Okay, I'm being noisy today.
I have VMWare Server 1.0.8 installed on my CentOS desktop, and it runs my XP and CentOS guests just fine, though I don't use them much.
I'm considering moving to either VMWare Server 2.0 or switching to KVM instead, mainly because VMWS 1 is now obsolete and also because its limitations on video configurations is really annoying - I have a 22" 1680x1050 LCD monitor, hoping to upgrade sometime in the not-too-distant future to a 23 or 24" display with full HD (1920x1080), but VMWS 1 does not support any wide-screen configurations at all. I tend to use on-screen real estate to maximum benefit, and the 1152x864 maximum useful size I have now is just too small for me, so I'm thinking maybe it's time to upgrade to something newer/better.
I've seen some of the horror stories about problems with VMWare 2.0, which is not at all encouraging, and I've taken a look at the Red Hat Virtualization guides (the 5.4 one that's online in html only) and also a PDF version for 5.2 that I found somewhere, and it _looks_ complicated. (One of the main benefits of VMWare Server that I really liked was that it is fairly easy to use and relatively low maintenance, if it works, and 1.0.8 works just fine, except for the screen issue.) OTOH, the built-in nature of KVM is really appealing, and if it works as well as other features of CentOS/RH/Linux, it would be nice to be able to avoid the separate upgrade and re-build-the-drivers-vmware-config.pl annoyance every time a new kernel comes along. I'm a big fan of well-integrated software, especially in this area (virtualization).
One question I had that overrides most other considerations is how to transfer my existing XP VM over to whichever new underlying system I choose - is that even possible, or do I have to go through all the reinstallation pain yet another time? If I have to go that route, I'll probably opt for kvm and take that plunge so I can do it once and never again (ok, that was not supposed to be funny... :-).
Recommendations?
Thanks, as always.
Mark Hull-Richter Expert CentOS/Linux C/shell Software Developer Registered Linux User #472807 - sign up at http://counter.li.org/
MHR wrote:
Recommendations?
What are you going to use it for? If your looking for something to act like vmware workstation, e.g. primarily for running a desktop OS on top of X11 then I would stick to vmware server 2. Or more ideally VMware workstation, it has a TON of desktop optimization thingies which may be useful if your running XP as a guest.
I use vmware server 2 on a pair of debian systems(only use CentOS at work and there I only use ESX as my hypervisor), without any issues. The system I'm on now uses vmware server 2 to run another copy of debian to use as a VPN client to my company(the vpn software screws with the routing table). No issues going to 1080p resolution(running on a 47" phillips 1080p TV). My other vmware server 2 system is running that because the hardware is too old to run anything better(circa 2004).
No problems..
nate
On Mar 29, 2010, at 10:01 PM, MHR mhullrich@gmail.com wrote:
Okay, I'm being noisy today.
I have VMWare Server 1.0.8 installed on my CentOS desktop, and it runs my XP and CentOS guests just fine, though I don't use them much.
I'm considering moving to either VMWare Server 2.0 or switching to KVM instead, mainly because VMWS 1 is now obsolete and also because its limitations on video configurations is really annoying - I have a 22" 1680x1050 LCD monitor, hoping to upgrade sometime in the not-too-distant future to a 23 or 24" display with full HD (1920x1080), but VMWS 1 does not support any wide-screen configurations at all. I tend to use on-screen real estate to maximum benefit, and the 1152x864 maximum useful size I have now is just too small for me, so I'm thinking maybe it's time to upgrade to something newer/better.
I've seen some of the horror stories about problems with VMWare 2.0, which is not at all encouraging, and I've taken a look at the Red Hat Virtualization guides (the 5.4 one that's online in html only) and also a PDF version for 5.2 that I found somewhere, and it _looks_ complicated. (One of the main benefits of VMWare Server that I really liked was that it is fairly easy to use and relatively low maintenance, if it works, and 1.0.8 works just fine, except for the screen issue.) OTOH, the built-in nature of KVM is really appealing, and if it works as well as other features of CentOS/RH/Linux, it would be nice to be able to avoid the separate upgrade and re-build-the-drivers-vmware-config.pl annoyance every time a new kernel comes along. I'm a big fan of well-integrated software, especially in this area (virtualization).
One question I had that overrides most other considerations is how to transfer my existing XP VM over to whichever new underlying system I choose - is that even possible, or do I have to go through all the reinstallation pain yet another time? If I have to go that route, I'll probably opt for kvm and take that plunge so I can do it once and never again (ok, that was not supposed to be funny... :-).
Recommendations?
For simplicity and reliability I'd give virtualbox a try, especially if your talking limited # of machines and fancy displays.
-Ross
John R Pierce wrote:
Ross Walker wrote:
For simplicity and reliability I'd give virtualbox a try, especially if your talking limited # of machines and fancy displays.
