VMware Workstation

Main article: Virtualization. Classification and applications

VMware Workstation - a program that is designed for workstations, allows you to emulate a stand-alone computer in a working operating system environment and work with it as a regular system.

2022: VMware Workstation 17.0 Pro

November 18, 2022 it became known about the release of the next release of VMWare Workstation Pro 17, a proprietary virtualization software complex for workstations, available among other things for Linux.

Among the new releases of this version:

• Added support for guest OCWindows 11, Windows Server 2022, RHEL 9, Debian 11 and Ubuntu 22.04.
• Support for OpenGL 4.3 is provided in virtual machines (Windows 7 + or Linux with Mesa 22 and kernel 5.16 is required).
• Added support for WDDM (Windows Display Driver Model) 1.2.
• An updated virtual module is proposed that supports the TPM 2.0 (Trusted Platform Module) specification.
• Added the ability to autorun virtual machines after loading the host system.
• Support for full and fast encryption modes has been implemented, allowing you to balance between higher security or performance. Read more here.

2020: VMware Workstation 16

On August 26, 2020, it became known that VMware announced versions of the desktop virtualization platforms Workstation 16 and Fusion 12.

VMware Workstation 16 has:

Container and Kubernetes support

For developers using containers, a command line utility - vctl has appeared. Previously available in Fusion, it allows users to perform push, pull, build and run operations on OCI images, as well as deploy local Kind clusters to Kubernetes.

In addition to support for kind, vctl creates a docker-compatible socket for kind without modifying the container through its own implementation of containerd.

This feature will also be available with Workstation Player.

Support for DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.1

Workstation 16 supports running games and applications with Direct3D version 11 (aka DirectX 11) or OpenGL 4.1. Users can allocate up to 8 GB of vRAM for the guest OS (for this, the virtual machine itself must have 16 GB or more of RAM).

Compatible with vSphere 7

The version supports connections to ESXi 7 and vCenter 7 to manage virtual machines, including their movement between hosts and compatibility with the virtual PC infrastructure. This is only available in Pro versions.

Dark version of the interface

Workstation 16 has a dark Dark Mode UI theme available in both Pro and Player. This version perfectly complements the dark theme of Windows 10 build 2004.

Sandbox Graphics Rendering Engine

Sandbox Renderer allows you to separate the virtual graphics engine by giving it reduced privileges, making Fusion and Workstation platforms safer.

Vulkan Graphics Rendering Engine for Linux Hosts

Vulkan API support has appeared on Workstation 16 for Linux. Now the render can use DirectX 10.1 and OpenGL 3.3 even based on an integrated Intel GPU card.

Enhanced accessibility

The product complies with the VPAT Section 508 standard for persons with disabilities.

USB 3.1 support and other improvements

Workstation 16 supports USB 3.1 virtual devices and can be sent to virtual machines with full driver support. In addition, many improvements have been made in terms of performance, security, and many bugs have been fixed.

With the release of Workstation 16 and Fusion 12, the license policy has also changed. Now there is no edition of the Standard, only the Pro version and Player remain. The cost of the license for both products became $199. For $99, existing users can move to Fusion Pro and Workstation Pro versions:

Users who purchase VMware Workstation 15.5 Pro or Workstation 15.5 after August 15 will receive a free key on Workstation 16. Product availability is expected in the very near future^[1].

2018: VMware Workstation Pro Technology Preview 2018

On June 25, 2018, VMware announced the release of the VMware Workstation Pro 2018 technology preview.

The following appeared in the product:

DirectX 10.1 - Workstation has support for DirectX 10.1, which provides several advantages:

• MSAA ( Multisample anti-aliasing) support
• Version 4.1 Shader Support
• Cubemap array support

These features, first of all, will be noticeable in games, and they are available both on Windows and Linux hosts.

REST API - Workstation Tech Preview 2018 contains RESTful APIs that will allow you to manage various functions of virtual machines, such as their inventory, power, cloning, network interaction, obtaining IP and MAC addresses, as well as other aspects of their functioning.

