VMware modules cannot be compiled in (and are not even supported by) Kernel 2.6.24.

The official patch vmware-any-any-update115, from ftp://platan.vc.cvut.cz/pub/vmware, solves problems with some earlier kernels, but it does not compile in 2.6.24.

Peter Teoh created an unofficial patch, vmware-any-any-update-116.tgz, that DOES compile with 2.6.24. He modified the module vmmon.tar using the previous 115 patch as a base.

But vmware-any-any-update patches do not support bridge networking with wireless network cards. In the source of module vmnet.tar, smac_linux.x386.c, you can find:

“KERN_WARNING vmnet: You are trying to use wireless networking bridged together with vmware-any-any-update. This configuration is not supported, and your wireless bridge will probably not work.”

After some investigating, I discovered the problem: this function is only supported in the vmnet.tar module, which comes with the original VMware that includes the precompiled binaries smac_linux.x386.o_shipped and smac_linux.x86_64.o_shipped. However, the original modules are not worth it because they do not work in kernel 2.6.24.

After even more investigating, I found a way to make the vmware-any-any-update115 support this function.

Here’s how:

In /usr/local/lib/vmware/modules/source/ are the original modules after installing VMware.

tar xvf vmnet.tar (original vmware)

mv vmnet.tar vmnet.tar_orig

mv vmnet-only vmnet-only_orig

tar xvf vmnet.tar (vmnet.tar from vmware-any-any-update-115)

mv vmnet.tar vmnet.tar_115

rm vmnet-only/smac_linux.x386.c

rm vmnet-only/smac_linux.x86_64.c

cp vmnet-only_orig/smac* vmnet-only (copy smac binaries
                                     and headers)

tar ccfs vmnet.tar vmnet-only

This generates the new vmnet.tar with wireless support. And with the vmmon.tar modified from the 116, we can regenerate the vmware-any-any-update115 with support for Kernel 2.6.24 and Wireless Bridge.

You can download it here: vmware-any-any-update-115-K2.6.24-WirelessBridge.tar.gz

Other things to consider when installing VMware in new kernels:

nohz=off (A kernel option to disable tickless in grub/menu.lst)
/etc/init.d/mountdevsubfs.sh (Take out #Magic to make /proc/bus/usb work)

Tested with Vmware Workstation 6.02, Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy)

Thanks to Liken for inspiring the majority of the content in this article.