Why you need VMware
VMware is a pretty hot topic in the technology world at the moment. If you’re into technology, I’m almost certain that you have an idea what VMware does and why they’re so great. Virtualization is the wave of the future, almost like the internet was in the 90’s. VMware is a huge player in the virtualization market.
Why is VMware so great? Well mostly because a lot of their products are free.
How can I use VMware to make my life easier?
- Well you can use it to backup your computer in case of a crash.
- You can use it to create a virtual image of your old computer when you replace it with a new one just in case you happen to forget to transfer something.
- You can use it to create virtual machines to test applications, operating systems, etc.
To use VMware products to backup your workstation:
All you need to do is download the free VMware Converter. Once you have it installed simply import your physical computer and it will be converted into a virtual machine. The best part is you don’t need to reboot your computer. I use my USB hard drive to store the virtual images.
In the event of a crash you can simply walk over to another computer with your USB hard drive (that has your virtual machine) and install another free product called VMware Player. You can open your virtual machine with the VMware Player and access all of your software, data, etc.
Another way to run your virtual machine is with the VMware Server. VMware Server is very similar to VMware Workstation but it’s free and VMware Workstation is close to $200. The VMware Server acts like the VMware Player but with more options.
My favorite VMware Server feature is that you can automatically start your virtual machine when you start up the computer that has VMware Server. VMware Server starts as a service so you don’t need to login to the machine. With VMware Server you can create your own virtual machine. You can also run multiple virtual machines in the VMware Server console. If you haven’t tried it yet, it’s definitely worth the try. It’s free!
If you’re an IT person then you’ll definitely want to check out their enterprise suite which installs directly as an operating system.
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