The best virtual machine software Virtuality was once a feature of mainframes, and even smartphones can now do that. Being able to segment the computer into different virtual versions has many advantages, especially with regard to isolating experimental code from other critical processes. By using this combination of hardware and software, a system can allocate its resources more efficiently and divide the functions of the Internet from those with internal access to a network. For IT professionals and software developers, virtuality is an important part of their IT business, and choosing the right tools to create and manage virtual installations is important. Here's our pick of software best suited for those trying to keep things real, virtually.
1. Parallels Desktop 14
Best virtual Apple Mac. Affordable macOS integration Much better than Boot Camp Mac host only Boot Camp is a free tool from Apple to run a virtual session on macOS, but those who must do it regularly use Parallels, which is now owned by Corel software . It allows them to run Windows seamlessly with their native operating system, in difficult times when they need software that only runs on that platform. Some of the nice things Parallels can do is make Windows alerts appear in the Mac's Notification Center and run a unified clipboard. Most Mac users consider Parallels to be a Windows-only tool, but it can be used to host a wide range of Linux distributions, Chrome OS, and even other (older) versions of Mac OS. The lowest line costs €79.99 for the basic edition. Above, a Pro Edition can handle more memory and support development environments like Microsoft Visual Studio. And an Enterprise Edition that includes centralized licensing tools for IT professionals.
2. Oracle VM Virtualbox
All good things don't cost money. free Windows, Mac and Linux 100,000 registered users Not sure which operating systems you're likely to use? So Oracle VM VirtualBox is a good choice because it supports a wide variety of host/client combinations. Windows from XP, any level of Linux 2.4 or higher, Windows NT, Server 2003, Solaris, OpenSolaris and even OpenBSD Unix. There are even people who nostalgically run Windows 3.x or even IBM OS/2 on their modern systems, It also runs on Apple Mac and for Apple users it can host a VM VM client session. Oracle was kind enough to support VirtualBox and provide a wide selection of predefined development virtual machines to download and use for free. And all this is free. Even the Enterprise version.
VMware Fusion and workstation
3. VMware Fusion and workstation
20 years of development shine through Free for personal use Supports GPU virtualization Windows, Mac, and Linux VMware offers a wide selection of virtualization products, including Fusion 10 for Apple Mac and Workstation 14 for PC. Despite the difference in name, these two products really offer the same solution, although they are tailored for each host operating system. For Mac, there is a "Drive Mode" that allows Mac OS to launch Windows applications from the Dock and display them as part of the host operating system. As the version numbering suggests, Workstation is a more mature product and offers one of the most sophisticated VM implementations ever seen. Being one of the few hosts that support DirectX 10 and OpenGL 3.3, it allows CAD applications and other GPU-accelerated applications to run under virtualization. Workstation Player for Windows or Linux is free for personal use, although Pro is required for business users and those who want to run restricted virtual machines created with the help of Pro or Fusion Pro. Fusion for Mac is a free trial version, with the purchase of €79.99 (€60.75).
4.QEMU
A virtual hardware emulator. free Easy to use Linux only The QEMU website is not very sophisticated, but don't be discouraged. This product differs slightly from other VM solutions in that it is both a virtual machine host and a machine emulator. Besides PC x86, QEMU can emulate PowerPC, MIPS64, ARM, SPARC (32 and 64), MicroBlaze, ETRAX CRIS, SH4, and RISC-V, among others. It manages to do this without administrator privileges, and the performance of virtual machines running on it is similar to native installations. What is missing from QEMU are fancy interface tools that rely more on CLI inputs to install and configure VM clients. Currently, it can only be hosted on Linux, although it can run a wide range of operating systems.
5. Red Hat virtualization
Virtualization for business users. Powerful Bare Metal Options Already on Enterprise Server The support model is expensive. Before anyone writes harsh words, virtualization is inherent in all major Linux distributions and not just the code that comes with a Red Hat distribution. However, Red Hat has enhanced KVM with some very useful features that Red Hat Enterprise Linux users should be aware of. Red Hat has two versions. A basic template included in Enterprise Linux that can include four separate virtual machines on a single host and a more sophisticated edition of Red Hat Virtualization. Red Hat virtualization does not require a host operating system, can be deployed in non-OS installations, and can spawn as many isolated virtual machines as needed. With the potential for hundreds of virtual machines, it also has sophisticated management tools that allow a supervisor to easily virtualize resources, processes, and applications. Red Hat Enterprise Linux server costs €349 (€265), and the cost of virtualization depends entirely on the support plan you need.
6. Microsoft Hyper-V
Microsoft Basic Hypervisor On Windows 10 and Windows Server free Setup is clunky Linux support is limited Initially called Viridian, then Windows Server Virtualization, it was renamed Hyper-V Server when it was first released in late 2008. Today , this is part of Windows 10 Pro and Windows Server (2012 and 2016) at no additional cost to the user. However, what you get for nothing is a very basic hypervisor that can't do the smart stuff that VMware offers. The guest operating system supports Windows Server, Windows XP SP3 or later, Linux with kernel 3.4 or higher, and FreeBSD. Linux driver support isn't great though, and there's no support for virtual GPUs. Hyper-V allows relatively inexperienced users to create a virtual server environment, but don't expect miracles.
7. Citrix XenServer
A highly scalable solution from Citrix Free (if you like the foundation) Bare metal installations Weak memory management Limited third-party OS support Oddly enough, Citrix XenServer started life as an open source project and, to this day, it remains free to download and install. Or rather, the basic version is free, but the advanced features are limited to the paid versions. Paying customers have sophisticated management tools, as well as the ability to automate and distribute live environments at will. It also has GPU virtualization and GPU gateway capabilities, allowing it to, for example, deliver virtualized CAD. The other goal of XenServer is to create virtual data centers that can handle planned and unplanned outages seamlessly, while maintaining the high levels of availability that companies expect. A standard perpetual license costs €763 (€579,60) for a single processor socket with one year of support, and the Enterprise version at €2,288 (€1,738) with the same maintenance period.
Image Credit: Project Xen (Image: © Project Xen)