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LinuxDig.Com Linux News : Review of VMWare 4.5 Workstation
Author: HumanX | Friday April 09, 2004
VMware has always been one of my favorite programs. Where else can you go on the x86 platform and run multiple operating systems concurrently in either Windows or in Linux. VMware is an emulation package which does allow you to fully run up to 10 operating systems on one computer all at once with full GUI.
Each session runs in a standard windows like most programs today. In the VMware window you see you favorite operating system running as if it were booted natively when first turning on your computer. The upside to this is that technicians, developers or just about anyone who wants to run multiple operating systems can do so without operating multiple computers.
One of my favorite aspects of VMware is the ability to turn back or revert to a previous sessions. Example: I can take a snapshot of an operating system before I load it, now I can load the OS and make all the changes needed. If those changes effected the OS badly and causes it not to boot, I simply revert back to the previous snapshot. This is perfect for technicians or newbies needing to learn to new operating systems. It is also great for developers who want to port there software to multiple operating systems.
The drawback is that VMware does not run at native speeds, you will probably feel about a 25%-30% reduction in overall speed in the VMware session. Regardless of that issue, VMware is very usable and the performance hit versus the money saved on running multiple physical computers is well worth running VMware.
The latest release of VMware now includes support for PXE booting. This allows you to remote boot and operating system into a VMware session. This is often used in clusters, dumb terminals and so forth. This is a great edition to VMware. Also, full support for USB and better support for the 2.6 kernels in Linux.
I have been using VMware for a number of years and this latest release only further improves on what is already a great product. Any hardcore computer enthusiasts or computer administrators would love VMware. It is an outstanding product which will save you a great deal of money.
Highlights of VMware
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Snapshots: Reverting to a previous state
Drag and Drop: (Drag from one OS to another)
Individual Networks: Each session can have its own IP address.
Raw Harddrive Use: Allows vmware to natively connect to a drive improving performance.
Tab Window Support: Operating system run in tabbed windows inside one main window.
