Journal Allen Zadr's Journal: [Geek] VMWare Free - So Far 3
I decided to write about VMWare, and my short experience with it. Partly so that others who might be thinking about playing with vitualization might get a feel for what it takes.
I have this four year old - P4 @ 2GHz w/ 512MB (PC800 - impossible to find affordably) RAM. It runs Windows XP Pro... The processor is not-hyperthreading, and WAY before DualCore.
I registered and downloaded through a GMail account. It's VMWare Server, not Workstation, or Enterprise - those are Eval licenses. It's not "Player", as you can't create your own images. Server is "beta", and - at least for now - free if you give up an Email address to their marketing folks.
I installed the VMWare Server software directly onto the described computer (I didn't have to reboot). Start up the VMWare Server Console and click the friendly looking "New Virtual Machine" button. I chose Linux/Ubuntu (yes, you should have installation media handy - DVD is fine), and accepted most defaults (though I based the system on a 10GB space instead of 8GB). Insert the bootable CD or DVD (and kill any auto-play that occurs on your system), then hit the "Play" button. In the VMWare Server Console window... It starts a virtual PC, and boots off of the DVD. I note that I had to change which CD drive I had the DVD in before it worked.
Download took about an hour. VMWare Install took about 20 minutes. Make sure you get the activation key from your Email (they sent it in less than 5 minutes after I registered). Installing Ubuntu took about an hour and a half. This part was a little slow, and sometimes the graphics are PAINFULLY slow, but I had Ubuntu running in a virtual machine within about three and a half hours from starting the VMWare download. In between waiting for things, I cleaned the bathroom, and took a shower.
I note that at vmware.com there are a number of pre-configured/pre-installed virtual pcs available, too.
Once Ubuntu was installed, I was browsing the Internet inside Ubuntu-in a window in my XP system - and it wasn't really slow. Heavy graphics operations are slow, but applications run just fine.
I downloaded the ReactOS VM, but it wouldn't boot (it tried, but crashed fast). I'll probably download the FreeBSD image right after creating an XP Pro image.
vmware == awesomeness (Score:2)
Re:vmware == awesomeness (Score:3, Interesting)
You, sir, are the one person who I KNOW doesn't need convincing. I figured I would jot down some of my first impression notes - and timings - so that people know what they are in for. -- I'm typing this on my Linux server's Debian Firefox, served through X on Ubuntu on VMWare running on Windows XP. Sounds convoluted, but - I often run the Debian firefox, because it downloads directly to my BIG storage - without shipping the data twice over my home-network.
My VM directories are also located on the Deb
Re:vmware == awesomeness (Score:2)