The cryptic “-x...” in your keyword often indicates a modified or repackaged version focused on extended capabilities (like removal of certain licensing restrictions or enhanced hardware compatibility). While official free versions of VMware Workstation Pro are typically 30-day trials, Build 20904516 is notable for several reasons:
Important Legal Note: “Free” here refers to using VMware’s native capabilities without additional licensing cost for transfer utilities, or using the trial period for a single critical migration. For permanent commercial use, purchase a license. However, VMware Workstation Player (free for personal use) cannot host the advanced virtual networks needed for this guide—so we focus on the Pro trial or legitimate free alternatives like VMware Workstation Player + a separate file server VM.
Now, transfer files securely using OpenSSH (built into Linux and optional on Windows). This adds encryption on top of the isolated virtual network.
On Destination VM (Linux example):
sudo apt install openssh-server -y
sudo systemctl enable ssh --now
On Windows Destination: Install OpenSSH Server via “Add Features” or use WinSCP in server mode.
On Source VM:
scp -r /path/to/large/folder user@192.168.100.20:/destination/path
Why SCP + VMnet2 instead of Shared Folders?
Shared folders (HGFS) can be faster but have known memory leak issues in build 16.2.5 when moving files >50GB. SCP over host-only network is slower but rock-stable and encrypted. The cryptic “-x
You don’t need extra software. VMware’s built‑in shared folders + encryption is already a free, secure, high‑speed solution for large file transfers — no cloud, no USB, no third‑party tools.
For truly large files (100GB+), bottleneck is disk I/O, not network.
Then, inside the source VM, use dd or rsync with direct disk access: Important Legal Note: “Free” here refers to using
rsync -avP --no-compress --bwlimit=0 /dev/sda1 user@192.168.100.20:/mnt/receive/
The --no-compress flag prevents CPU bottlenecking your encrypted transfer.
Specific build numbers matter in virtualization. Build 20904516 addressed specific security vulnerabilities and bugs present in earlier iterations of the 16.x series. Using this specific build ensures that the virtual network adapters and file-sharing drivers are patched against known exploits, making your file transfer process significantly safer than on older, unpatched versions.