Ubuntu 24.x/25.x VMware Ultimate Optimization Script

#!/bin/bash




# Ubuntu 24.x/25.x VMware Ultimate Optimization Script

# Includes display/audio drivers, networking tools, and productivity software

# Compatible with VMware Workstation 17.x




# Check if running as root

if [ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ]; then

echo "This script must be run as root. Use sudo." >&2

exit 1

fi




# Check if we're running in a VMware VM

if ! dmidecode -s system-product-name | grep -iq "VMware"; then

echo "This script should only be run in a VMware virtual machine." >&2

exit 1

fi




# Determine Ubuntu version

UBUNTU_VERSION=$(lsb_release -rs)

echo "Detected Ubuntu version: $UBUNTU_VERSION"




# Update system first

echo "Updating system packages..."

apt update && apt upgrade -y




# 1. Install VMware tools and drivers

echo "Installing VMware display and audio drivers..."

apt install -y --no-install-recommends open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop \

open-vm-tools-dkms pulseaudio pavucontrol




# Enable services

systemctl enable vmtoolsd

systemctl enable vmware-tools

systemctl restart vmtoolsd




# 2. Install VMware Workstation 17.x specific audio components

echo "Configuring audio for VMware Workstation 17.x..."

apt install -y alsa-utils libasound2-plugins

cat > /etc/pulse/default.pa << 'EOL'

load-module module-alsa-sink device=hw:0,0

load-module module-alsa-source device=hw:0,0

load-module module-alsa-card device_id=0 name=vmware

EOL




# 3. Enhanced display configuration

echo "Optimizing display settings..."

cat > /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/10-vmware.conf << 'EOL'

Section "Device"

Identifier "VMware SVGA"

Driver "vmware"

Option "Accel" "true"

Option "UseFBDev" "true"

Option "UseGLX" "true"

EndSection




Section "Screen"

Identifier "Default Screen"

Device "VMware SVGA"

DefaultDepth 24

SubSection "Display"

Depth 24

Modes "1920x1080" "1600x900" "1366x768"

EndSubSection

EndSection

EOL




# 4. Networking tools and utilities

echo "Installing advanced networking tools..."

apt install -y \

net-tools iproute2 nmap tcpdump wireshark iperf3 \

netcat-openbsd curl wget whois dnsutils openssh-server \

bridge-utils openvpn network-manager-openvpn \

iftop nethogs vnstat traceroute mtr-tiny




# Enable SSH

systemctl enable ssh

systemctl start ssh




# 5. Productivity tools and editors

echo "Installing productivity tools..."

apt install -y \

vim neovem micro emacs-nox \

git git-extras tig \

tmux screen byobu \

htop bashtop gotop \

tree silversearcher-ag ripgrep fzf \

jq yq csvkit xmlstarlet \

python3-pip python3-venv \

build-essential cmake gdb \

unzip p7zip-full rar unrar \

ncdu rsync




# Install Visual Studio Code (official Microsoft repo)

if [ ! -f /usr/share/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg ]; then

curl -sSL https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > /usr/share/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg

echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list

apt update

fi

apt install -y code




# 6. System monitoring and optimization

echo "Installing system monitoring tools..."

apt install -y \

sysstat iotop smartmontools lm-sensors \

cockpit cockpit-storaged cockpit-networkmanager \

earlyoom




# Configure early OOM killer

sed -i 's/EARLYOOM_ARGS="-r 60"/EARLYOOM_ARGS="-r 60 -m 5 -s 10"/g' /etc/default/earlyoom

systemctl enable earlyoom

systemctl start earlyoom




# 7. Filesystem and storage tools

echo "Installing filesystem tools..."

apt install -y \

ntfs-3g exfat-utils fuseiso \

duf baobab disk-manager \

udisks2 udiskie




# 8. Multimedia and graphics

echo "Installing multimedia support..."

apt install -y \

ffmpeg vlc gimp inkscape \

imagemagick graphicsmagick \

libavcodec-extra




# 9. Virtualization and container tools

echo "Installing container tools..."

apt install -y \

docker.io docker-compose podman \

virt-manager libvirt-daemon-system




# Add user to virtualization groups

usermod -aG docker $SUDO_USER

usermod -aG libvirt $SUDO_USER

usermod -aG kvm $SUDO_USER




# 10. Final system optimizations

echo "Applying final optimizations..."




# Enable TRIM if using SSD

systemctl enable fstrim.timer

systemctl start fstrim.timer




# Improve swapiness

echo "vm.swappiness=10" >> /etc/sysctl.conf




# Improve filesystem access

echo "vm.dirty_ratio=10" >> /etc/sysctl.conf

echo "vm.dirty_background_ratio=5" >> /etc/sysctl.conf




# Apply changes

sysctl -p




# Enable VMware shared folders (if configured)

mkdir -p /mnt/hgfs

systemctl enable vmware-vmblock-fuse

systemctl start vmware-vmblock-fuse




# Enable drag and drop

cat > /etc/vmware-tools/dnd.conf << 'EOL'

dnd.enable = true

copy.maxFileSize = "2000000000"

copy.maxBlockSize = "1000000"

EOL




# Enable clipboard

cat > /etc/vmware-tools/tools.conf << 'EOL'

[guestinfo]

primary-nics=eth0

[isolation]

busy-timeout = 300

[resolution]

perSession = TRUE

[ui]

show-dnd-tip = TRUE

show-copy-tip = TRUE

EOL




# Create desktop shortcuts for common tools

if [ -d "/home/$SUDO_USER/Desktop" ]; then

# Create VMTools restart shortcut

cat > "/home/$SUDO_USER/Desktop/Restart VMTools.desktop" << 'EOL'

[Desktop Entry]

Version=1.0

Type=Application

Name=Restart VMware Tools

Exec=sudo systemctl restart vmtoolsd

Icon=vmware

Terminal=true

Categories=System;

EOL

chown $SUDO_USER:$SUDO_USER "/home/$SUDO_USER/Desktop/Restart VMTools.desktop"

chmod +x "/home/$SUDO_USER/Desktop/Restart VMTools.desktop"

fi




echo "################################################################"

echo "# Optimization complete! #"

echo "# #"

echo "# Installed components: #"

echo "# - VMware display and audio drivers #"

echo "# - Advanced networking tools #"

echo "# - Productivity editors and utilities #"

echo "# - System monitoring tools #"

echo "# - Container and virtualization support #"

echo "# #"

echo "# Recommended actions: #"

echo "# 1. Reboot the VM #"

echo "# 2. In VMware settings, enable: #"

echo "# - 3D acceleration #"

echo "# - Clipboard sharing #"

echo "# - Drag and drop #"

echo "# - Shared folders (if needed) #"

echo "################################################################"