Most of the questions you want to ask are probably already answered in one of the following resources. For those that aren't, the search feature of this forum is the next place to go. Failing that, post a question, mark it as such, and reward appropriate points for those that provide help
If you cant find help here, you can purchase support from vmware
Download the current version of VMware Server:
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-it's free, so you have no excuse for not running the latest version
http://www.vmware.com/download/server/
VMware Tips & Tricks:
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a cliff's notes version from inside vmware support
http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/dvt4696.pdf
VMware Product Documentation:
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All the documentation can be found here:
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/server_pubs.html
in particular the Guest OS Installation guide is a good one to review
http://pubs.vmware.com/guestnotes
likewise the release notes are worth checking out. The most current information for supported versions for host and guest are usually found here
http://www.vmware.com/support/server/doc/releasenotes_server.html
"Performance" Issues:
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getting a virtulized environment configured can be complicated the first time around. There are a few best practices for both getting the most out of it and for accurately measuring performance inside a virtual machine.
this document addresses both issues and is invaluable if you are going to try to get a virtual environment performing at its best. IMO its a must read.
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/WS6_Performance_Tuning_and_Benchmarking.pdf