What is VMware? Explained in a simple and understandable way
Maybe you've been trying to play an old PC game for a while. VMware is a term you may have come across. With VMware products and an old operating system installed on them, this endeavor is no longer dependent on special patches or drivers. You can find out exactly what VMware is in this practical tip.
VMware - what is it?
VMware is an American company that develops software in the field of virtualization.
- Virtualization is a virtual machine that runs on normal computers. The virtual machines allow different instances to run in parallel at the same time.
- With these virtual machines you can also install older operating systems and test older software on current computers.
- Virtual environments, eg consisting of servers, can be easily copied like a directory by virtualization and decoupling from the normal system.
- VMware develops various software. The VMware Workstation and the VMware Player are well known.
- The software is mainly used in companies because not only is it easy to move entire server landscapes to other systems, but virtualization also makes processes in software development easier.
VMware products - what can the software do?
VMware offers a wide range of software products in the field of virtualization.
- VMware Workstation is the base product from VMware. It enables the virtualization of operating systems.
- With the VMWare Player you can play fully configured virtual machines. The software is also used frequently in the personal area.
- VMware Fusion is similar to the VMware Workstation. The product was developed for Mac computers.
- VMware Horizon is a desktop virtualization solution that can be used to virtualize entire desktop PCs.
- VMware ThinApp is an application virtualization solution that you can use to run different versions of applications on different Windows operating systems, for example.
- VMware vSphere is a collection of software used in the area of data center and server virtualization.
- The VMware Converter is a migration tool for Windows systems. The software can be used to convert a physical system into a virtual machine.
In the next practical tip, read how you can use Windows on your Mac computer with VMware Fusion.