Using Toolkit in a virtual machine

Discussion in 'C-Bus Toolkit and C-Gate Software' started by Clarke, Sep 2, 2010.

  1. Clarke

    Clarke

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    I currently have Toolkit running on a dedicated PC connected to the C-Bus network via a serial interface, but the old PC is only used for configuring the network and is proving to be an unreliable piece of junk.

    I'm contemplating replacing the C-Bus serial interface with an ethernet interface (5500) and running Toolkit in a VMware virtual machine on one of the Macs. The VMware VM can see everything on the LAN, so there don't appear to be any LAN issues that would prevent me from seeing the ethernet interface.

    Does anyone have any experience in doing this? Any advice and guidance gratefully received.
     
    Clarke, Sep 2, 2010
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  2. Clarke

    daniel C-Busser Moderator

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    Should be no problem at all. Some of us develop in a VM and connect to PCIs daily. Just remember to install in the guest the drivers for any USB-serial adapters you're using, and ensure the Toolkit installer installs its own USB drivers as well. We haven't tried it with a Mac host though, so let us know if you run into any problems with that.

    A CNI is even easier as there are no drivers and it only requires the ports to be accessible which you seem to have confirmed.
     
    daniel, Sep 2, 2010
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  3. Clarke

    ashleigh Moderator

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    I've heard of others running it on a VM in a MAC with no problems.
     
    ashleigh, Sep 2, 2010
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  4. Clarke

    Clarke

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    Thanks!

    That's really helpful - I'll order the ethernet interface today.
     
    Clarke, Sep 2, 2010
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  5. Clarke

    NickD Moderator

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    I use Toolkit, PICED, and MARPA at home on an Intel macbook running an XP SP2 VM under VMWare Fusion... no problems at all... it does have 4GB of RAM though, which probably helps.

    Admittedly I do all the project design on a PC and then just transfer the project(s) to the macbook to walk around to program the various devices, but this is just a convenience issue... the software runs just fine.

    Nick
     
    NickD, Sep 3, 2010
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  6. Clarke

    Clarke

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    The Ethernet interface arrived yesterday, and it works exactly as it says on the tin (well, after some head-scratching on a C-Bus network error that turned out to be a faulty connector). Toolkit can see it from inside a VMware Fusion session running XP on a Mac Pro, and the whole system seems much more responsive than using the old serial connection. So thanks for the advice!

    Anyone want to buy the old serial-to-cbus box? :)
     
    Clarke, Sep 10, 2010
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