Ubuntu Server - Installer performance under VMWare

[Scott Dier]

I'm pretty sure you can instruct the installer to not use framebuffer 
mode and just use text.  I don't remember the option offhand but it 
should be in the cheat-sheet f1,f2,f3, etc menus somewhere when you 
first boot the cd.

This should speed it up substantially, with the downside that you can't 
install in non-latin languages (or perhaps worse than that, dont know 
offhand)

Carlos Ribeiro wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I downloaded the latest (beta) Ubuntu server ISO image and installed it 
> under VMWare (build 22874):
> 
> ubuntu-server-6.06-beta-install-i386.iso
>  <http://releases.ubuntu.com/ubuntu-server/dapper/ubuntu-server-6.06-beta-install-i386.iso>  
> 
> The server starts in graphic mode, but reverts to text after the first 
> couple screens. After that, the performance of the installer is poor; 
> screens redraws could be literally seen, pretty much like on a 9600 TTY 
> line. I guess this is due to the BIOS emulation performance, or 
> something related, and the fact that VMWare Tools can only be installed 
> *after* the VM ends installing. The installation took much longer than 
> expected, mainly due to these performance issues.
> 
> Considering that VMWare is taking an important part of the server 
> infrastructure for many companies, I believe that it makes sense to try 
> to optimize the performance of the installer under it. I guess (and 
> that's only a guess) that a 'faster' driver for the VMWare video 
> 'hardware' could be included in the installer, making it perform better. 
> I don't know if such a driver exists; even if it exists, it may turn out 
> that it can't be included in a distribution like Ubuntu due to licensing 
> concerns.
> 
> -- 
> Carlos Ribeiro
> Consultoria em Projetos
> blog: http://rascunhosrotos.blogspot.com
> blog: http://pythonnotes.blogspot.com <http://pythonnotes.blogspot.com>
> mail: carribeiro at gmail.com <mailto:carribeiro at gmail.com>
> mail: carribeiro at yahoo.com <mailto:carribeiro at yahoo.com>
> 


-- 
Scott Dier <dieman at ringworld.org>