VMWare recommendation

I'm not specialist of VmWare as I use Virtual Box (another virtualization product).
You need at least VmWare Server to build virtual machine, that you can use with VmWare Player.
For what I know, other products are more business oriented.
I don't think VmWare Server is gratis. But I heard that you can on some web site ask to build virtual machine.

I run vmware esxi 4.0 on a Dell inspiron 530s.

I use it to run my dhcp and dns servers. I think it is an excellent solution if you are trying to setup a Big data center in a Small shop. I had three workstation computers before I installed it. Now I have two workstations and three virtual servers with plans for yet one more.

You can download it for free so there is not much downside to giving it a go. I definitely recommend it, as long as it remains a free product.

Keep in mind what you want to accomplish. If you want to play around with server software and install and delete them at will, then it is a great product. If you want to install a bunch of desktop client type software you probably won't appreciate it because you can't access any of your vm's locally. You must use remote client software to play with your vm's.

If you are looking to run multiple desktop operating systems on one machine then try VmWare Player. I installed it and it works, but it wasn't what I was looking for as I am mainly interested in running multiple servers.

Enjoy!

Posterlion,

Thanks for the input.  A question, please.
I Googled about a bit and found a Wiki article that gave me a bit of a sketch on this stuff.  I may have to go initially w/ the ESXi3.5 since it works w/ a 32-bit CPU.  I intend upgrading the Mobo and CPU but want to first test out such ............"layered" approaches offered by VMWare.

As to my question, does VMWare Player sit on the host OS by itself (e.g., atop Ubuntu) or does it follow a VMWare Server install.  Sorta like installing VMWare Server is necessary but unless you also have Tools you aren't gonna get very far!  This is the sorta stuff I'd like to ask Users about before approaching the vendors.  The former might not know about the latest&greatest from the vendor; but, the vendor will usually push (and talk about) only the most recent.

Thanks again,

Bob B

--- On Tue, 8/17/10, posterlion <email address hidden> wrote:

From: posterlion <email address hidden>
Subject: Re: [Question #121416]: VMWare recommendation
To: <email address hidden>
Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2010, 3:03 AM

Your question #121416 on Ubuntu changed:
https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/121416

    Status: Open => Answered

posterlion proposed the following answer:
I run vmware esxi 4.0 on a Dell inspiron 530s.

I use it to run my dhcp and dns servers.  I think it is an excellent
solution if you are trying to setup a Big data center in a Small shop.
I had three workstation computers before I installed it.  Now I have two
workstations and three virtual servers with plans for yet one more.

You can download it for free so there is not much downside to giving it
a go.  I definitely recommend it, as long as it remains a free product.

Keep in mind what you want to accomplish.  If you want to play around
with server software and install and delete them at will, then it is a
great product.  If you want to install a bunch of desktop client type
software you probably won't appreciate it because you can't access any
of your vm's locally.  You must use remote client software to play with
your vm's.

If you are looking to run multiple desktop operating systems on one
machine then try VmWare Player.  I installed it and it works, but it
wasn't what I was looking for as I am mainly interested in running
multiple servers.

Enjoy!

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> does VMWare Player sit on the host OS by itself

I installed VmWare Player on a WIndows XP Pro SP3 desktop, meaning, it installs on top of the operating system. I don't remember the specific requirements as to which operating systems it can install on, but it does install on Windows XP Pro.

esxi on the other hand, install directly on to the hardware, hence their fancy term: bare metal hypervisor. A bit corny but then again, it always raises a brow when I tell my associates that I am running a bare metal hypervisor. lol.

I forgot to mention the one caveat about esxi. It is supposedly quite picky about the hardware it is installed on. I first installed it on a Dell 530 mini tower because it had a quad core processor only to find out that it did not recognize all of my memory. I had 6gb of RAM, but esxi thought there was 3.2gb only. It also did not recognize one of my NICs.

With nothing to loose I then attempted to install it on the Dell 530s (slimline tower) and esxi could see all 5gb of RAM on the machine. So . . . I guess the point I am trying to make about esxi is this: be careful about the hardware you will try to install it on. If you are planning to go out and buy hardware specifically for esxi make sure you get compatible hardware or you will most likely be severely disappointed. I consider myself lucky to have had an existing machine that it can run on.

Try these two links to check your hardware:
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?action=base&deviceCategory=server
http://communities.vmware.com/cshwsw.jspa

I checked the above links and found that someone had successfully install on a Dell 530 so I decided to give it a go. Since that time, for whatever reason, the post about the Dell 530 has been removed. shrug . . .

In summary, VmWare player installs on top of your current os and esxi hypervisor installs directly on top of your hardware,

Final note: VmWare Player is also a free download. I forgot to mention that.