All this will allow automated tests in virtual machines when they need to be cloned and configured, and then destroyed at the end of the test. These features are currently only available for Windows.

Support for Windows 10 High DPI - for both host and guest systems, namely:

Host level high DPI - Workstation UI automatically detects the DPI level on the host and aligns the window interface according to it. For example, your display's DPI changes from 100% to 200% - and the Workstation interface also updates automatically. This is useful when you drag Workstation between screens in a multi-monitor configuration. Guest DPI sync with host - when the DPI changes on the host, the DPI of the guest system is automatically adjusted.

These features only work on the host and guest Windows 10 OS.

ESXi Host/cluster view when connecting server vCenter to - now added Hosts and Clusters view, in which users can see more than just virtual machine objects. For example, you can view Datacenter > Cluster > Resource Pool > vApp.

USB Auto Connect functions for a virtual machine - in Workstation 2018 Tech Preview, when a USB device is connected, it is connected to the turned on VM without manually adding it.

Wayland architecture support for Linux hosts - it provides the most complete support, so users are asked to report bugs.^[2]

2017

Final version of Workstation 14

On September 26, 2017, VMware announced the availability of the final versions of the VMware Workstation 14 virtualization platform for download. ^[3].

VMware Workstation 14 features include:

• VMware Hardware version 14 support.
• Support for guest and host operating systems:
• * Ubuntu 17.04
• * Fedora 26
• * CentOS 7.4
• * RHEL 7.4
• * Debian 9.1
• * Oracle Linux 7.4
• * SLE 12 SP3
• * OpenSUSE 42.3
• Support for Guest VBS (Virtualization Based Security), including Device Guard and Credential Guard techniques.
• Secure Boot technology - functions of secure boot of VM.
• Virtual NVMe controller support.
• Rename virtual networks from Virtual Network Editor.
• vSphereESXi Host Power Operations.
• With the built-in wizard, you can import a virtual VMware vCenter Server Appliance module (a separate workflow).
• Network Latency Simulation and Packet Loss functions - you can simulate the behavior of a real network with channel delays and packet loss.
• Displays the IP address in the VM console.
• Auto-clean disk space function.
• Scan for VMs on disks.
• Pausing Shared VMs when the host OS is shut down.
• GTK + 3 UI for Linux.
• Virtual TPM 2.0 capabilities (used, for example, by BitLocker).

Workstation Tech Preview 2017

In July, VMware released Workstation Tech Preview 2017.^[4]

OS support

The latest system in the Windows 10 family is supported by VMware Workstation as a guest and host OS. Other operating systems are also supported, such as Ubuntu 17.04 and Fedora 26.

Guest VBS mechanism

Added support for VBS (Virtualization Based Security) technology, which is available for Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. This support is also expected to expand for the final release.

Secure Boot Technology

Secure boot features are also adapted for desktop platforms.

Virtual NVMe Support

Workstation allows you to take advantage of the NVM Express Controller (NVMe), which is also supported in ESXi 6.5.

Rename Virtual Networks

You can rename virtual network adapters to Virtual Network Editor. This feature is only available for Windows.

vSphere/ESXi Host Power Operation Management Features

From VMware Workstation, you can manage VMware ESXi and host servers. server vCenter These features now include power operations (rebooting and disabling hosts) and maintenance mode.

Import VCSA

With the help of the built-in wizard, you can now import the VMware vCenter Server Appliance virtual module, which allows you to manage the VMware vSphere virtual infrastructure.

Network Latency Simulation and Packet Loss

With advanced Network Adapter Advanced Settings, you can simulate the behavior of a real network with channel delays and packet loss, which is convenient for development and testing purposes.

Display of IP address in VM console

In Workstation 2017, the IP address and MAC are visible directly in the VM console, so you do not need to enter the guest OS.

