anyone tried VMware Player or Virtual Appliances?

[steel]

i had a question, was wondering if anyone downloaded the free vmare player? VMware Player FAQs downloads page is here also Virtual Appliances and i am going to try ubuntu that can be found here

[epp_b]

I haven't tried the player, but I have experimented a bit with VMWare Server Beta (free!).The PC I used isn't exactly stellar, but it isn't slow either. WMWare Server was noticeably sluggish.If you try the player, let us know how it runs!

[steel]

i also heard that the WMWare Server was sluggish. In all honestly i have no idea how to use it, but i am downloading player as we speak... just hope i know what i am getting myself into

[Peachy]

Check out some VMware experiences that have been posted: http://forums.scotsnewsletter.com/index.ph...13885&hl=vmwareAll my VMware experience has been on Windows but, I plan on testing VMware Server (beta) on Linux. I've tried the Ubuntu VMware appliance and it is quite usable. Now I must qualify this. Usable means having at least 1GB of RAM. Any processor faster than 2GHz should be adequate, although I am running VMware workstation on my 1.6GHz Pentium M notebook. This notebook has 2GB of RAM and the performance of the guest operatings systems is pretty good. In other words, if you are currently using a 2.4GHz Pentium 4 the guests should feel like they are running on a 500MHz Pentium III. I'm often using a guest image as if it's my real OS when I'm testing some lab notes I'm developing and it feels relatively usable. It certainly isn't slow but I think my 2GB of RAM is helping.VMware Server adds a few features over Workstation but you use it the same way. That is, you create a guest operating system by specifying memory size, hard drive size, and operating system. Then, you stick in your OS installation CD or even an ISO image (say a Linux DVD) and start up the guest. It will then install as if you are using real hardware. In fact, I'm running Windows Vista February CTP Build 5308 in VMware. Works quite well.You can see what I've done in VMware.

[steel]

Thanks Peachy for the heads up and all your info,very useful and helpful to me ... i knew that it took some power but sounds like it takes alot of resources to run it, i also looked at your site and your experences with it and its awesome thanks for sharing that... something i still cant understand was i seen an ad by micosoft and there Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 saying that it was superior product, and yet everyone i know has used or is using Vmare.. not trying to knock down any company i am just tryin to understand more about virtual things but i was just wondering why pay so much for a product when you have Vmare ... or i am missing something?

[Peachy]

Well, Virtual PC 2004 is the equivalent of VMware Workstation with VMware costing about $50 more. Virtual Server 2005 competes against VMware GSX. VMware has decided to release a free VMware Server (in beta at the moment) that has less features than GSX but apparently will replace GSX in their product lineup. I'm guessing that Virtual Server 2005 will still have more functionality than the free VMware Server. I believe EMC is making VMware Server free to keep Microsoft and Xen (a Linux vm app) at bay.From my experience, Virtual PC has always felt slower compared to VMware Workstation on the same hardware. I haven't tried Virtual Server since it was first in beta so I can't give a fair comparison. Virtual PC was a product that Microsoft purchased from Connectix in 2004. Virtualization is the next killer app, I think. You're going to see more and more companies migrate their existing servers into either VMware or Virtual PC/Server. There's such cost savings that it's crazy if you didn't take advantage of this.

[mhbell]

i had a question, was wondering if anyone downloaded the free vmare player? VMware Player FAQs downloads page is here also Virtual Appliances and i am going to try ubuntu that can be found here

I downloaded the free version for Windows XP and also downloaded 3 or 4 Linux distro's that were available for the player at the time. this was a month ago or maybe a little more. all of them ran fine on my machine and Ubuntu ran the best for me. It was a bit slower but I have 1gb of 400 ram and a AMD Athlon 64 processor. I did not try running it under Linux. Let us know how it turns out for you.Mel

[charlie]

I did not try running it under Linux. Let us know how it turns out for you.

gave it a try in Mandrivia and in the boot up theree are vmnet 1, 8 loaded , but I do not have any access to thee internet , usuing Kubuntu to use the nest. Whwt file do I edit to have Mandrivia back to normal or how do I get my inteernex connection working charlie

[Bruno]

I think you will have to edit the /etc/lilo.conf file and write the edited file to the MBRIf you show us

# cat /etc/lilo.conf

we will see what we can do to get your Mandrake back to "normal" booting :DB) Bruno

[steel]

Charlie:gave it a try in Mandrivia and in the boot up theree are vmnet 1, 8 loaded , but I do not have any access to thee internet , usuing Kubuntu to use the nest. Whwt file do I edit to have Mandrivia back to normal or how do I get my inteernex connection working charlie

