

- #VMWARE FUSION VS VIRTUALBOX SOFTWARE#
- #VMWARE FUSION VS VIRTUALBOX LICENSE#
- #VMWARE FUSION VS VIRTUALBOX WINDOWS 8#

Sharing the clipboard between the host and guest operating systems for the purposes of copying and pasting is also possible if it's enabled, though it's disabled by default. VirtualBox includes a few basic features to enable communication with the host OS: the host's filesystem can be made available to the VM using VirtualBox's "shared folders" feature-add a folder from the host operating system here, and it will appear to the guest system as a networked drive. The VirtualBox Guest Additions add mouse pointer integration, rudimentary 3D support, and other features to your guest operating system.
#VMWARE FUSION VS VIRTUALBOX WINDOWS 8#
I used a 2011 iMac with OS X 10.8.2 installed, and tested 64-bit versions of both Windows 7 and Windows 8 running in VirtualBox 4.2.1. One of the only differences is that OS X virtual machines, which are still labeled as an experimental feature in the current version of the software, are officially supported only within OS X hosts, both because of Apple's licensing stipulations and because OS X won't run on all of the CPUs that Windows and Linux can use.įor this article, I have attempted to evaluate VirtualBox both on its own merits and based on the criteria we laid out in our Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion shootout. The focus of this article, as it was in our VMware and Parallels comparison, will be on running Windows 7 and Windows 8 guests on an OS X host, but VirtualBox's cross-platform nature means that many of the observations made in this article will also apply to VirtualBox running on Windows and Linux hosts. Both Parallels and VMware offer plenty of features for home and business users, but is VirtualBox an acceptable alternative for the cash-strapped?
#VMWARE FUSION VS VIRTUALBOX SOFTWARE#
Our Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion shootout took a deep dive into the two most successful commercial virtualization products for the Mac, but many of you had questions about VirtualBox, the free and open source desktop virtualization software currently offered by Oracle. iCloud for Windows 2.0: An improvement, but not much has changed.Create your own local Dropbox with AeroFS.HP's ElitePad 900 wants to bring Windows 8 to your business.Review: Free, open source VirtualBox lags behind VMware and Parallels.Take Your Kindle To Work Day? First glance at Amazon's Whispercast.You can also enable restrictions that prevent users from editing a virtual machine's configuration. Encrypted virtual machines: In other words, password-protected virtual machines can't be powered on unless you have the right credentials.Think of it like a save state in a video game: at any time later, you can "load" the snapshot and return to how it was when you took it. Snapshots: When you take a snapshot, you save the entire state of the virtual machine at that moment.

In VMware, such windows even appear in the host's taskbar. Seamless mode (VirtualBox) and Unity mode (VMware): Pull windows out of the guest and onto the host, allowing you to interact with both operating systems at the same time seamlessly.You can also copy to clipboard in one, then paste it in the other. Shared data transfer: In addition to shared folders, you can drag and drop files between host and guest.Shared folders: Though it requires a bit of setup, this feature lets you mount a folder in the host as a network share in the guest, allowing the two to share data between them.It also has 3D acceleration enabled by default. 3D Graphics Support: VMware utilizes Open GL and DirectX to provide 3D graphics support.Built-In USB Support: While VirtualBox requires additional extension packs to provide USB support, VMWare platforms provide built-in USB 2.0 and 3.0 support.(VMWare also offers the popular option for virtual machines with VMWare Fusion.)įor casual home users who just want to run old and deprecated software or test new operating systems, they're both free, so you have nothing to worry about. The catch is that you have to sign up for the occasional VMware promotional email. VMware Workstation Player is the free version of VMware Workstation Pro, meant strictly for students, non-profit organizations, and personal or home use.
#VMWARE FUSION VS VIRTUALBOX LICENSE#
The core engine that drives VirtualBox is licensed under GPLv2 and open source in the truest sense, but the "extension pack" is under Oracle's proprietary license and is only free for personal use, educational use, or evaluation purposes. While VirtualBox and VMware are both free, they aren't equally free. For this comparison, we'll be looking at Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 and VMware Workstation Player 16. In this post, we'll compare both of them and help you decide which one you should use.