Auto-Clean Disk Space

In the advanced settings, the Clean up disks after shutdown down this virtual machine function has appeared, which allows you to automatically return disk space to the host OS when the VM is turned off. This feature is available only on the Windows host OS.

Scanning for VMs on disks

If there are virtual machines that are not in the library, you can enable scanning and find them, for example, on a flash drive.

Suspended Shared VMs when the host OS is shut down

When the host OS is turned off or rebooted, Shared VMs will be suspended (displayed in Suspend).

GTK + 3 UI for Linux

Workstation 2017 received an optimized interface Linux-version, as well as support for even more host operating systems.

You can download VMware Workstation Tech Preview 2017 from the link.

2016: VMware Workstation 12.5

In late August 2016, VMware announced updated versions of its Workstation virtualization software. The company decided not to take money from existing users of these products for the transition to new items. Read more here.

2014: VMware Workstation 11

On October 1, 2014, VMware announced the upcoming release of the VMware Workstation 11 desktop virtualization platform. It will be available for download in December 2014.

Key Features of New Software

• New OS Support - support/ Windows 8,8.1, Windows 8.1 Update 1 Windows Server 2012 R2 as host and guest OS. Announced support for recently announced Windows 10 Tech Preview in Workstation 11. The latest versions of desktop platforms,,, Ubuntu 14.10 Fedora 20 RHEL 7 CentOS 7,, and Debian 7.6 other OpenSUSE Linux distributions are supported.
• Support for the latest Huswell microarchitecture processors - the new Intel 64-bit x86 architecture processors are now better supported and provide up to 45% performance growth (multimedia, encryption/decryption) compared to their use in Workstation 10.
• New maximum values ​ ​ for host and virtual machine parameters - up to 16 vCPU for the machine, 8 TB virtual disks, 64 GB of host memory, 64 GB of RAM per machine (2 GB of video memory).
• VMware Hardware Version 11 is the next update to the virtual software generation. Now the capabilities of virtual machine devices will become much more. For example, you can create virtual machines with up to 16 virtual processors (vCPUs), in addition, support for USB 3.0 devices has improved, and it has become possible to allocate graphics memory at the level of a separate guest OS.
• Connection to VMware vCloud Air - The VMware vCloud Air service can be connected to use virtual machines from the company's public cloud.
• CPU enablement - full support for new generations of Intel Haswell AMD and Jaguar microarchitecture processors. Supported at the compatibility level Intel are Broadwell and AMD Steamroller processors.
• Virtual xHCI controller - the virtual controller xHCI operates in version virtual hardware 8, in the new version it complies with the Intel xHCI 1.0 specification. USB 3.0 devices are expected to perform better.
• Dedicated graphics memory for guest operating system - control over the allocation of graphics memory for guest operating systems is fully available. This helps to better control and provide flexibility in virtual machine configuration.
• Windows 8 Unity mode improvements - improved the process of working with the Unity mechanism, especially for VMs running Windows 8/. 8.1 Improved work with the "Start" screen - when switching between the guest OS and the host.
• Boot virtual machine with EFI - The new version of Workstation has the ability to create and run an EFI-based virtual machine as an alternative to BIOS.
• Experimental performance tuning for VM suspend and resume - This platform release can improve the performance of suspend and resume virtual machine operations. To do this, the machine must have a virtual hardware version (Hardware Version11).

A change has been made to the system requirements for the product. Now the host and its OS must be 64-bit (starting 32-bit virtual machines does not cause problems).

VMware Workstation 11 will be available in December 2014 from $249.99. Upgrade from VMware Workstation 9.x and 10.x to Workstation 11 - $149.99. For those who bought Workstation 10, starting October 1, 2014, the upgrade will be free.

Final release of VMware Workstation 11

On December 2, 2014, VMware announced the release of the final version of the VMware Workstation 11 desktop virtualization platform.

Screenshot of the program window

The product is completely 64-bit - to run, you will need a 64-bit processor and 64-bit OS (guest OS: 32 and 64-bit).

