VMware Server vs. Workstation vs. VPC 2007, which is the best?

[Solema]

Hi,
A client of mine just upgraded to a new C2D PC with all the trimmings and Vista Ultimate. He loves it, but he wants to be able to run an XP VM so he can work with some older apps that he hasn't been able to update to Vista-compatible versions yet. I was wondering which version would give him the best every-day performance for the XP guest OS? Obviously, if I can do it for free with Server or VPC2007, that'd be ideal, but if the performance improvement of Workstation is much greater, I can get him to spend the $200 for it.

Can anyone comment on how well XP will run on VMware Server on his Vista machine?

Specs are as follows:
Vista Ultimate
Core 2 Duo E6600
2GB DDR2800
2x320GB SATA-2 in RAID 1

What do you guys recommend?

 

[Smilin]

I haven't tried VMware under Vista yet.

VPC 2007 is pretty pimp though. It will leverage the virtualization functions in that Core 2 duo as well.

I was under the impression VMware workstation was free though. If not, then no definately not worth the $200. Even free I would lean towards VPC in this particular case (Vista, core2 duo)

Someone may respond soon who's tried both tho.

 

[aka1nas]

VMWare workstation is not the free one. What I do like about the workstation product compared to their server app and VPC2007 is the snapshotting capability. Most of the server virtualization apps will allow maybe 1 snapshot and undo disks at best. VPC2007 has no snapshot capability. I use VmWare workstation quite a bit at work because of this. I do a lot of QA and testing and need to constantly roll back to various points before I installed some application or ran a script on a test VM.

VPC2007 is kind of nice though as it works great on Vista 64 and has excellent sound support. I was able to get Mechwarrior 2 Mercs working on a 98SE VM on VIsta 64 a week or two ago.

 

[tyanni]

I agree w\ aka1nas - the snapshotting capability of VMWare Workstation is incredible. I do similar things at work (i.e script testing, software packaging) and without snapshots I don't know how I would do my job.

Tim

 

[hasu]

VMWare is the leader in Virtualization technology. We use VMWare products at work.
I like VirtualBox (open source) for my personal use.

 

[Solema]

Well, I just downloaded the VMware Workstation 6 RC so I will give that a try and see how it is. Thanks for your help guys!

 

[Smilin]

If you want to just run XP, VPC 2007.

If you intend to put together virtual domains, test labs all that hoo-ha, then Virtual Server would be the more suited MS product. It does differncing disks, undo disks (snapshots) and all that.

VPC lets you drag-n-drop in and out of the virtual machine. Virtual Server doesn't.

 

[Brazen]

I wouldn't waste your money on Workstation if I were you. I purchased Workstation before the free VMWare Server came out, and it does have some neat features to aid research and development, but I've been using the free VMWare Server to run a couple work servers and a home server and it would work great for you. Just FYI to you all, you can do multiple snapshots with VMWare Server; you can just restore to only the last snapshot (and keep restoring back until you get to the snapshot you want).

 

[Solema]

Thing is, this person won't really be running any servers with this, just XP Pro. Will VMware Server still be as good for XP Pro?

 

[Brazen]

Originally posted by: Solema
Thing is, this person won't really be running any servers with this, just XP Pro. Will VMware Server still be as good for XP Pro?

Oh yeah, the guest operating system really doesn't matter. The basic virtualization engine is the same throughout all the VMWare software. The only difference is the additional features.

 

[Solema]

Oh, okay. For some reason I thought that the Workstation edition had some desktop acceleration stuff that helped for using it as an everyday OS.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Smilin
VPC lets you drag-n-drop in and out of the virtual machine. Virtual Server doesn't.

That's a nice feature. I guess I should try out VPC 2007. I've been using VPC 2004 for a couple of years.

I just wish that VPC would support USB drives. We were playing with Server 2003 system restores inside of a Virtual PC, and its lack of USB support is a bummer. A friend installed VMWare on my laptop and (after some pain) got it so it would load a system image (ShadowProtect Backup) from a USB hard drive, which was very cool.

What I'd do is install VPC 2007 and see how it works for you. It's quite fast to install and set up. If your friend doesn't like it, he can always pay the $200.

 

[aka1nas]

Originally posted by: Brazen
I wouldn't waste your money on Workstation if I were you. I purchased Workstation before the free VMWare Server came out, and it does have some neat features to aid research and development, but I've been using the free VMWare Server to run a couple work servers and a home server and it would work great for you. Just FYI to you all, you can do multiple snapshots with VMWare Server; you can just restore to only the last snapshot (and keep restoring back until you get to the snapshot you want).

The problem with that is that you can only restore in a linear fashion. With VMWare workstation you can have branches and restore to any snapshot from any point.

 

[Pabster]

VMWare Workstation is the one to use. VPC is free, of course, and it works...but it is slower than VMWare and much less featured. For example, no USB support.

However, if the programs he needs to run are menial, and you can live with some of the shortcomings, VPC is free, compared to $200 for VMWare Workstation.

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: Pabster
VMWare Workstation is the one to use. VPC is free, of course, and it works...but it is slower than VMWare and much less featured. For example, no USB support.

However, if the programs he needs to run are menial, and you can live with some of the shortcomings, VPC is free, compared to $200 for VMWare Workstation.

If there are speed differences it's going to take a benchmark to show it, not the naked eye. The guests do not connect directly to your USB devices but this doesn't always make them unusable. If you have a thumb drive for instance that will present itself to the host as a disk which can be easily used within the guest. For the simple task the OP is trying to do I think VPC would be the better route.

When did VMWare start charging for workstation? I could have sworn it was free as well.

 

[Solema]

I think VMware has always charged for the Workstation product. I haven't yet tried VPC 2007, but I will say that I am VERY impressed with VMware Workstation 6 Release Candidate. The drag-and-drop from physical to VM is fantastic, the performance is excellent, and the USB remapping is really nice, too. I think I may just tell him to get VMware Workstation 6 when it is released as retail version. He can have his company pay for it anyway, so cost isn't really a big factor.

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: Solema
I think VMware has always charged for the Workstation product. I haven't yet tried VPC 2007, but I will say that I am VERY impressed with VMware Workstation 6 Release Candidate. The drag-and-drop from physical to VM is fantastic, the performance is excellent, and the USB remapping is really nice, too. I think I may just tell him to get VMware Workstation 6 when it is released as retail version. He can have his company pay for it anyway, so cost isn't really a big factor.

:thumbsup:

Yep, VMWare Workstation 6 is phenomenal.

 

[nweaver]

The free VMWare is VMWare server (used to be server beta?)

It's pretty good, but it's designed to run VM's longer term then just a simple guest OS from time to time. tbh, I think I would just us VPC, as it will have better intuitive actions for the user (such as dragging to/from the VM machine).