Friday, July 2, 2010

VMware player... what have I been missing?

Up until now, after all these years, I never considered using VMware Player because as its name implies, it used to be be a player for virtual appliances. That's what it was initially designed to do, but it looks like it can do much more than I thought.

Since I used to be an ESX admin, I don't feel the need to learn to use something else and the only solution I knew to virtualize random stuff for free on my low-end laptop, if I stuck with VMware's offering, was to use VMware Server. I tried Server a few times over the years, but must admit that it isn't really interesting when compared to ESX. The web interface is clunky, and it does not integrate well on a "home" PC.

Little did I know that versions 3 and up of VMware Player now let you create virtual machines at your liking, without needing to use pre-made appliances. I've tried it and it works well, and it is much easier to use than Server's web interface.

I've been "converted".

O.

No comments: