Surely some operating system has caught our attention. For example, some Linux distro. And we have not dared to test it for fear that a failure would break our main operating system. This is normal, especially among users with little experience in computer science. However, this fear does not have to prevent us from trying other operating systems. And, thanks to the virtual machines that VMware, we can do it easily and safely.
VMware is one of the most complete programs we can find to create virtual machines (computers inside our computer) in which to mount and test all types of operating systems.
Advantages of a virtual machine
Virtual machines give us many advantages when trying and experimenting with operating systems and software in general. One of the most important advantages is that we can install and delete operating systems safely, without compromising our main system, also known as host.
In addition, everything we do within this virtual operating system (guest) does not affect the host system at all. If, for example, we download a malware and run it on the virtual machine, it will only affect the virtual system, but our host system will be safe.
As long as we have enough RAM we can run all the operating systems we want at the same time. And even work with them at the same time. When we turn off the virtual machine, all resources are released and voila.
Unfortunately, not all are advantages. And it is that these virtual machines have a major drawback, and that is that they always fall well below the performance offered by the operating systems physically installed on the PC.
VMware, the most complete virtualization software
Unlike other programs, VMware is a professional software designed especially for commercial use and for large companies. Therefore, this software has features and functionalities that, by default, we will not find in other virtualization programs such as its rival, VirtualBox.
Among all the functions and features of VMware Workstation we must highlight:
- Great 3D performance It is compatible with DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.3, which greatly improves performance when running 3D applications, such as games, AutoCAD or Solidworks.
- It supports huge virtual machines, with 16 virtual cores, 8 TB of storage, 64 GB of RAM and 3 GB of graphics memory.
- Supports resolutions up to 4K UHD (3840 × 2160).
- It allows to create complex virtual networks.
- Several possibilities to clone virtual machines. We can use “Linked Clones” to quickly duplicate a machine and save space, or create full clones.
- Snapshots, or snapshots, allow us to restore the virtual machine to an earlier state in seconds.
- The REST API gives us more than 20 control to manage the virtual machine.
- Integration with vSphere.
- Functions to share configurations and machines with other users.
- A virtual machine created on a PC works on any other. It doesn’t matter if it was created on Windows or Linux.
- Compatible with virtual machines created in other programs.
- Advanced security measures.
And the most important. Everything we do on these virtual machines, as long as they are not connected to the host operating system, will be done in a secure environment. If we destroy for some reason (a virus) the virtual machine, this will not affect the host system at all.
Different versions of VMware
Although VMware as a company has a large number of programs and services related to virtualization, we are going to talk mainly about the two most interesting products to virtualize operating systems: Workstation and Player .
VMware Workstation Pro
This is the most complete version of VMware virtualization software. This virtualization program allows us to create all the virtual machines we want and run all the operating systems we want at the same time above our main operating system.
This is the most advanced edition of this virtualization software, with all functions enabled and allowing more advanced users to connect to other platforms, such as vSphere, and even work with container-based virtualization systems, such as Docker and Kubernetes.
The problem with VMware Workstation Pro is that it is a very expensive program. Luckily, we can have most of its functions in a free version designed for home users: VMware Workstation Player.
Pro vs Player
Within VMware Workstation we can find two different modalities. The Pro version is the most expensive, but the one with all the features enabled, while the Player version is much simpler, although it lacks some features.
The limitations of the Player version against the Pro are:
- It has no tab based interface.
- It does not have an SSH mode for Linux that allows us to connect with one click.
- Inability to create or use encrypted virtual machines.
- It does not allow to rename virtual networks.
- It lacks Snapshots (snapshots or backups of VMs).
- It only allows one virtual machine to run at the same time.
- It has no virtual network simulator.
- It does not allow cloning machines.
- The share feature is not available.
- Cannot connect to vSphere / ESXi servers.
- Not compatible with vSphere Host Power Control.
The VMware Player window is that we can use it for free for personal use. So, if we do not care about the above limitations, we are facing a great free virtualization software.
VMware Fusion: the option for macOS
VMware Workstation is available for Windows and Linux. However, the company has a specific version to virtualize systems on Apple computers: VMware Fusion.
This software allows us to install any operating system on top of macOS, although it is designed primarily to run Windows 10 as if it were done natively. It has full 3D acceleration, just like on the host machine, and is compatible with all Windows 10 updates, and other operating systems, without problems.
Minimum requirements, compatibility and problems
In order to use this software, we need a 2011 processor, or later, that has virtualization instructions. Some older AMD models, or the 2011 and 2012 Intel Atom, for example, do not have these features. But in order to have a good performance it is recommended to have a mid-high-end processor, from i5 onwards, with a minimum frequency of 1.3 GHz.
In addition, although the minimum requirements specify that the minimum is 2 GB of RAM, it is recommended to have at least 4 GB of RAM . Otherwise, we may have performance problems.
VMware is available for Windows and Linux. We can use it in Windows 7, or any later version of the Microsoft operating system. It also works on several Linux distros, such as Ubuntu 15.04, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, CentOS 7.0, Oracle Linux 7.0, openSUSE Leap 42.2 and SUSE Linux 13. Obviously, it does so in later versions.
The list of operating systems that work in VMware is very wide. We can use your virtual machines to install virtually any system we want. Although the ones that work best are:
- Windows 10 / 8.x / 7 / XP
- Ubuntu
- Red hat
- SUSE
- Oracle Linux
- Debian
- Fedora
- openSUSE
- Mint
- CentOS
There are also unofficial patches to add support for macOS. And we can even install any generic operating system.
Among the main problems of this virtualization software we must indicate that it does not get along with Hyper-V, the Microsoft hypervisor for Windows. This means that if we activate this hypervisor in order to use the Linux Subsystem for Windows (WSL) or Docker, we cannot use VMware. Today, they are incompatible.
Create a new virtual machine with a few clicks
At first, the term “virtual machine” may seem complicated. However, we can really create one in seconds and with a few clicks. Simply open the VMware virtual machine creation wizard and follow the steps that appear on the screen.
We will have to choose the type of virtual machine we want to create. Then choose if we want to mount an ISO to install the system or we will install it later.
We will also have to choose the type of operating system we want to install, and the space that we are going to give to the virtual hard disk.
Finally, we will review the specifications of the virtual machine and we will have it ready.
Of course, we can modify the specifications at any time. We can increase RAM, processors, hard disk, mount new (virtual) drives and even configure other aspects related to the operation of VMware virtual machines.
When we have the virtual machine ready, we just have to start it and it will start to work like a real computer, with its BIOS, its bootloader and everything.
How to download VMware
The latest version of VMware Workstation can be downloaded from the following link . This edition is the most complete, as we have explained, but it also requires payment of the program license to use it. A license that, by the way, is not cheap (275 euros). Of course, if we want, we can opt for the free trial version of this edition.
Therefore, if we are going to use this program for personal use, it is better to opt for the Workstation Player edition, which we can download from this link . In addition, it is also installed as part of Workstation Pro.
On the other hand, the version for macOS (Fusion) has a cost of 89 euros. And we can download it from the following link .