Screenshot of the program window

Screenshot of the program window

2013: VMware Workstation 10

On July 30, 2013, VMware announced the start of public beta testing of the new version of the desktop virtualization platform VMware Workstation Technology Preview July 2013.

In turn, VMware Workstation 10 has new capabilities combined with advanced support for operating systems, while offering user experience and high performance. The product is intended for professionals working with virtual machines, the company noted. The new VMware Workstation allows you to create virtual machines with up to 16 virtual processors, 64 GB of RAM, 8 TB drives, high-speed USB connections, a new virtual SATA controller and 2 times more virtual networks.

Easy Install now recognizes Windows 8.1 and new Linux distributions, which simplifies the process of creating virtual machines in the latest OS (computers running Windows 8.1 can be turned into virtual machines using a convenient wizard). It is also possible to set the expiration date and time of virtual machines - after the expiration of the validity period, the operation of such machines will be automatically suspended and can only be resumed by the administrator.

In addition, VMware Workstation 10 includes a virtual accelerometer, gyroscope, compass and ambient light sensor, which allows applications running on a virtual machine to respond to tablet users. In addition, the solution allows you to create a "cloud" on your PC using popular applications from Pivotal, Puppet Labs and Vagrant.

New features in VMware Workstation 10:

• New OS Support - there is experimental support for Windows 8.1, as well as guest and host operating systems Ubuntu 13.04, Fedora 18 and others.

• VMware Hardware Version 10 - the virtual hardware generation of virtual machines has been updated. This gives new functionality to the created VMs, primarily support for 16 virtual processors (vCPUs) for one machine. To do this, your PC must have at least 16 logical processors (or 8 cores with HT enabled), which not every computer can boast of. Also, performance was significantly increased, work with the power subsystem and support for new features of desktop processors was improved. In addition, there is support for 8 TB virtual disks. Virtual SATA drives appeared, USB 3.0 support was improved and the number of VMnet doubled.

• SSD Passthrough - Windows 8 is able to determine that it works from a solid state drive (SSD), which allows it to optimize work with the I/O subsystem. In this Technology Preview, Workstation can detect that the VM drive is located on an SSD media and transmit this information to the guest OS so that it can enable optimization.

• Expiring Virtual Machines - VMware has improved the capabilities of Restricted Virtual Machines that appeared in previous versions. Now the virtual machine can become outdated on a given date in UTC time. Such machines are connected to the VMware.com resource to validate the time and prevent the user from trying to remove the lock from the machine.

• Virtual Tablet Sensors - now in the virtual machine you can get virtual tablet devices: GPS, accelerometer, inclinometer, compass, gyrometer and ambient light simulation (Ambient Light). All this will be useful when developing software, for example, for tablets and phones based on Windows 8.

• New Converter - In this version, VMware Converter has received several new improvements:
  • Support for MicrosoftWindows 8 and Microsoft Windows Server 2012 guest operating systems
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Guest OS Support
  • Support for virtual and physical machines with GUID Partition Table (GPT) disks
  • Support for virtual and physical machines with Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)
  • File System Support EXT4
  • Support for VMware vSphere 5.1 (hardware version 9)

• Pre-Released OVFTool - The VMware OVF Tool command-line utility allows you to import and export OVF packages. Now it has improved mechanisms for importing Oracle templates.

• VMware-KVM is a very useful mode for those who want to hide from the user what they work in a virtual machine (for example, in school classrooms). In this case, the machine can be started with the command "vmware-kvm.exe vmx-file.vmx" and it will be expanded to the full screen, the Ctrl-Alt key combination will allow you to exit the machine, and the Pause/Break button can be switched between consoles of several VMs in full screen mode.

• Windows 8 Unity Mode Support - Support for seamless integration Unity is now even better integrated with the Windows Metro interface.

• Multiple Monitor Navigation - improved mechanisms for working with 2, 3, 4, 5 and even 6 monitors in full screen mode when switching between screens.

