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.
Pat Lee from VMWare sat down with me to share the latest news on the VMWare Fusion 2.0 beta. Among the big new features: the ability to run 10.5 Server as a virtual machine. Check out the interview after the jump, and check out the VMWare blog for some 10-screen virtualization fun. There's a feature demo available on YouTube, and if -- after you've taken all of that in -- you're dying to get in on the beta, head to the public beta release page for more information.
VMware has just announcedVMware Fusion 2.0 Beta 1, the first beta of the second iteration of their very successful virtualization product for the Mac. As you'll recall Fusion allows you to run a host of OSes on your Intel Mac including, but not limited to, many flavors of Windows.
The above video gives you a tour of Fusion 2.0 Beta 1's top new features, including:
Multiple monitor support (up to 10 displays!)
Improved networking and printing
Support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 (this is experimental, and it might not work on your Mac)
A refined UI for settings and VM management
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. The beta is available now, and best of all the upgrade to version 2.0, when it comes out of beta, will be free to all Fusion users. You can register for the beta program and download the hefty 300 MB installer here.
Over on the blog for VMware Fusion, they've announced the release of version 1.1.2 which adds support for Time Machine backups of your virtual machines. Apparently 10.5.2 fixed some problem that prevented virtual machines from being backed up properly and they have now enabled it. They warn, however, that since Time Machine backs up anything that changes, and virtual machines tend to be rather large, you may want to exclude certain virtual machines to avoid losing too much space on your backup drive.
The new version also adds support for the MacBook Air (fixing a problem with the virtual drive), Windows XP SP3 Boot Camp partitions, and simplified Chinese, as well as quashing various bugs.
VMware Fusion 1.1.2 is a free update for registered users and $79.99 otherwise. Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
There are so many ways to get your hands on a MacBook Air (and apparently several ways to lose your grip on one, as well). You could visit the Apple Store, or Best Buy, or shop online. You could take up a collection with friends and family, or prevail upon your spouse to get one for you.
Here's another idea: make a video about how VMware Fusionhas helped you switch to the Mac is now your virtualization tool of choice, and you could win an Air. Submit your video by May 15 (every entry gets a Fusion t-shirt, so there are no losers) for your chance to walk, or trip, away with the laptop.
Despite a couple of high-profile callouts on the Fusion 'switched' minisite, I'm afraid that Mat and Chris aren't entering the contest. Too bad, guys!
Update:The VMware team has clarified that the video contest is about users who have switched to VMware Fusion from another way of running Windows on the Mac (Boot Camp, Parallels, Virtual PC, the power of the mind). Adjust your artistic vision appropriately.
What madness is this, a post about installing Windows? Well, actually, the folks over at VMware's Team Fusion link to this handy Lifehacker guide to trimming down Windows XP to the bare essentials. Obviously this is of interest to anybody running Windows on a Mac, particularly on a portable with limited hard drive space. So if you should find yourself needing to tread on the dark side (whether in Boot Camp, Parallels or Fusion), it's worth a look. Besides, as I always say, the less Windows the better. It's just a shame you have to build it yourself on a machine running Windows with the Windows utility nLite and can't simply download a pre-built virtual machine.
Despite the publicity around Parallels' flagship Mac product, Parallels Desktop (which we've contributed to in some small part), there are some other interesting tools in the stable of Parallels' parent company, SWsoft -- which is now being rebranded as Parallels, Inc. just to keep us on our toes. One of those products is Parallels Virtuozzo Containers (PVC), which launches version 4.0 today in a webcast event at 11 am (Eastern). While PVC is not a Mac-compatible server (yet), the technology choices Parallels made in developing it may illuminate some future paths for the yet-unreleased Parallels Server product for Mac OS X.
Virtualization products like Parallels Desktop, VMware Fusion, and Microsoft's Virtual Server work via a hypervisor model, virtualizing the hardware platform so that each virtual machine runs in its own full-OS environment. This approach does a great job of insulating the VMs from the underlying physical hardware and provides for OS and build diversity (Windows, Linux and eventually Mac OS X Server running on the same virtualization platform) but it has some drawbacks: each virtual machine consumes a full helping of RAM, disk space and CPU resources while running, as though it was a physical machine. VMware in particular is respected for its expertise in optimizing these resource demands with its ESX enterprise-level server products, but the baseline requirements for system resources can't be fully alleviated.
