[NTLUG:Discuss] Difference between VMPlayer and the new free VMWareServer

[Pat Regan]

Burton Strauss wrote:
> --VMWare server ... (free as of Monday) Successor to GSX.  Runs on SERVER
> OSes (Windows Server, Linux).  Can create VMs but does NOT have the snapshot
> capabilities a developer needs.  Designed to be used for PRODUCTION use of
> VMs so it has remote control consoles, etc.
> 

I just downloaded the beta of VMWare Server yesterday.  Snapshotting
seems to be enabled (it isn't greyed out, but I didn't actually try it).
 I am assuming it works.  I also noticed yesterday that support for VMs
with 2 processors is supported as well.

One of the other very nice features of the Server product is that you
can run VMs without running the GUI, and they can be set to start up and
shut down when the host system reboots.  I assume it is also still true
that the networking is faster in the Server products.

Is it true that they don't let you run VMWare server on MS workstation
OSes?  I saw that they only list server OSes on the data sheet, but that
is very disappointing if it fails to run.  It is a very artificial
limitation.

> --VMWare Workstation ... (not free) Runs on USER OSes (says it won't run on
> Windows Server, but it does).  Has the ability to jump forward and backwards
> in time via snapshots, also teams of VMs (say you need to treat the app
> server and dbms server VMs as a group).
> 

Does VMWare Server suffer from the same problem as Workstation (claiming
to not run, but it does)?  Anybody with a Windows desktop care to test
it? :)

Pat