A Look at VMware Workstation 7

Those of you who use or support different operating systems are likely to be familiar with virtual machine utilities. VM or virtualization applications let you run multiple operating systems as guests on a single host PC, each one in its own separate session. As such, VM software is of particular help to IT pros and developers who need to juggle multiple operating systems for research, testing, and development purposes. On my end, I run Windows 7 as the core OS on my computers but also maintain virtual environments for Windows Vista, XP, and Server 2008.

VM tools can also be of value to your users who need to run older software programs incompatible with the latest operating systems. Microsoft’s (News - Alert) own Windows Virtual PC lets you run Windows XP as a guest under Windows 7 as a way of accessing older software that may work properly only under XP.

Though Microsoft's Windows Virtual PC and its older cousin Virtual PC 2007 are both free and effective tools, they do have certain limitations. They can only run Windows operating systems as their hosts and guests. So those of you who want to experiment with Linux are out of luck. And they only support 32-bit operating system as guests. Those of you who want to run the 64-bit editions of Windows 7 or Vista, or Windows Server 2008 R2 (which only comes in a 64-bit flavor), can’t do so with Microsoft’s VM software.

If your needs are greater than what Microsoft's tools can provide, it may be time to consider a more advanced virtualization product like VMware's Workstation. This application includes a variety of features to create and maintain virtual machines. I recently took VMWare Workstation 7.1 for a test drive and was impressed with all that the product offers.

VMWare Workstation provides several benefits right off the bat. It can run Windows and Linux as hosts and virtually any operating system as a guest, from Windows 3.1 to Windows 7 and Server 2008 as well as various distributions of Linux, Solaris x86, Netware, and BSD (Berkeley Unix). It supports 64-bit operating systems as guests and can devote up to 32GB of RAM (News - Alert) to each virtual machine. It can also handle the Windows Aero interface, plug-and-play USB 2.0 devices, and multiple monitors.

Using VMWare Workstation

After installing VMware Workstation, your first step would be to create a new virtual machine. To do this, the program presents you with a variety of options.

You can build a new virtual machine for an operating system from scratch by pointing either to the installation disc or to an ISO file for the OS. Creating a VM from an ISO file is a handy option for me since the applications I download for my TechNet subscription come as ISO files. You can also create a blank virtual environment on which to house an operating system later on.

Alternatively, you can import an existing VM created by another virtualization product. This also is handy to me since I already have several existing VMs created via Microsoft's Virtual PC 2007 and was able to import those into VMWareWorkstation.

Finally, you can create a VM from a physical machine’s operating system, either from the computer on which VMWare Workstation is installed or from a remote computer on the same domain accessible by name or IP address.

You can tweak a variety of settings for each VM, including how much memory and hard disk space to devote to it and what type of network adapters to use. I initially ran into one bit of confusion when setting up my VM. In order to access both the Internet and my internal network, I had to configure two separate network adapters, and it took some trial and error to get both working correctly. Once the network adapters were set up, I had no trouble accessing my network resources. VMWare also offers a dedicated Virtual Network Editor in which you can more easily configure individual network connections and even give your VMs the capability to communicate with each other.

Once you’ve created one or more VMs, you can launch them either through VMWare Workstation or through VMWare Player, which is part of the overall package. VMWare Player itself is also quite versatile as it can not only open VMWare virtual machines but also those from Microsoft’s VM tools and other third-party products. However, running your VM from VMWare Workstation provides access to a greater number of options, so that’s typically how I run my VM operating systems.

After you’ve launched the VM, you can it run in a fullscreen window so it takes up the entire monitor or in a smaller, resizable window in your host environment. You can also run it in Unity mode, which displays the host VM as a small bar at the bottom of your screen, from which you can open each application installed in your host’s operating system. Unity mode is a handy option if you simply want access to different applications in your VM but don’t want the VM itself taking up space on your monitor.

You can take snapshots of your VM at any time to preserve its states as you install and uninstall software or make other changes. You can then revert back to any previous snapshot to undo any changes you’ve since made. I typically create a snapshot of each VM after I’ve fully configured it but before I’ve installed any third-party applications that I need to test or check out. After I’ve finished my testing, I can then easily revert back to my initial snapshot. Additionally, you can revert back to your VM’s initial state to fully wipe out any changes you made after you first launched it.

The only drawback I found was in the update process for VM Workstation. Each time the company releases a minor update to the software, you’re forced to uninstall the current version and install the new version, a clumsy and time-consuming process. I’d like to see the company improve the update process to make it smoother and quicker.

So far, I’ve only touched on the basics of the software. VMWare Workstation offers several other features and options, including ones specifically for corporate environments, which you can learn about at VMWare’s website.

Ultimately, VMWare Workstation is a powerful and effective tool for creating and running virtual machines. Whether you need a good VM tool for yourself or for the users at your company, VMWare Workstation is definitely worth checking out.