• Power Off Suspended Virtual Machines - the ability to turn off the VM paused, which eliminates the need to turn on such machines to make changes to their configuration.

• Remote Hardware Upgrade - When working remotely with virtual machines on the vSphere platform or another PC with VMware Workstation, you can now remotely update the Hardware version.

• 30-day evaluation - now to activate the trial version of Workstation for 30 days, just enter the email in the installation window.

You can download VMware Workstation Technology Preview July 2013 from the vendor's website.

2012: VMware Workstation 9

• Support for guest and host operating systems Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. Simplified installation that recognizes Windows 8. The guest OS supports the new Metro interface. Switching between Metro and the host desktop can be done by pressing the Windows button, while the Unity interface intelligently handles Metro. Workstation 9 also has multitouch support for the Windows 8 guest OS with Metro running in Workstation, which runs on a Windows 8 tablet.
• Graphics engine improvements. Workstation 9 has made many improvements to the engine structure, including a graphics driver for rendering graphics in Windows 8 without hardware acceleration, improved graphical display of "heavy" applications (AutoCAD and SolidWorks), and significant refinement of the graphics driver for Windows XP.
• Support for the OpenGL engine for guest OS. Linux VMware developed its own driver for OpenGL graphics and added it to X.org. This will allow new graphics capabilities to be used in current and new Linux distributions (for example, Ubuntu 12.04) without the need to install VMware Tools.
• Restricted Virtual Machines - the ability to set an additional password for encrypted VMs to prevent their configuration from changing by unauthorized users (for example, VM for students). Such machines can run on VMware Workstation 9, VMware Player 5, and VMware Fusion 5 on Windows, Linux, or Mac platforms.
• WSX Server is a technology that runs on the HTML 5 standard (with WebSockets support), which implies that there is no need to have any additional components other than a web browser to access the virtual machine console and its management tools. As web browsers that are somewhat compatible with HTML 5, you can use Chrome 17, Firefox 10, IE 10, Safari 5 on PCs with Mac OS and iOS 5 for iPad. This feature is not currently supported in the production environment. For PC, it is recommended to use the Google Chrome 17 browser, and for Mac and iPad - Apple Safari 5 (at the moment there are problems with Internet Explorer 10). WSX also works with other browsers on Android tablets running Ice Cream Sandwich, but not all of them have been tested yet.
• The ability to download virtual machines to and from VMware vSphere hosts to Workstation is also possible by dragging them from a remote host to the My Computer section of the Virtual Machine Library.
• Support USB for 3.0 - Workstation 9 supports USB 3.0 devices to Windows 8 guest OS. This is done using the new USB 3.0 drivers for drives or video devices.
• Nested Virtualization Improvements - virtualizations Intel VT-x/EPT and AMD-V/RVI hardware extensions have been improved, allowing ESX/ESXi to run on the guest OS, and they have 64-bit machines with less performance loss. If you included these extensions in Workstation 8, then before upgrading to the ninth version, you need to turn them off, and after updating, turn them back on.
• Hyper-V can be run on a guest OS - you can use Windows 8 with Hyper-V features, as well as Hyper-V Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 with the Hyper-V role. These capabilities are not supported in the production environment (and will never be).
• Virtual Performance Counters - performance counters of virtual machines for profiling applications from a guest OS (for example, using Intel vTune).
• Remoting Improvements - significant performance improvements when connecting to the VM console on VMware vSphere or to Workstation machines using the VNC client.
• Disk Cleanup is a new option to clean up the space in the folder with the files of the virtual machine.
• Quick Switch II - previously in Workstation there was a mode of quick switching between virtual machines at the top of the window, in Workstation 8 this functionality was removed. Now it is back with great convenience and grouping by host in Windows host operating systems.
• Thumbnail Actions - now the taskbar for virtual machines has buttons for managing VM power.
• Saved Filters - Workstation 9 automatically saves virtual machine library searches as filters for quick application at the next start.
• VMware Player - The user interface of this product has been completely redesigned. Now it is also available for commercial use - the license for VMware Player 5 is included in the VMware Fusion 5 Professional edition.
• Supports encrypted SSL connection for WSX. Now you can call certificates the names wsx.crt and wsx.key and put them in the folders etc/vmware/wsx/ssl/directory (Linux) or Application DataVMwareVMware WSXSSL (Windows). This is not done by default, as SSL glutes with WebSockets.
• Improved product stability, including suspend/resume and display operations, and improved support for host devices.
• Support for the voice engine via WSX on Mac OS and iOS when working with the Windows VM console.

