Refactor the Workstation driver check on Linux

[tenthirtyam]

Overview of the Issue

When using VMware Workstation 17.5.2 (Linux) and the personal license the drive can be mistake as Player.

When using the personal license, there is no license file in /etc/vmware/license-ws*, thus it skips the Workstation drivers and uses Player; thereby updating the driver state and app path from /usr/bin/vmware to /usr/bin/player. Then it will try to use the /usr/bin/vmrun -T player list instead of /usr/bin/vmrun -T ws list and that is where it fails.

To workaround the issue, you can run the following:

sudo touch /etc/vmware/license-ws-foo

However, the following will need to be addressed:

• Alternative method to confirm us of Workstation vs Player.
• Determine if the license check is still needed.

Plugin and Packer versions

• hashicorp/packer v1.11.2 and earlier.
• hashicorp/packer-pluign-vmware v1.1.0 and earlier.

[tenthirtyam]

VMware Fusion and Workstation are Now Free for All Users

TL;DR:

"We’re thrilled to announce a significant change that reflects our commitment to making VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation more accessible than ever. Starting November 11, 2024, these powerful desktop hypervisor products will be available for free to everyone—commercial, educational, and personal users alike."

Based upon this change, for license check will be removed from the plugin for the latest versions for Fusion and Workstation.