When it came to Virtual Machines, VMware used to be the name of the game. But that may now change. Microsoft Virtualization may be the new way to go, as Microsoft has been working hard lately on new and improved technologies. But at the same time, VMware has what Microsoft doesn’t in the Virtual Machine world: Experience.
Virtual Machines are software applications that allow users to run a separate Operating System inside. For instance, if you were running Windows Vista, and wanted to run XP instead, you would run the Virtual Machine Software (VMWare, VirtualBox, Microsoft Virtualization), and then run a whole new OS from inside the Virtual Machine.
This can be useful on many levels. For one, if you wanted to run Linux from a Windows computer, or vice versa, you can do so without rebooting, dual booting, etc. On a larger scale, hosting companies can host multiple sites on one machine through mass virtualization. All it requires is that each Virtual Machine has its own IP Address. Also, big companies with networks can host or “house” multiple machines on one machine, and each computer that employees use are based off that “house”, helping centralize the network. This is called a hypervisor.
Microsoft argues that it is cheaper, has superior hypervisor features, and has flawless migration. On the other end, VMware argues that it has a cheaper disk footprint (size of program and files), is independent of OS’s (windows), and has drivers that are optimized with hardware vendors.
The floor is open. Who do you think has the best Virtual Machine? Or is there another competitor that you like?
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