2011: VMware Workstation 8

VMware introduced a new version of its Windows VMware ON Workstation 8, which should make it easier to create, share, and load virtual machines into the cloud. This version contains fifty new features that focus on cloud-oriented software connections, virtualizations VMware including new remote connectivity capabilities and "drag" virtual machines to hosts running in the environment. Long vSphere compatible with Windows Linux and as a host system, VMware Workstation allows you to install many virtual machines on a single physical PC. This software has been an undeniable leader in desktop virtualization for many years, but has recently been under pressure from a new promising product that is Oracle VirtualBox relatively inexpensive and has a free version for personal use.

With Workstation 8, users will be able to run a full Web or cloud environment on their PC, including an application development tool for VMware Micro Cloud Foundry cloud platforms. It is reported that it will be much easier for developers to transfer their virtual machines to the cloud, including dragging virtual machines directly to the server vSphere or to another Workstation installation. Communication with vSphere will provide greater capabilities for testing, analyzing, and demonstrating solutions that are not achievable in a desktop system.

With remote access features, developers can quickly connect to hosts running Workstation, VMware vSphere, or VMware vCenter. In addition, users will be able to turn virtual machines into a joint resource that is easily accessible to colleagues in the group.

In VMware Workstation 8, the user interface has also been updated. According to the company, this applies to menu simplifications, animated sketches and improved settings windows. The new virtual machine library will have improved search features that allow the user to find and access the virtual machines they need, regardless of their location, be it a personal PC, server, or other PC with Workstation software.

It is reported that guest systems will now support HD audio in 7.1 format, USB 3.0 and Bluetooth device connections. Improved Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessor Computing (SMP) features and improved 3D graphics performance.

The maximum RAM size of a separate guest system has now been increased to 64 GB, which will allow more efficient use of powerful 3D graphics stations and servers. The new version supports the creation of virtual machines with up to eight virtual processors or eight virtual cores, as well as virtual disks up to 2 TB.

VMware also offers virtual technology in MVP (mobile virtualization platform) for mobile devices. This software supports Linux, including Android, and will appear on LG Android smartphones this year.

VMware Workstation 8 includes the following new features and enhancements:

• Remote Connections - VMware Workstation 8 has connectivity to virtual machines that run not only in Workstation (not only on your PC), but also with VMware vSphere hosts running VMware vCenter (that is, you can hook up vCenter directly into the Workstation environment and manage its virtual machines).
• "Share" VMs - In Workstation 8, users can share their virtual machines when working in groups (testing, software development), which provides additional collaboration capabilities (there is a "Shared VMs" snap-in).
• Upload to vSphere - Workstation 8 has the ability to download a virtual machine from its PC to a server with VMware vSphere, which can be useful for deploying a service under development on a PC in a virtual enterprise environment (or in the cloud). Drag & drop of virtual machines into the vSphere hierarchy is supported.
• New User Interface - The user interface has been significantly redesigned, sluggish "beauties" have appeared in part of the menu, animated icons, improved customization screens. There is also a "library of virtual machines" with advanced search capabilities (not only on its desktop, but also on other hosts with Workstation and vSphere).
• Improved Virtual Machine Capabilities - There is support for HD with 7.1 sound, support for USB 3 standard and Bluetooth devices. In addition, there are many improvements in virtual SMP components (you can turn on and off support for Virtual VT-X/EPT and AMD-V/RVI), increased 3D graphics performance, and the ability to create virtual machines with 64 GB of memory. 64-bit guest operating systems running as virtual machines on virtual ESXi (dual virtualization) are now supported.

