Filed under: Enterprise, Beta Beat
Next VMware Fusion beta to offer Leopard Server virtualization
It's the Holy Grail of Mac virtualization: a Mac inside another computer, running happily on a virtual machine and subject to your every whim. Up until last fall, there was no framework in Apple's licensing to allow for Mac OS X virtualization; then the ground shifted and the heavens shook, and there was a way forward. Mac OS X Server is now eligible for virtualization on Apple hardware, so naturally both big Mac virtual machine players are eagerly pushing forward on this front.
Parallels is offering OS X Server virtualization as part of its Parallels Server high-end product, which is currently approaching the end of its beta; the gang at VMware, however, are going the route of integrating OS X Server virtualization into the consumer level Fusion product. VMware has announced that the next beta of Fusion 2 (and the eventual release) will include the option to virtualize Mac OS X Server. This is awesome news for anyone using Fusion now, as the upgrade to 2.0 is free for existing customers.
Of course, virtualizing Mac OS X Server is not an inexpensive proposition, as even a 10-user license of Server clocks in at a cool $499. For developers and corporate folk, however (many who would have access to volume or seeding licenses of Server), it's a great help. Video demo of VMware's new feature announcement after the jump.
Thanks Peter.
![TUAW [Cafepress]](http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.tuaw.com/media/tuaw-cafepress-promo.png)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Rboyett said 4:27PM on 6-13-2008
I'll be impressed when they offer a hypervisored OS running on Mac hardware that lets you take full advantage of that hardware's capacity. Running OSX on OSX with Fusion as middle ware does not impress me.
Basically I'm saying that VMware needs a port of its ESX operating system that can run on Mac Servers. Then run OSX on top of that. Give me a full VI3 type environment with VMotion , HA, and DRS.
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Tomahawk said 4:47PM on 6-13-2008
What about multiple snapshots or video recording/pictures of the VM? I want VMware workstation, not VMware player plus!, which is what Fusion feels like. There are so many more features in VMware workstation 6.5 then there are in VMware Fusion.
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Tomahawk said 4:50PM on 6-13-2008
One other thing I forgot to mention is that I wish they would also team up the Thinstall guys (since they purchased the company earlier this year), and produce an official WINE/Thinstall mac application see here for more info:
http://www.brianmadden.com/blog/BrianMadden/Thinstall--Wine--Windows-apps-without-Windows