Developer(s) VMware Development status Active Operating system | Initial release 1999 Written in F#, C, C++ | |
Stable release 12.5.5 / 28 March 2017; 5 days ago (2017-03-28) | ||
VMware Workstation is a hosted hypervisor that runs on x64 versions of Windows and Linux operating systems (an x86 version of earlier releases was available); it enables users to set up virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical machine, and use them simultaneously along with the actual machine. Each virtual machine can execute its own operating system, including versions of Microsoft Windows, Linux, BSD, and MS-DOS. VMware Workstation is developed and sold by VMware, Inc., a division of Dell Technologies. There is a free-of-charge version, VMware Workstation Player, for non-commercial use. An operating systems license is needed to use proprietary ones such as Windows. Ready-made Linux VMs set up for different purposes are available from several sources.
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VMware Workstation supports bridging existing host network adapters and sharing physical disk drives and USB devices with a virtual machine. It can simulate disk drives; an ISO image file can be mounted as a virtual optical disc drive, and virtual hard disk drives are implemented as .vmdk files.
VMware Workstation Pro can save the state of a virtual machine (a "snapshot") at any instant. These snapshots can later be restored, effectively returning the virtual machine to the saved state, as it was and free from any post-snapshot damage to the VM.
VMware Workstation includes the ability to group multiple virtual machines in an inventory folder. The machines in such a folder can then be powered on and powered off as a single object, useful for testing complex client-server environments.
2016 company changes and future development
VMware Workstation versions 12.0.0, 12.0.1, and 12.1.0 were released at intervals of about two months in 2015. In January 2016 the entire development team behind VMWare Workstation and Fusion was disbanded and all US developers were immediately fired. The company said that "the restructuring activities will not impact the existence of any current product lines", that "roles and responsibilities associated with particular businesses will be moved to other regions and office locations", and that investment would continue "with emphasis on our growth products". The future of Workstation and Fusion became uncertain. On 24 April 2016 maintenance release 12.1.1 was released. In September, same year, the company announced that "we’re very much alive and well". Consequently on September 13 Workstation 12.5 and Fusion 8.5 were released as free upgrades which added support for Windows 10 Anniversary edition and Windows Server 2016.
Critical reception
VMware Workstation 12 was reviewed by Infoworld. The review mainly concerns differences with earlier versions, concluding that this version has moderate improvements, mainly to support newer hardware and operating systems, that may not be worth the cost of upgrading. The review concludes that Workstation 12 is "the most performant, polished, and feature-rich desktop virtualization product available", but points out that it is the most expensive.
ZDNet examined the suitability of Workstation 12 for testing Windows 10, finding it suitable for the purpose.
Variants
There was a free VMware Player distinct from Workstation, with similar but reduced functionality, until VMware Player v7, Workstation v11. In 2015 the two packages were combined as VMware Workstation 12, with a free VMware Workstation Player version which, on purchase of a license code, became the higher specification VMware Workstation Pro. VMware Workstation Player, like VMware Player before it, is free of charge for non-commercial use, or for distribution or other use by written agreement. (Workstation Pro is also available for download for a free trial period, and is easily confused with the unlimited-time restricted-functionality version.)
The features of the versions are compared on the VMware Web site.
VMware Tools
VMware Tools, a package with drivers and other software available for the various guest operating systems VMware products support, installs in guest operating systems to add functionality. Tools is updated from time to time, with v10.0.15 dated 23 February 2017. It has several components, including the following: