Re: VirtualBox versus VMWare

Clayton wrote:
What are the relative pluses and minuses of VirtualBox and VMWare in
your opinion? I use VMWare Workstation at the moment to run Windows
XP on a Linux system. What would I gain and what would I lose if I
movesd to VirtualBox? (I'd gain a bit of money at least!)

Plus points...
- there is an OpenSource Edition (OSE), so if you prefer to use only
open source apps, that option is available.
- there are precompiled binaries available direct from VirtualBox
that include more functionality
- the OSE is in the Ubuntu repositories
- the precompiled binaries install direct from DEB/RPM etc. No
fiddling like with VMWare.
- Seemless Mode is pretty cool (although also possible in VMWare)
- general setup and install of guest OSes is easier (personal opinion)
- it seems to have a smaller footprint on the system and runs faster
as a result
- and probably the biggest plus in favor of VirtualBox.... it is
easier to manage through kernel upgrades and does not need 3rd party
patches to get it installed on a system with a kernel released after
the VMWare release (like is required with Ubuntu 8.04)

Minus points
- getting USB to work takes a little fiddling - but it is well
documented, and not so hard to do
- the OSE doesn't support USB or RDP (but the full version is
available for free download from Sun)
- no equivalent to "VMWare Player"
- drag/drop from host to guest (like I can in VMWare) doesn't seem to
work (for me) but shared folders fill that gap.

Overall, I just prefer VirtualBox to VMWare. In the end, they both do
the job as intended.. virtualisation. If you don't have a license for
VMWare, then VirtualBox is the way to go... if you already have a
VMWare license... then I suppose it comes down to personal choice.

C.

Thanks Clayton. I'm seriously contemplating VirtualBox so your points
have clinched it for me.
--
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