On 29/08/2007, rob@xxxxxxxxx <rob@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
A posting from today on midrange-L got my attention. And I thought my
tangent should come on this list.
Basically if I was using vmware on a client to run Linux and Windows, can
I be accessing applications on both simultaneously on that same client?
Like, WDSC on Windows, and some linux application?
Yes, you can. I've been using VMware Workstation ($199 for the
download version, and $99 to upgrade between major versions) at work
for several years. My host OS is Linux, and I run XP as a guest. With
Workstation you can drag and drop between desktops - in or out of the
VMware window. You can also take a snapshot (which the guest is
running) run an install program or whatever, then revert back if you
don't like it. The guest OS knows nothing of what had happened.
The free server product doesn't have the snaphot facility or the drag
& drop, but does let you configure guest machines to autostart as the
host OS starts up. You can also install a console app on another
machine to the host, and control the guest(s) from there. There's also
a web enabled console available if you want it.
The free Player software lets you run a pre-built VM. You'd need to
build one using Server or Workstation, but it's good for letting
people run a pre-built VM 'appliance'. The wiki software (TWiki) that
my web site runs on can be downloaded as an appliance, with a fully
configured Debian guest OS to let you try it 'straight out of the
box'. A number of people have commented that the performance (it's
Perl based) is better using the VM on Windows than trying to run it
directly on Windows.
Bet that makes the screen real estate look rather interesting also.
I run a 1600x1200 desktop at work, and have the guest OS window on one
of my virtual desktops (pretty much a standard feature of most Linux
GUIs) - but a second screen for it would work well. You can run the
guest 'full-screen' if you want.
I know -nothing- about vmware.
It's really easy to set up and use. I run the server version at home
(my dbg400.net site is run in a VM), and other than needing to
reconfigure it when the kernel is changed (not something you'd need to
do as much with a Windows host) it 'just works'. In fact I originally
bought the Linux version of Workstation for use at home, which is the
only commercial software I've put on a Linux system. I'm not a fan of
many proprietary software packages, but VMware is one of them.
Regards, Martin
midrange.com
