VMware Tools Services

The VMware Tools services start when the guest operating system starts. The service passes information between host and guest operating systems.
  • VMware Alias Manager and Ticket Service or VGAuthService
    : VGAuthService in taskmgr provides support for SAML based authentication for vSphere Guest Operations, see guest.SAMLTokenAuthentication and vim.vm.guest.GuestOperationsManager.
  • VMware Snapshot Provider Service
    : VMware Snapshot Provider Service provides support for freezing or thawing file systems for VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service).
    This is applicable for Windows guest operating systems only.
  • VMware Tools Daemon Service
    : This application runs in the background. It is called
    vmtoolsd.exe
    on Windows guest operating systems,
    vmware-tools-daemon
    on Mac OS X guest operating systems, and
    vmtoolsd
    on Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris guest operating systems. The VMware Tools service performs the following tasks using the plug-ins:
    • autohidpi
      - Set guest screen resolution for Mac OS X guest operating systems.
    • autoLogon
      - Bypasses the guest operating system login when powering on a VM.
    • autoUpgrade
      - Handles VMware Tools upgrade operations.
    • bitMapper
      - Creates a bit map of disk blocks used by the guest operating system, used in vMotion.
    • deployPkg
      - Handles guest customization operations.
    • desktopEvents
      - Starting or stopping VMware Tools user service based on screen/X11 changes.
      This is a VMware Tools user service plugin.
    • disableGuestHibernate
      - Disables option for hibernation in guest operating system.
    • diskWiper
      - Releases unused guest disk blocks so they can be reclaimed by the hypervisor.
    • dndcp
      - Drag and drop, copy and paste operations. Enables copying and pasting of text, graphics, and files between guest operating systems and hosts or client desktops. This is a VMware Tools user service plugin.
    • appInfo
      - Collects the information about running applications inside the guest and publishes the information to a guest variable.
    • guestInfo
      - Collects and reports guest information and statistics to hypervisor.
    • hgfsServer
      - HGFS server for transferring files, drag and drop and VMware Tools upgrade operations.
    • hgfsUsability
      - Handles mapping HGFS folders to special user folders, adds HGFS links to the desktop.
    • hwUpgradeHelper
      - Handles changes due to virtual hardware upgrade.
    • powerOps
      - Handles graceful shutdown and reboot of the guest, and execution of scripts for a power operation.
    • resolutionKMS
      - Handles communicating guest user interface topology to the vmwgfx drm (direct rendering manager) driver.
      This plugin is for Linux only.
    • resolutionSet
      - Handles guest screen re-sizing when
      vmwgfx drm
      (direct rendering manager) driver is not available.
    • timeSync
      - Synchronizes guest clock with host clock at power on or resume.
    • vmbackup
      - Handles freezing and thawing file systems during a quiesced snapshot operation.
    • vmtray
      - Provides VMware Tools tray icon and pop-up menu.
      This is a VMware Tools user service plugin.
    • vsep
      - Manages NSX file and network introspection.
    • vix
      - Handles guest operations related to files, processes and registry.