VMware Workstation 6 is a hypervisor that runs on x64 computers; it enables users to set up multiple virtual machines (VMs) and use them simultaneously along with the actual machine. Each virtual machine can execute its own operating system, such as Microsoft Windows, Linux or BSD variants. As such, VMware Workstation allows one physical machine to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. Workstation is developed and sold by VMware, Inc., a division of EMC Corporation.
VMware Workstation supports bridging existing host network adapters and share physical disk drives and USB devices with a virtual machine. In addition, it can simulate disk drives. It can mount an existing ISO image file into a virtual optical disc drive so that the virtual machine sees it as a real one. Likewise, virtual hard disk drives are made via .vmdk files.
VMware Workstation can save the state of a virtual machine in one point of time. These saved states, known as a "snapshots", can later be restored, effectively returning the virtual machine to the saved state.
VMware Workstation includes the ability to designate multiple virtual machines as a team which can then be powered on, powered off, suspended or resume as a single object, making it particularly useful for testing client-server environments.VMware Tools is a package with drivers and other software that can be installed in guest operating systems to increase their performance. It has several components, including the following:
Drivers for the emulated hardware: VESA-compliant graphics for the guest machine to access high screen resolutions
Network drivers for the vmxnet2 and vmxnet3 NIC
Ensoniq AudioPCI audio
Mouse integration
Drag-and-drop file support
Clipboard sharing between host and guest
Time synchronization capabilities (guest syncs with host machine's clock)
Support for Unity, a feature that allows seamless integration of applications with the host desktop
VMware Workstation supports bridging existing host network adapters and share physical disk drives and USB devices with a virtual machine. In addition, it can simulate disk drives. It can mount an existing ISO image file into a virtual optical disc drive so that the virtual machine sees it as a real one. Likewise, virtual hard disk drives are made via .vmdk files.
VMware Workstation can save the state of a virtual machine in one point of time. These saved states, known as a "snapshots", can later be restored, effectively returning the virtual machine to the saved state.
VMware Workstation includes the ability to designate multiple virtual machines as a team which can then be powered on, powered off, suspended or resume as a single object, making it particularly useful for testing client-server environments.VMware Tools is a package with drivers and other software that can be installed in guest operating systems to increase their performance. It has several components, including the following:
Drivers for the emulated hardware: VESA-compliant graphics for the guest machine to access high screen resolutions
Network drivers for the vmxnet2 and vmxnet3 NIC
Ensoniq AudioPCI audio
Mouse integration
Drag-and-drop file support
Clipboard sharing between host and guest
Time synchronization capabilities (guest syncs with host machine's clock)
Support for Unity, a feature that allows seamless integration of applications with the host desktop
VMware Workstation is a virtualization software for software developers or testers and enterprise IT professionals that runs multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single PC. Users can run Windows, Linux, NetWare, or Solaris x86 in fully networked, portable virtual machines - no rebooting or hard drive partitioning required. VMware Workstation delivers excellent performance and advanced features such as memory optimization and the ability to manage multi-tier configurations and multiple snapshots.
Unity mode in VMware Workstation is great if you want to integrate applications from your virtual machines with ones from your native operating system. Applications that are virtualize are clearly marked, making it easy to distinguish the same app from different machines. Unity will blend both operating systems seamlessly so you get a fluid desktop experience. Users will still be able to influence the settings and control their VMs with ease, even in Unity mode. VMware improved its juggling of having two Start Menus by having the VM’s start menu show up when hovering over the host’s Start button. |