Hi Charlie i am not sure as i am only learning vmare myself, i hope its what Bruno suggested and its you lilo, but i will keep reading and see if i can find something out ...

mhbell:I downloaded the free version for Windows XP and also downloaded 3 or 4 Linux distro's that were available for the player at the time. this was a month ago or maybe a little more. all of them ran fine on my machine and Ubuntu ran the best for me. It was a bit slower but I have 1gb of 400 ram and a AMD Athlon 64 processor. I did not try running it under Linux. Let us know how it turns out for you.Mel

Hi Mel I been reading alot about Vmare, and i do think i came 2 snags 1) i dont have any microsoft windows on my computer, i have used it at home in months now.... i am not sure if i need to install it .... and also another point that you and Peachy came up with is it so hard on resources unless you have fast computer .. i am trying this on a slower computer with 512 ram, i did try pearpc a long time ago and if i remeber correctly it took 6 hours to install dont want to go through that again lol .... also looking at the distros that it works with are ...

Linux distributions can host a VMPlayer? Supported Linux Host Operating Systems (64-Bit) Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES/WS 4.0 stock 2.6.9-5 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 update 2 (beta) Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS/ES/WS 3.0 stock 2.4.21, update 2.4.21-15.EL SUSE Linux Pro 9.3 SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (beta 4) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.0 SP1(also supported with no service pack) SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 stock 2.4.19 Experimental support for Ubuntu Linux 5.10 Experimental support for Ubuntu Linux 5.04Supported Linux Host Operating Systems (32-Bit) Mandrake Linux 10 stock 2.6.3-7 Mandrake Linux 9.0 stock 2.4.19 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 update 2 (beta) Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1 stock 2.4.9-e3 Red Hat Linux Advanced Server 2.1 stock 2.4.9-e3 Red Hat Linux 9.0 stock 2.4.20-8, upgrade 2.4.20-20.9 Red Hat Linux 8.0 stock 2.4.18 Red Hat Linux 7.3 stock 2.4.18 Red Hat Linux 7.2 stock 2.4.7-10, upgrade 2.4.9-7, upgrade 2.4.9-13, upgrade 2.4.9-21,upgrade 2.4.9-31 SUSE Linux Pro 9.3 SUSE Linux 9.2 stock 9.2-2.6.8-24.11 SUSE Linux 9.1 stock 2.6.4-52 SUSE Linux 9.0 stock 2.4.21-99 SUSE Linux 10 stock 2.6.13, 64-bit, 32-bit SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9.0 SP1(also supported with no service pack) SUSE Linux 8.2 stock 2.4.20 SUSE Linux 8.1 stock 2.4.19 SUSE Linux 8.0 stock 2.4.18 SUSE Linux 7.3 stock 2.4.10 Ubuntu Linux 5.10 Ubuntu Linux 5.04

according to VMPlayer Manual tons of AppliancesWorkstation DocumentationVirtual Infrastructure Literature · Virtual Infrastructure Quick OverviewWhitepaper: Building Virtual InfrastructureVMware Server Comparison ChartVMware Product Web PagesNarrated Presentations· Pre-recorded webinars showing VMware products in action and presentations on Server Consolidation, Disaster Recovery, Development & Test Acceleration, and more more

[steel]

Virtualization is the next killer app, I think. You're going to see more and more companies migrate their existing servers into either VMware or Virtual PC/Server. There's such cost savings that it's crazy if you didn't take advantage of this.

i agree with you 1000% on that ... i also know that this is off topic but i came across this Digital/Analog Audio & Sound Drivers for Vista 5308 here only because i seen on your blog vista... .... trying to keep up with all this new techno is almost a full time job lol ... like the days when i started in IT i was using windows NT 3.51 and OS/2 now i am sure no one heard of those two, and i did like 0S/2 .... and best part is that you didnt need a pent 4 6000 with 1 million gigs of ram to run it

[mhbell]

Hi Mel I been reading alot about Vmare, and i do think i came 2 snags 1) i dont have any microsoft windows on my computer, i have used it at home in months now.... i am not sure if i need to install it .... and also another point that you and Peachy came up with is it so hard on resources unless you have fast computer .. i am trying this on a slower computer with 512 ram, i did try pearpc a long time ago and if i remeber correctly it took 6 hours to install dont want to go through that again lol

I think that maybe you won't need as many resources running it under Linux. I do know that under windows you need lots of ram and a powerful proccessor to get decent results, otherwise it crawls.

