On Wednesday 13 December 2006 08:49, Nathan England wrote:
> Has anyone used VMware Workstation and the free Server?
> I am wondering if there are any differences, or if you've noticed any
> difference between the two and how they work on your linux box running
> different guest os's.
>
> I use Workstation 5 and love it, but I'm wondering if there is any benefit
> to running Server instead, other than the cool web interface.
I've used Workstation, Server, and Player and each has their niche. Here are
the characteristics that matter to me.
Workstation:
1. Can save multiple snapshots. This is invaluable for doing certain types of
development.
Server:
1. Can run "in the background" without being attached to an X server. This is
absolutely crucial for running headless systems. Prior to Server, I ran my
lone WindowsXP image at home in Workstation embedded in VNC. Now, I run it
in Server and it restarts itself when the host system reboots and happily
runs away until I contact it with the web interface or console.
2. Free!
Player:
1. Ultra-simple to use. I typically install this on boxes where I will
occasionally run an image.
2. Free!
Overall, I've stopped using Workstation completely since the free versions do
what I need. My "go-to" version is Server... although I've been debating
switching to Player for some development since I rarely run that particular
dev environment in headless mode. It's tricky to switch, though... which
brings me to my two complaints about VMWare products:
1. They don't allow you to install two products at the same time! For
instance, you can't have Server and Player or Server and Workstation
installed on the same machine. Arg!
2. Server and Player may have serious time-loss problems with Windows guest OS
on a Linux host yet VMWare (the company) has never officially addressed this
issue much less fixed it. There are some workarounds posted in the forums
but none of them have worked for me yet.
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