Whats this VMWare stuff all about?

[MarillionFan]

What the hell is so special about this Virtual Machine stuff? Flash in the pan or going to take off?

[threaded]

Oh dear...

I've been using it for years to model client networks etc.

[DimPrawn]

What the hell is so special about this Virtual Machine stuff? Flash in the pan or going to take off?

It's nothing for a trainee Crystal Reports 1.0 developer to worry about.

HTH

[Back In Business]

Virtual machines and VMWare ESX server are very handy bits of kit. Good for testing, QA labs, and pre-production setups. Wouldn't really recommend them for production environments - although some companies swear by them.

[ASB]

Virtual machines and VMWare ESX server are very handy bits of kit. Good for testing, QA labs, and pre-production setups. Wouldn't really recommend them for production environments - although some companies swear by them.

VMWare don't really seem to enthuse them for production. From a personal view I find them extremely good for developmemt. I run 4 VMs which represent the production environment on my notebook but find 2 problems:-

- The clock goes bonkers on my notebook
- Performance. Whilst it takes an age to boot I have a performance issue on the real kit which I can't get to the arse of. On the VM it just doesn't happen. something to do with the networking.

It's really good being able to present with just my notebook in workshops without having to take a container load of kit halfway round the world.

[Back In Business]

- The clock goes bonkers on my notebook

AFAIK this is to do with the variable processor speed i.e. speedstep. No fix for it yet/ever.

[portseven]

Think of it like a Russian Doll, just with computers

[portseven]

Wouldn't really recommend them for production environments - although some companies swear by them.

The V-Motion stuff is very cool though, it allows you to 'move' a VM from one 'real machine' to another while the VM is still 'up'. So for example if you want to replace a component o Server A you simply V-Motion over all the VM's on Server A to Server B, then take Server A down to do the upgrade, then move all the VM's back onto Server A from Server B.

That sort of thing is very good for production environments. Add to that dynamic allocation of resources (e.g. more memory when the load gets heavy) and you have a top notch production environment.

There is also Xen which is an up-and-coming competitor to VMWare, and I also hear good things about Virtuoso

[DimPrawn]

Don't forget Microsoft Virtual PC.

It is now FREE. That's right free.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/vir...loads/sp1.mspx


And for the server, Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2.Which is FREE as well. That's right free.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserv...e/default.mspx

Right Bill, where's my cut of the profits?

[VectraMan]

So can you run Windows on Linux on Windows on Linux etc.?

I've seen clients using VMs to test software for legacy OSs (i.e. Win95, 2K, XP Home), but I'd argue whilst it's better than nothing, it's not a real test.