Advanced virtualization tool to create, customize, share and manage multiple virtual machines efficiently
Advanced virtualization tool to create, customize, share and manage multiple virtual machines efficiently
Vote (224 votes)
Program license Trial version
Developer VMware
Version 17
Works under Windows
Vote
(224 votes)
Developer
VMware
Works under
Windows
Program license
Trial version
Version
17
Pros
- Supports almost every operating system.
- Virtual machines can be saved or shared through the network.
- Lots of customization options for the virtual machine's hardware.
- Allows creating image snapshots and capturing video within the virtual machine.
Cons
- Requires a powerful PC for optimal performance.
- Paid version must be purchased to continue using all features after trial ends.
VMWare Workstation is a virtualization tool that lets you create and run virtual machines with their own independent operating system. It's one of the most popular programs in its category and has many advanced features, making it useful for both individual and business users.
Create and Run Virtual Machines Easily
When you create a virtual machine for the first time, VMWare Workstation is able to optimize the virtualization settings based on the operating system that you'll be using on it, such as Windows 7 or Ubuntu. You have the ability to fully customize the virtual hardware options, including the amount of RAM assigned to the virtual machine, hard disk space, network adapters types and more. When the virtual machine is running, it can be displayed in a window or in full screen mode depending on your preference.
Powerful VM Management Features
With VMWare Workstation, you can take screenshots and videos of the virtual machines you have running, which is a useful feature if you need to make tutorials that show how to perform certain tasks in a specific operating system or a program which runs on a platform different than the one of the host PC.
Once a virtual machine is created, you can save it so that it can be used on another computer running VMWare software. VMWare Workstation even lets you share your virtual machines across your local network.
Perfect for IT Professionals and Individual Users Alike
There are many reasons you might want to create a virtual PC with another operating system. Home users can use the program to run software which is only available on a different platform, such as Linux or an earlier version of Windows. Software developers and IT professionals often use virtual machines to test programs they create under different operating systems.
With VMWare Workstation, you can create as many virtual machines as you need and even run several of them at the same time. However, it's recommended that you have a PC with a powerful CPU and a large amount of RAM if you're going to use virtual machines with more modern operating systems like Windows 8 or 10, as the virtual machine performance can get sluggish otherwise. Also, unlike the free VMWare Player tool, VMWare Workstation is a limited trial. If you want to continue using its full features, you'll have to purchase the full version.
Pros
- Supports almost every operating system.
- Virtual machines can be saved or shared through the network.
- Lots of customization options for the virtual machine's hardware.
- Allows creating image snapshots and capturing video within the virtual machine.
Cons
- Requires a powerful PC for optimal performance.
- Paid version must be purchased to continue using all features after trial ends.
Pros
- Easy to download, install, and use. A wizard can guide first-time users in setting up a new operating system.
- Easy to modify existing virtual machine profiles, including RAM and screen size.
- A highly stable and well-tested program.
- Users with enough RAM and processor speed can run multiple virtual machines at once.
- Users will still be able to use all virtual machines made with VMWare Workstation even after the trial period expires by using the free VMWare Player.
Cons
- This is a paid software, with only a 30-day trial.
- Virtual machines can be major RAM and processing power hogs.
- Virtual machines "take control of" the mouse and keyboard and only release them with a special keyboard combination, which can be an annoyance for new and old users alike.
VMWare Workstation is a desktop application which allows users to run different operating systems within a simulated environment. Whether you are running the latest version of Windows 10 but want to take an occasional stroll down memory lane and run Windows 95 or XP, or maybe you are experimenting with Linux but not quite ready to make the switch, VMWare allows you to boot up and explore whatever operating system you want in only a few clicks.
Easy to download and install, VMWAre Workstation is a paid program but allows for a 30-day free trial. When that trial expires, users will still be able to start up and use all of their virtual machines using the freely-available VMWare Player, but they will have to look elsewhere to create new virtual machine configuration files (.vmdk disk files and .vmx program settings files). More advanced users can find tutorials online describing how to write .vmx files and create .vmdk disk files using freely-available programs like Qemu emulator.
However, VMWare Workstation makes the setup of new virtual machines easy, even providing a wizard to help new users. Users will be able to specify the virtual hard drive size (the virtual hard drive will only consume space on your real hard drive as it is filled with files), RAM allocation to each machine, default screen size, and even networking settings (bridged versus NAT). These settings can all be modified after creation, either by modifying the .vmx configuration file manually or more easily by using the built-in configuration tools in VMWare Workstation. More advanced users can even easily specify what type of architecture they want their virtual machines to have, selecting from a list of different processor and architecture types. USB devices can easily be connected and disconnected from the virtual machine and connected to the local computer, allowing for easy file transfer. VMWare Workstation can be run in full-screen mode at any time or can be run as a smaller Window.
There is virtually no limit to the number or variety of operating systems which can be run on VMWare. Mac, Linux, Windows, etc, users can play games, experiment with different operating systems, or even do more sophisticated networking and compatibility tests between operating systems. Users with a sufficiently large amount of RAM in their system will find that they can even run multiple different operating systems simultaneously in separate desktop windows.
Pros
- Easy to download, install, and use. A wizard can guide first-time users in setting up a new operating system.
- Easy to modify existing virtual machine profiles, including RAM and screen size.
- A highly stable and well-tested program.
- Users with enough RAM and processor speed can run multiple virtual machines at once.
- Users will still be able to use all virtual machines made with VMWare Workstation even after the trial period expires by using the free VMWare Player.
Cons
- This is a paid software, with only a 30-day trial.
- Virtual machines can be major RAM and processing power hogs.
- Virtual machines "take control of" the mouse and keyboard and only release them with a special keyboard combination, which can be an annoyance for new and old users alike.
