Convert AstLinux install files to VMware

You can convert an astlinux-XX.img file to a VMware .vmdk file and have a bootable system with a few simple steps.

1. Download an AstLinux 'geni586' .img.gz file
2. Decompress the image using gunzip, yielding a .img file
3. Use the VBoxManage utility (VirtualBox) to convert the image to a virtual disk

Example:

gunzip astlinux-1.1.1-asterisk-1.8.21.0.img.gz

VBoxManage convertfromraw -format VMDK astlinux-1.1.1-asterisk-1.8.21.0.img astlinux-1.1.1.vmdk

Now we are ready to create a new VM in VMware, use the “astlinux-1.1.1.vmdk”, Linux, “Other Linux 2.6.x kernel”

Then make some Settings changes…

  Network: Connect directly to the physical network (Bridged)

  Processors & RAM: 2 processor cores (for fun) and 512MB RAM

  Hard Disk: Disk size: increase to 2.00 GB and check Pre-allocate disk space (optional), then click Apply.

  Advanced: Startup Device: "SCSI Disk"  (using "lsilogic" SCSI virtualDev)

The rest of the defaults should be OK.

Start the AstLinux Virtual Machine…

Finally, configure using the normal setup.