VMware Player
Encyclopedia
VMware Player is a freeware virtualization software package from VMware, Inc.
(a company which was formerly a division of and whose majority shareholder remains EMC Corporation
). VMware Player can run virtual appliance
s. VMware Player can also create virtual machine
s since version 3.0. It uses the same virtualization core as VMware Workstation, a similar program with more features, and not free of charge. VMware Player is available for personal non-commercial use, or for distribution or other use by written agreement.
under Windows Vista or Windows 7 than Microsoft's Windows XP Mode running on Windows Virtual PC
, which is free of charge for all purposes.
Versions earlier than 3 of VMware Player were unable to create virtual machines, requiring the user to download pre-created virtual appliances or create machines for use in Player with the full VMware Workstation
, or manually create and edit the plain text ".vmx" file that defines a virtual machine. From version 3.0.0 this limitation no longer applies: users can create virtual machines in the GUI. The features of Workstation not available in Player are now "developer-centric features such as Teams, multiple Snapshots and Clones, and Virtual Rights Management features for end-point security". Player allows a complete virtual machine to be copied at any time by copying a directory
; while not a fully featured snapshot facility, this does allow a copy of a machine in a particular state to be stored, and reverted to later if desired, e.g. after a demonstration or a virus infection test.
VMware Player is also supplied with the VMware Workstation distribution, for use in installations where not all client users are licensed to use the full VMware Workstation. An IT administrator can create a virtual machine using Workstation, then deploy it to unlicensed computers using Player without paying for an additional VMware license.
-based "browser appliance" with the Firefox browser installed which can be used for safe Web browsing; if infected or damaged it can be discarded and replaced by a clean copy. The appliance can be configured to automatically reset itself after each use so personal information is not stored. VMs distributed legally only have freely distributable operating system
, as operating systems on VMs must be licensed; ready-to-use Microsoft Windows VMs, in particular, are not distributed, except for evaluation versions.
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
(a company which was formerly a division of and whose majority shareholder remains EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation
EMC Corporation , a Financial Times Global 500, Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company, develops, delivers and supports information infrastructure and virtual infrastructure hardware, software, and services. EMC is headquartered in Hopkinton, Massachusetts, USA.Former Intel executive Richard Egan and his...
). VMware Player can run virtual appliance
Virtual appliance
A virtual appliance is a virtual machine image designed to run on a virtualization platform ....
s. VMware Player can also create virtual machine
Virtual machine
A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software...
s since version 3.0. It uses the same virtualization core as VMware Workstation, a similar program with more features, and not free of charge. VMware Player is available for personal non-commercial use, or for distribution or other use by written agreement.
Features
VMware claims the Player offers better graphics, faster performance, and tighter integration for running Windows XPWindows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
under Windows Vista or Windows 7 than Microsoft's Windows XP Mode running on Windows Virtual PC
Windows Virtual PC
Windows Virtual PC is a virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. In July 2006 Microsoft released the Windows-hosted version as a free product...
, which is free of charge for all purposes.
Versions earlier than 3 of VMware Player were unable to create virtual machines, requiring the user to download pre-created virtual appliances or create machines for use in Player with the full VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation is a virtual machine software suite for x86 and x86-64 computers from VMware, a division of EMC Corporation, which allows users to set up multiple x86 and x86-64 virtual machines and use one or more of these virtual machines simultaneously with the hosting operating system...
, or manually create and edit the plain text ".vmx" file that defines a virtual machine. From version 3.0.0 this limitation no longer applies: users can create virtual machines in the GUI. The features of Workstation not available in Player are now "developer-centric features such as Teams, multiple Snapshots and Clones, and Virtual Rights Management features for end-point security". Player allows a complete virtual machine to be copied at any time by copying a directory
Directory (file systems)
In computing, a folder, directory, catalog, or drawer, is a virtual container originally derived from an earlier Object-oriented programming concept by the same name within a digital file system, in which groups of computer files and other folders can be kept and organized.A typical file system may...
; while not a fully featured snapshot facility, this does allow a copy of a machine in a particular state to be stored, and reverted to later if desired, e.g. after a demonstration or a virus infection test.
VMware Player is also supplied with the VMware Workstation distribution, for use in installations where not all client users are licensed to use the full VMware Workstation. An IT administrator can create a virtual machine using Workstation, then deploy it to unlicensed computers using Player without paying for an additional VMware license.
Resources
Many ready-made virtual machines (VMs) which run on VMWare Player, Workstation, and other virtualization software are available for specific purposes, either for purchase or free of charge; for example a free LinuxLinux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
-based "browser appliance" with the Firefox browser installed which can be used for safe Web browsing; if infected or damaged it can be discarded and replaced by a clean copy. The appliance can be configured to automatically reset itself after each use so personal information is not stored. VMs distributed legally only have freely distributable operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
, as operating systems on VMs must be licensed; ready-to-use Microsoft Windows VMs, in particular, are not distributed, except for evaluation versions.