i agree with you 1000% on that ... i also know that this is off topic but i came across this Digital/Analog Audio & Sound Drivers for Vista 5308 here only because i seen on your blog vista... .... trying to keep up with all this new techno is almost a full time job lol ... like the days when i started in IT i was using windows NT 3.51 and OS/2 now i am sure no one heard of those two, and i did like 0S/2 .... and best part is that you didnt need a pent 4 6000 with 1 million gigs of ram to run it

It brings back memories of when I ran a BBS in reno Nevada for 6 years Using OS 2 and Warp 3Mel

[sunrat]

The VMWare Player works fine on my Athlon2000+ system with 768MB RAM, running Kanotix2005-4 (also SuSE10.0 or WinXP). I've tried it with the Browser Appliance and several different distro VMs. For browsing there's no noticeable speed loss.As for internet connection, I'm still reading the manual on how to always get it working. The Browser Appliance connected easily, and using virtual ROM drives and sharing folders with the host OS was a cinch.

Edited March 2, 2006 by sunrat

[charlie]

BrunoNot sure if a full hard drive would mess up my net connection. Ran the vmware config and did not enable the vmnet1, 8 files But on rebooting I notice in the interactive boot file that they are enabled Mandrivia is working after freeing up disk space SteelI tried Ubuntu.vmx under vmware , an error message in the grub file ... ??? First round , that is it , Second round ... Later I down loaded Browser-Appliance, and tried vmware again , warning re vmnet8 but continued on , in a Ubuntu distro in a full window .. running firefox... I can see advantages in this system , The files I am using , Ubuntu and Browser-Appliance were down loaded from the vm ware site and when unpacked give the ******vmx file and others . More testing in the works charlie

[Bruno]

Mandrivia is working after freeing up disk space

Goooood !! . . . Excellent ! Bruno

[teacher]

Way to go Charlie!

[steel]

Charlie:SteelI tried Ubuntu.vmx under vmware , an error message in the grub file ... ??? First round , that is it , Second round ... Later I down loaded Browser-Appliance, and tried vmware again , warning re vmnet8 but continued on , in a Ubuntu distro in a full window .. running firefox... I can see advantages in this system , The files I am using , Ubuntu and Browser-Appliance were down loaded from the vm ware site and when unpacked give the ******vmx file and others . More testing in the works charlie

hey thats great Charlie great job... i still want to test all these toys out on my new hard drive, considering the old exploded and it was only 5 weeks old .... so i am back to downloading everything and setting up my computer ..... keep up the great job Charlie

Sunrat:The VMWare Player works fine on my Athlon2000+ system with 768MB RAM, running Kanotix2005-4 (also SuSE10.0 or WinXP). I've tried it with the Browser Appliance and several different distro VMs. For browsing there's no noticeable speed loss.As for internet connection, I'm still reading the manual on how to always get it working. The Browser Appliance connected easily, and using virtual ROM drives and sharing folders with the host OS was a cinch.

Thanks for the great feed back Sun, i been reading on it alot and now i am downloading everything again to this new hardrive and hope to try a few vms distros this weekend ...

[Dard]

Their website FAQ page does not render well in Konqueror. :thumbsdown:So I'm not sure how well their software would work.I figure that they can't get the website right, why would vmware be any better?

[cybormoron]

i've been exploring this on my xp. all the vm's seem to run ok. no problems as i recall with them. i do have 1 gig of ram tho. here's some shots; (i hope it's ok to post several screenshots)browsing for browser-appliance vmbooting ubuntuubuntu booteddebiandslfedoraopenbsdsuseyast control center in susescreensaver in suse. notice windows task manager in background. if i recall correctly this drained my resources a little.

[teacher]

CyborThat's the way to do it. Thumbnails you can click on are great.

[steel]

It brings back memories of when I ran a BBS in reno Nevada for 6 years Using OS 2 and Warp 3Mel

Mel dont ya just miss those extreme high tech days when we used to have 9 dot matrixx printers ... geoworks, and of course WordPerfect Gosh looking back now we looked so primitive compared to todays toysWOW really nice cybor and great job .... seems like we been busy at least you were having fun thats all that matters, but thanks for sharing those screen shots ... niceeeee.... Edited March 5, 2006 by steel

[Peachy]

The neat thing about VMware is the networking possibilities you can setup. In the above picture I am modelling a 3-homed firewall (WAN/DMZ/LAN) with 8 individual VMware guest operating systems pulled together into a Team. This is great for testing your firewall rule sets, penetration testing, and even network performance modelling.