I concur. for virtualizing an OS within a desktop, virtualbox works great. its very simple to setup and use, and yet quite flexible
I also suggest using Virtualbox on desktop. You can use non-free edition, the license allows it to be used for non-server configurations. I've been using it for years and haven't seen yet better solutions for linux desktop host.
I concur. for virtualizing an OS within a desktop, virtualbox works great. its very simple to setup and use, and yet quite flexible
I also suggest using Virtualbox on desktop. You can use non-free edition, the license allows it to be used for non-server configurations.
I agree as well, and you may even be able to import your VMWare images directly into VirtualBox.
Moreover, with KVM I have already experienced the kind of screen size limitations you describe, so you won't probably be satisfied with it.
MHR wrote:
Okay, I'm being noisy today.
I have VMWare Server 1.0.8 installed on my CentOS desktop, and it runs my XP and CentOS guests just fine, though I don't use them much.
I'm considering moving to either VMWare Server 2.0 or switching to KVM instead, mainly because VMWS 1 is now obsolete and also because its limitations on video configurations is really annoying - I have a 22" 1680x1050 LCD monitor, hoping to upgrade sometime in the not-too-distant future to a 23 or 24" display with full HD (1920x1080), but VMWS 1 does not support any wide-screen configurations at all. I tend to use on-screen real estate to maximum benefit, and the 1152x864 maximum useful size I have now is just too small for me, so I'm thinking maybe it's time to upgrade to something newer/better.
If you don't use it often and mostly access it locally, consider VMware player instead of server. (You might need to install server to create new images).
If you use VM guests a lot and have access to a windows box to run the control console, load ESXi on the hardware and run everything as guests.
One question I had that overrides most other considerations is how to transfer my existing XP VM over to whichever new underlying system I choose - is that even possible, or do I have to go through all the reinstallation pain yet another time?
The images are fairly portable. Just copy the directory containing the files. Or install something else to run them. ESXi is an exception because you don't have normal access to the filesystem - but the vCenter Converter is a free download and will convert about anything to anything else (I think you need windows for that too, but it could run under an existing VM if it can see the image files for the others).
MHR writes:
Okay, I'm being noisy today.
I have VMWare Server 1.0.8 installed on my CentOS desktop, and it runs my XP and CentOS guests just fine, though I don't use them much.
[...]
VirtualBox is pretty good, but if you need USB support, it's not exactly plug&play. Even in the non-OSE version, you need to enable the device explicitly in the Devices menu before the host sees it; in the OSE edition, you may be able to use a USB device through a shared folder, but I haven't tried it. The good thing is that VirtualBox works on processors without virtualisation features. Kernel updates require rebuilding the vbox modules, which is elegantly solved (IMHO :) by integrating it into the RC script (service vbdrv setup).
I've only recently started playing with KVM and am surprised how slow it is. USB support isn't plug&play either, one needs to lsusb and specify the device by id on startip, and supported screen resolutions depend on which gfx hw is emulated. Also, it needs virtualisation support in the cpu. I would personally not recommend it for a desktop OS (i.e. to put Windows capabilities on the desktop), but it's probably fine for headless Linux servers.
I'd consider VMware player what you describe as well-integrated software, so that's another alternative. No idea about supported screen resolutions, but I found under kvm that the "-vga standard" option offered a wider range than "-vga vmware"; the latter required installation of the vmware gfx drivers that are part of vmware tools.
Moving VMs is an interesting exercise. While the image formats seems to be mostly compatible or convertable, the Windows installation is probably not. When I moved from vmware player to VirtualBox at home, I was unable to get the Windows image to work because of driver issues. Windows doesn't seem to have the nice modularisation and a given install is tied to the particular hardware it's installed on. It may be possible to work around that with some patience.
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On Tue, 2010-03-30 at 10:16 +0100, lhecking@users.sourceforge.net wrote:
Moving VMs is an interesting exercise. While the image formats seems to be mostly compatible or convertable, the Windows installation is probably not. When I moved from vmware player to VirtualBox at home, I was unable to get the Windows image to work because of driver issues. Windows doesn't seem to have the nice modularisation and a given install is tied to the particular hardware it's installed on. It may be possible to work around that with some patience.
--- It will work, you have to use the same type of ACPI Drivers as you did in VMWare Servere/Player/ESX. Now before the final shutdown and migration of the Windows virtual disk you have to go to microsofts web site and down load the the Tool that Relaxes the IDE Drive Checks. Install it to the Windows guest and then run it. After that it can be converted to VBox format.
A given install is only tied to the hardware on Windows XP and Up. Although you can migrate that license to the Vbox install :-). You can't just have two of the same instances under the same license running.
John
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