VMware Tools Service The VMware Tools service starts when the guest operating system boots. The service passes information between host and guest. This program, which runs in the background, is called vmtoolsd.exe in Windows guests, vmware-tools-daemon in Mac guests, and vmtoolsd in Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris guests. The VMware Tools service performs the following tasks: ■ Passes messages from the host to the guest operating system. ■ Runs scripts that help automate guest operating system operations. The scripts run when the power state of the virtual machine changes. ■ Synchronizes the time in the guest operating system with the time on the host. ■ In Windows guests, allows the pointer to move freely between the guest and host. ■ In Windows guests, fits the screen resolution of the guest to the screen resolution of the host. ■ In Windows guests, helps create the quiesced snapshots used by certain backup applications. This feature applies to ESX/ESXi and VMware Server. ■ In Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guests, executes commands in the virtual machine when you shut down or restart the guest operating system. ■ Is one of the processes that sends a heartbeat to the VMware product to indicate that the guest operating system is running. When the virtual machine runs under ESX/ESXi, or VMware Server, a gauge for this heartbeat appears in the management interface. ■ Provides support for guest-bound calls created with the VMware VIX API. Note In Mac guests, the VMware Tools service only fits the screen resolution of the guest to the screen resolution of the host. Related concepts Using VMware Tools Scripts Related tasks Configure Time Synchronization Between Guest and Host