lead to installation or upgrade failure of VMware Tools with an unsupported guest error. The details of the selected VMware Tools ISO image is logged in vmware.log file in the directory of the virtual machine similar to the following.

...
<TIMESTAMP>| vmx| I125: ToolsISO: Selected Tools ISO 'linuxPreGlibc25.iso' for 'centos-64' guest.

VMware Tools 10.1.5 and later

With VMware Tools 10.1.5, for all CentOS and Oracle Linux guest operating systems, the linux.iso is selected by default. This allows the latest version of VMware Tools to be installed or upgraded on CentOS and Oracle Linux 7.x, 6.x, and most 5.x releases. Attempts to install VMware Tools version 10.1.5 and later in certain versions of Linux that are using a glibc version earlier than 2.5 will fail with an error. The /var/log/vmware-install.log file in the guest VM might contain an entry similar to the following:

...
The glibc version detected (M.n) is too old (< v2.5). Please refer to VMware KB article 2147454 to learn how to obtain and install VMware Tools on this system.<br>...
VMware Tools 10.0.12 can be installed on this guest OS using the linuxPreGlibc.iso.

VMware Tools 10.3.23 and later

The VMware Tools for older Linux guests have been upgraded in version 10.3.23 to use OpenSSL version 1.1.1.  That change, along with a GCC compiler change needed to compile OpenSSL 1.1.1 source, necessitates that a minimum runtime glibc 2.11 be available on the Linux guest.  Attempts to install VMware Tools version 10.3.23 and later in certain versions of Linux that are using a glibc version earlier than 2.11 will fail with an error. The /var/log/vmware-install.log file in the guest VM might contain an entry similar to the following:

...
The glibc version detected (M.n) is too old (< v2.11). Please refer to VMware KB article 2147454 to learn how to obtain and install VMware Tools on this system.<br>...

VMware Tools 10.3.22, which only requires glibc 2.5 or later, can be installed on this guest OS by using the linux.iso from the VMware Tools 10.3.22 product download page on customerconnect.vmware.com

VMware Tools 10.1.0 and later with Ubuntu releases earlier than 10.04

Attempts to install VMware Tools 10.1.x on Ubuntu version earlier than 10.04 might fail with an error. The /var/log/vmware-install.log file might contain an entry similar to the following:
...
The Ubuntu version detected is too old (< 10.04). Please refer to VMware KB article 2147454 to learn how to obtain and install VMware Tools on this system.<br>...
VMware Tools 10.0.12 can be installed on this guest OS using the linuxPreGlibc.iso.

To address the errors similar to glibc version too old or Ubuntu version too old, perform the following

• Provide a hint to use the linuxPreGlibc25.iso in the Extra Config settings of the virtual machine

1. Power off the VM.
2. Choose Edit Settings > VM Options > Advanced > Configuration Parameters
   To edit configuration,
3. Add a new configuration with name tools.hint.imageName and value of linuxPreGlibc25.iso
4. For ESXi hosts, if not already available, add the linuxPreGlibc25.iso to the /productLocker

1. Power on the VM.
2. Retry installation or upgrade of VMware Tools.

For missing VMware Tools ISO on your ESXi host while installing or upgrading VMware Tools to 10.1.0, perform the following

• For CentOS or Oracle Linux 6.x or 7.x VM and for the host supports virtual hardware version 13 or later

1. Power off the VM.
   The VM must be upgraded to at least hardware version 13 to represent CentOS 6, CentOS 7, Oracle Linux 6, or Oracle Linux 7 as distinct Guest OS types. If you are unable to upgrade to HW version 13 see Step 3 above.

Perform the steps below if the workaround mentioned above does not resolve the issue.

1. Choose Edit Settings > VM Options > General Options
2. Enter the correct information for Guest OS and Guest OS version.
3. Power on the VM.
4. Retry installation or upgrade of VMware Tools.

• Provide a hint for the correct VMware Tools ISO in the Extra Config settings of the virtual machine

1. Power off the VM.
2. Choose Edit Settings > VM Options > Advanced > Configuration Parameters
   To edit configuration,
3. Add a new configuration with name tools.hint.imageName and value as the file name of desired VMware Tools ISO image available on ProductLocker.

1. Power on the VM.
2. Retry installation or upgrade of VMware Tools.