PVC does OS virtualization, which tackles the problem of resource allocation for virtual machines in a different way. Virtuozzo VMs, or "containers," are created as overlays on the base OS that runs on the physical server, like a piece of transparent acetate over an animation backdrop. All the basic OS processes, files and libraries are present in the base server OS instance, and the container holds the differential changes that allow the VMs their individual characteristics and configurations. While you sacrifice one big feature of hypervisor systems, the ability to diversify OSes -- since the base OS is fixed as either Windows or Linux, all the containers have to be built on top of that OS -- what you gain is substantial, as each additional running VM takes only a small chunk of RAM and a comparatively tiny swath of hard drive space to work in. Virtuozzo servers can handle high VM loading on relatively modest hardware without taking major performance hits, which is a big plus if your server budget is constrained.
In the OS X virtualization session at Macworld Expo, the Parallels folks suggested that we may see both hypervisor and OS virtualization approaches integrated in the Parallels Server product, as the engineering teams from PVC and Server have the opportunity to put their heads together. Parallels has also said that the management tools for PVC and Parallels Server will be integrated as development moves forward. Even though PVC doesn't support the Mac directly, if you're interested in virtualization you might pop into the webcast and check it out.
Although I am, and always will be, a devoted user of Apple products, the Macintosh and OSX, occasionally I find the need to do something that only the vagaries of Windows can accomplish. In the past, this required me to have a separate computer (a PC) with an install of Windows.
Fortunately, with Apple's switch to all Intel all the time, I no longer need that other Windows PC and instead can use a "virtual" Windows PC running on my Mac with the help of a software product provided by Parallels or VMware.
In the past, I was a big fan of Parallels and used it exclusively. More recently, though, I have switched to VMware Fusion for my Windows virtualization needs. Nothing against Parallels, its still a great product, but I just find VMware a bit more "Mac-like" and easier to setup and use. If you agree and use VMware Fusion as well, head on over to their website because there's an update to the software waiting there just for you.
This update is, according to the VMware site: "a maintenance release that contains fixes for a variety of issues." What might these issues be, you may wonder? Well, if you really want to know, feel free to read the release notes. Or, if you decide to just "go for it" and not read the fine print, go here and download away.
Earlier this week we gave Parallels a turn, and today it's VMWare in the spotlight. Scott spoke to Pat Lee, senior product manager for VMWare, about Fusion, virtualizing Leopard server, upgrading from VirtualPC (there's now an importer for VirtualPC 7) and more.
At a booth tucked away in an uncomfortable corner of the South Hall, VMware is showing a preview version of Fusion with virtualization for Mac OS X Server (on Apple host hardware only, naturally) running smoothly. We are heading back to VMware to get a more thorough video walkthrough of the app when the crowds thin a bit, but here's a little clip to whet your appetite (after the jump).
In our post yesterday on VMware Fusion 1.1 we mentioned that VMware had also included a beta of their new Importer application. However, after using it tonight, I thought it was worth a separate post of its own, because it makes migrating from Parallels to Fusion incredibly easy. The amazing thing is that I converted an old Parallels 2.5 WinXP VM which Parallel's 3 itself had not been able to import successfully!
Basically, when you start the Importer it gives you a window in which to drop the Parallels .pvs file (just Win2000, WinXP, Win2003 Server or Vista at this time). It asks you where you want to save the new Virtual Machine and a few minutes later, boom it starts right up in Fusion -- no muss and no fuss. For me the amazing thing was that I had previously tried to import the same image into Parallels 3 and it failed. So basically the upshot is this: if you're running Parallels, but you'd like to give Fusion a try, the barrier to entry has now dropped to next to nothing (besides the hard drive space).
I bought Parallels for my Intel Mac as soon as it was released,but given my experience with Fusion (especially with the downloadable appliances), I think VMware has a convert. I fully recommend giving it a try. The VMware Importer is a free download. It's also supplemented by the VMware convertor which will create an image of a working PC that can then be imported into Fusion as a VM.
