As a Linux geek who always like to experiment with the latest Linux distributions and tinker around with local servers, my closet looked a lot like a used computer store. Old discarded desktops were perfect platforms to try out Linux. Now that power has gotten more expensive, I've replaced a lot of local machines with virtual ones, and with the introduction of VMware Server, I have all but replaced my physical test platforms for virtual ones.

In this talk NBLUG president Kyle Rankin will introduce how to install and configure the free VMware Server software and demonstrate some of its features including how to create new virtual machines, how to manage a group of VMs with the VMware console, and how to backup virtual machines.