2010: VMware Workstation 7

VMware Workstation 7 Capabilities

• The ability to choose VMware vSphere 4 as the guest OS.
• Support for Windows 7 for both guest and host operating systems
• Guest WDDM Driver Windows 7
• OpenGL and Shader Model 3.0 for Windows XP and Vista guest operating systems
• Dynamic Download of VMware Tools Package
• Multi-core and quad-processor virtual machines (4 vCPUs)
• Ability to print from a virtual machine without installing drivers with ThinPrint
• Create snapshots at specified intervals (AutoProtect)
• Protect virtual machines with 128-bit encryption
• ALSA Library Support for Linux Guest Operating Systems
• Improved Linux Virtual Network Editor

VMware Workstation - a program that is designed for workstations, allows you to emulate a stand-alone computer in a working operating system environment and work with it as a regular system.

VMware Workstation 7 is the current desktop virtualization product. The platform offers advanced capabilities for application developers, quality engineers, technology sales professionals, and IT administrators.

With this method, you can install various operating systems and applications for them, go out Internet and do everyday tasks, albeit at a slightly slow speed. The benefit of this method is the ability to test different software operating systems under different operating systems without harming the current system installed on the main computer, as well as testing some hardware solutions.

It can make life much easier for developers of cross-platform applications and lovers of working with new operating systems.

One of the most notable innovations in VMware Workstation 7 is the expanded support for 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.

To display the state of virtual machines, Flip 3D and Aero Peek functions implemented in the Windows 7 interface are now fully used. VMware Workstation 7 was also the first product to fully support the Aero graphics shell on Windows 7 systems.

The list of 3D applications based on DirectX 9.0c Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.1 technologies that can be run on Windows virtual machines has been significantly expanded. For example, you can now play Half-Life 2 on a virtual machine running Windows 7.

For the convenience of developers, VMware Workstation 7 offers new integration tools with the popular Spring STS (Source Tools Suite) and Eclipse development environments. Now the virtualization platform is fully integrated into the process of creating applications in Java and C/C + +, and improved debugging technology with recording and playback of the application (Record Replay Debugging) helps to quickly find non-deterministic errors in the code.

Increased the power of virtual machines that can be created in VMware Workstation 7 - now each virtual machine with a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system can contain up to 4 virtual processors and 32 GB of RAM. Encryption of system images with the AES algorithm with a key length of 256 bits helps to secure virtual machines. The list of supported operating systems in the new version exceeded 200, of which support for systems such as Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Ubuntu 9.04, as well as VMware vSphere 4 and VMware ESXi were first presented.

In addition, it should be noted that it is possible to connect images of virtual machines created using Windows XP Mode technology, introduced in industrial versions of Windows 7 to run legacy Windows applications in an isolated virtual environment. Transfer of license keys between platforms is also supported - now the developer can use one key on two operating systems: Windows and Linux.

Virtual printing technology has undergone significant processing - VMware Workstation 7 uses ThinPrint solutions. Unlike the previous version, VMware Workstation 7 implements full support for the ALSA architecture for full audio operation on Linux systems and the ability to suspend the virtual machine - pause it.

System requirements

• Host and guest
• Windows 7 Home Basic
• Windows 7 Premium
• Windows 7 Business
• Windows 7 Enterprise
• Windows 7 Ultimate
• Ubuntu 9.04
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.3
• OpenSUSE 11.x
• Mandriva 2009
• SUSE Linux Enterprise 11.x

Guest

• Windows 2008 SP2, R2
• Windows Vista SP2
• Debian 5
• CentOS 5.3
• Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.3

Notes