====== VMware Workstation Fails to Start on openSUSE Leap 15.2 ======


===== Problem =====

After an upgrade of openSUSE Leap 15.1 to Leap 15.2, VMware workstation 15.5.6 tries to compile some modules for the new kernel, but fails with errors like:

<codedoc code>
I005: /tmp/modconfig-zS51oO/vmnet-only/userif.c: In function ‘VNetCsumCopyDatagram’:
I005: /tmp/modconfig-zS51oO/vmnet-only/userif.c:85:39: error: ‘skb_frag_t {aka const struct bio_vec}’ has no member named ‘page_offset’; did you mean ‘bv_offset’?
I005:  #   define skb_frag_off(frag) (frag)->page_offset
</codedoc>

The problem is that Leap 15.2 comes with a 5.3 kernel which has been patched with changes that are actually in 5.4 only.


===== Solution =====

There is a github project where kernel modules for VMware are maintained:

  * [[https://github.com/mkubecek/vmware-host-modules]]

\\
You can clone the project:

<code>
git clone https://github.com/mkubecek/vmware-host-modules.git
</code>

\\
Then checkout the branch for VMware Workstation VMware Workstation 15.5.6 and kernel 5.4, and build the kernel modules:

<codedoc code>
cd vmware-host-modules
git checkout w15.5.6-k5.4
make
sudo make install
</codedoc>

----

 --- //Martin Burnicki [[martin.burnicki@burnicki.net]], last updated 2020-08-13//