VMware Tools Installation via SCCM OSD

When testing configurations and deployment I often find myself using Virtual Machines configured in a VMware environment which require VMWare tools to enhance performances of the machine or have some components like NIC working so it’s generally good idea to set up SCCM for VMware Tools installation either via standard Package or Task Sequence as part of OSD.

In the post I will assume that you have already configured ConfigMgr for Windows deployment, to have SCCM Deploy VMware tools we first need to create a legacy package.

First of all mount the VMware Tools installation Media on a VM and copy the content of the media to the software Distribution Share

Once the files are in place navigate to Software Library → Application Management → Packages right-click on the node and select Create Package filling the various details and checking the This Package Contains Source Files

Select the option to create a standard program and then click next

In the Specify Information about this standard program page specifies a name for the package and the command line which for this example is

setup.exe /s /v/qn

As we will be running the VMware tools installation as part of Task Sequence be sure to select Run whatever or no a user logged on and click the Summary button to end the creation of the package, once the package has been created right-click on it and select Distribute Content to make files available to Distribution Points.

In the Operating Systems → Task Sequences node right-click on the Task Sequence used to deploy Windows and select Edit from the contextual menu in the Task Sequence Editor select Add and finally New Group

Move the new group at the end of the task sequence and give it a descriptive name, finally from the Add menu select Software  → Install Package

Once you’ve specified the package to deploy click on the OK button and ConfigMgr once the Operating System is deployed will install VMware tools, it has to be noted that while VMware tools come with both 32 and 64 bit installers usually simply running setup.exe will select the correct architecture for the system where setup is being run.