Even though Leopard ships with Boot Camp, lots of Mac users still get their virtual groove on with VMware Fusion, and its super-slick window display tool Unity. Today VMware announced Fusion 1.1, an upgrade that sports some cool new features and improvements:
As expected, the upgrade now supports Leopard
Better 3D graphics via the "experimental support" for DirectX 9.0
Full Vista and XP support
A beta version of VMware Importer, a tool that allows users to quickly import virtual machines (including Boot Camp)
Overall better speed and performance
All told, there are about 25 enhancements in Fusion 1.1. Pat Lee, VMware's senior product manager for Mac products, told me that this upgrade is "all about giving the user choice." He points out that the biggest advantage of Fusion over Boot Camp is the ability to access your Windows virtual machine on the fly.
Lee says that, unlike Boot Camp, it's not necessary to shut down your Mac and reboot into Windows every time you want to get to a Windows app. Instead, just use the Unity tool to co-mingle your Windows and Mac apps right on the same screen.
On the other hand, if dual-booting is your thing, you can always use Importer to create a virtual machine.
The upgrade is free for existing customers. If you're ready to try it out for the first time, snag a free 30-day evaluation from the company Web site or purchase it for $59.99 with a $20 rebate (US only).
Looks like the VMware team may be picking up a few pointers from the "release early, release often" cheerleaders at rival virtualization shop Parallels; the recently-released Fusion for Mac is now out in a 1.1 beta form, downloadable with registration. The beta packs a load of features, full list below -- top additions include DirectX 9.0 support, iPhone/Outlook sync, Unity and Boot Camp functional improvements, and (just in time) better compatibility with host systems running Leopard. The beta also squashes a bug that has bitten me a couple of times: the Airport process randomly ramping up to 100% CPU with Fusion installed.
The beta clocks in at a hefty 170 MB, and you'll get an evaluation serial number good for 30 days when you sign up to download the software. Let us know how the beta works out for you in the comments.
There are two kinds of virtualization products for the Mac: first, the kind that develop fast, release quick, and damn the torpedoes; second, the kind that bake in the goodness and hold off on a release until everything meets the exacting standards of an enterprise software vendor. Today we get to see the final result of the second approach, as VMware Fusion is officially shipping after an extensive beta release. (Still love ya, Parallels, don't ever change.)
Fusion is available for $60 (after a $20 rebate) and offers all the XP-running, virtual-appliance-library downloading, window integrating, 3D emulating features you'd expect. I'm planning to do a little bake-off between the agile rookie and the wily veteran, now that everyone's on a fully released & supported plateau, to see which of the two meets my needs best.
Running Windows is something that most people need to do at some point, that's a fact. Luckily for us Mac users running Windows on Intel Macs is much better than emulating Windows on PPC Macs (I still shudder when I think back to my Virtual PC days). This is because instead of having to emulate the processor architecture, as well as run the software, it is possible to 'virtualize' Windows on Intel Macs. This means that Windows runs in its own little space on your Mac's Intel chip (that's a gross over simplification, but you get the idea).
My virtualization app of choice, VMware Fusion, is finally entering the home stretch of its beta. VMware told our friends at Ar Technica that the final version of Fusion will be available for purchase on August 6th for $79.99 (you can preorder it up until the 5th for $39.99). VMware Fusion builds on VMware's rock solid virtualization technology and wraps it up in a pretty Cocoa shell. Check out all Fusion's features here.
Pat Lee from VMWare sat down with me to share the latest news on the VMWare Fusion 2.0 beta. Among the big new features: the ability to run 10.5 Server as a virtual machine. Check out the interview after the jump, and check out the 
Over on the blog for VMware Fusion, they've 
There are so many ways to get your hands on a MacBook Air (and apparently several 
Despite the publicity around Parallels' flagship Mac product, 
Although I am, and always will be, a devoted user of Apple products, the Macintosh and OSX, occasionally I find the need to do something that only the vagaries of Windows can accomplish. In the past, this required me to have a separate computer (a PC) with an install of Windows. 
Looks like the 
There are two kinds of virtualization products for the Mac: first, the kind that 