[mhbell]

Mel dont ya just miss those extreme high tech days when we used to have 9 dot matrixx printers ... geoworks, and of course WordPerfect Gosh looking back now we looked so primitive compared to todays toys

Yes I miss those days. The camoderie, The Sysops and our partys, Running a BBS and even DR Dos, PC Dos, Desqview, Novell Netware. I remember making my first colored screen using ansi code. I still have a couple of old 80286, 386 and 486 computers stored and hundreds of 5 1/4 Floppys. Even some old rll drives I still have a full old version of netware with all of the manuals. I got my Novell Education Certificate at New Horizons in Salt Lake City Utah for Novell Netware Installation and Configuration. Yep I do miss those days, Things seemed simpler then and easier too.MelPS Nice pic of word perfect and NeXt Computers.

[Dard]

Cybor, thanks for the screen shots.Looks like some people are having bunches of fun!

[Dard]

So how is the vmware player working out folks, and whats this 'Browser-Appliance' thing do?I been thinking about giving it a try with pclos 9.2, just have not seen any good how to's as far as getting it going.

[burninbush]

I still have a couple of old 80286, 386 and 486 computers stored and hundreds of 5 1/4 Floppys.

I just recently got lucky at a yard sale -- there among the dreck was a nearly mint TRS-80 Model 100 portable, in a perfect black vinyl bag, even has the manual with it. I pried out the corroded old batteries, put in a new set, and it appears to work perfectly. $5, take it away, and the guy selling had no clue what it was. 23 years old now -- this item came out in 1983.

[Peachy]

What do you need to know, Dard? The installation is pretty simple; download, untar, run the Perl installation script. Make sure you have gcc and your kernel sources and headers installed.

[Dard]

Make sure you have gcc and your kernel sources and headers installed.

Did some checking, and I think I'm missing the headers.$ rpm -qa | grep kernelkernel-pclos-source-stripped-2.6-2.6.12-oci6.mdkkernel-pclos-i586-up-1GB-2.6.12.oci6.mdk-1-1tex$ ls /usr/bin/gcc*/usr/bin/gcc@ /usr/bin/gcc-3.3.1* /usr/bin/gcc3.3-version*$ cat /proc/versionLinux version 2.6.12-oci6.mdk-i586-up-1GB (root@localhost) (gcc version 3.3.1 (Mandrake Linux 9.2 3.3.1-2mdk)) #1 Thu Oct 27 15:39:01 CDT 2005$ cd /usr/src$ lsATI/ linux@ linux-2.6.12-oci6.mdk/ RPM/$ ls -latotal 0drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 160 Dec 24 22:03 ./drwxr-xr-x 13 root root 336 Mar 8 21:21 ../drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 128 Dec 24 22:03 ATI/lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 21 Dec 24 22:03 linux -> linux-2.6.12-oci6.mdk/drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 384 Dec 24 22:03 linux-2.6.12-oci6.mdk/drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 120 Dec 24 22:03 RPM/$ cd linux-2.6.12-oci6.mdk/$ ls -latotal 302drwxr-xr-x 8 root root 384 Dec 24 22:03 ./drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 160 Dec 24 22:03 ../drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 120 Dec 24 22:03 arch/-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 65502 Oct 29 2005 .config-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 18691 Jun 17 2005 COPYING-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 89398 Oct 27 2005 CREDITSdrwxr-xr-x 49 root root 4920 Dec 24 22:03 Documentation/drwxr-xr-x 4 root root 96 Dec 24 22:03 drivers/drwxr-xr-x 17 root root 448 Dec 24 22:03 include/-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 57475 Oct 27 2005 MAINTAINERS-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 44206 Oct 27 2005 Makefile-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 13970 Jun 17 2005 README-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3013 Jun 17 2005 REPORTING-BUGSdrwxr-xr-x 9 root root 1496 Dec 24 22:03 scripts/drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 136 Dec 24 22:03 usr/I'm still using the default kernel, mainly because it works and I have a hunch that getting the ATI module business working properly after I update to a later kernel version is going to be a pain.$ glxinfo | grep renderingdirect rendering: YesAnd I'm clueless about the dkms kernel business which is suppose to build the ATI module into the kernel on boot up.Other than the above, I may be lost, but I'm makin' good time. :DPS. When I die, I want to die like my grandfather, who died peacefully in his sleep. Not screaming like all the passengers in his car!

[Peachy]

Dard, I'd just try it and see what error messages you get... :DThen you can do things like run Vista in Linux! http://www.flickr.com/photos/pchee/151725845/in/photostream/

[Dard]

Then you can do things like run Vista in Linux!

Why on gods green earth would anyone want to run that rubbish? I think I can put this to better use than running windows.