Linux/Unix - VirtualPC or VMWare?

Author

VirtualPC or VMWare?

meijin

2003-08-03, 3:07 am

Anyone have a recommendation of one over the other? Be interested in knowing and why.

Thanks!

Michael

doccheatem

2003-08-04, 3:58 pm

Hi Michael,

Here's a blog on both products:
http://www.rassoc.com/gregr/weblog/...e.aspx?post=552

A review from eWeek:
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,1054688,00.asp

A blurb form the review:
"...Although VMware Workstation 4.0 supports a wider variety of Linux distributions as well as FreeBSD and Novell Inc.'s NetWare guest operating systems, it doesn't support Mac OS, Solaris or OS/2. Sites running these operating systems should consider Connectix Corp.'s $229 Virtual PC software, which allows them to run virtual machines on Windows hosts."

A user's perspective:
http://www.infoworld.com/article/03...nnection_1.html

Connectix has a 45-day eval version:
http://preview.connectix.com/trial/

Preceding link also leads to Connectix's datasheet info.

VMware has a 30-day eval version of their workstation product:
http://www.vmware.com/landing/ws4_home.html

VMware datasheet info:
http://www.vmware.com/products/desktop/ws_features.html

Personally, I have only used VMware 2.x (their workstation product). I liked using the product. At the time, it was memory and processor-intensive so I couldn't run that many OSs, but was helpful nevertheless.

Hope it helps.

Regards,

Stevet

2003-08-07, 3:55 am

can either of these products run the mac os (9.x or X )on a pc?

couldn't see the reference to that on either of there sites!

doccheatem

2003-08-07, 7:58 pm

From my review, neither product can run Mac as a guest OS on the host OS; although, Connectix can run Windows OSs as a guest OS on the Mac as a host OS.

To confirm, I'll send an e-mail to Connectix to see if their PC product supports a Mac host OS. I'll post the response as soon as I receive a reply.

Regards,

doccheatem

2003-08-07, 8:12 pm

"To confirm, I'll send an e-mail to Connectix to see if their PC product supports a Mac host OS."

Sorry, that should read: "...supports a Mac 'GUEST' OS."

Regards,

Stevet

2003-08-11, 3:42 am

So its a case of get a mac install virtual pc on it then install vmware so i can run all the other os's and emulate the network i need !!!!!

doccheatem

2003-08-11, 5:20 am

Steve,

Hmm, interesting idea. I wonder if you can run VMware within a Virtual PC session on a Mac? I suppose the question is: "Why would you?" I can't imagine the performance of the Mac would be all that great, even with a large amount of RAM (1GB+).

What exactly do you want to accomplish by using either product?

I don't think that the either company's workstation software is geared towards emulating a network. It just allows you to run multiple OSs on a single PC.

To emulate a network, have you looked at VMware's virtual server product. Maybe that product would best suit your needs. I haven't used it; just read about it.

I've used the workstation product in a technical support/testing capacity (i.e., running/testing apps within various OSs, installing/testing patches, learning about the various OSs, recreating customer issues/concerns, etc.). I never treated the virtual sessions as nodes in a network.

To update my earlier posting on contacting Connectix:

I still haven't received a response from Connectix..urr..Microsoft. May be too early since I sent the message on Aug 7, but at the least, I should have rec'd an auto-reply acknowledging my submission.

I called Connectix's 800 number and was re-directed to MS Sales. I hung up after waiting 10 minutes to speak to someone. And this is supposed to be their Sales line! Not Customer Support. I guess you can afford to keep a potential customer waiting when your MS.

Regards,

doccheatem

2003-08-12, 1:07 am

Connectix replied to my e-mail today. They directed me to call MS Sales.

Been there. Not wasting my time again.

They also provided me with a MS Support document number (825226) that returns the following error message:
""The article you are looking for is currently not available."

Hardly a stellar product sales transition.

Regards,

Tekmazter

2003-08-13, 10:24 am

I have both VMWare 3 and 4. Love the product. Presently I am running RH8, 9 and an old Win9x platform. The only think I really recommend here is that you have a very, very FAT hdd with at least 20GB of free space. And memory, oh boy, you will need more than 512 easily. I highly recommend at least 1GB. This thing can be a real pig at times. Have used VirtualPC, but I can't see it being that much better than VMWare.

NOTE: Running RH6, 7, and 8 on VMWARE 3 is a pain in the @$$ getting the SVGA driver working. VMWare 4 makes this much easier.

Sponsored Links