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<BIG><BIG><STRONG><FONT COLOR="maroon">Is vmWare good for Linux users?</FONT></STRONG></BIG></BIG>
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<STRONG>By <A HREF="../authors/ward.html">Alan Ward</A></STRONG>
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<p align=center><i>The pros and cons of vmWare for the Linux enthusiast.</i></p>
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<p>vmWare is a virtual machine. That is to say, it emulates an Intel-based PC in
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much the same way there are emulators for Motorola-based machines out there. Though
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the fact that it is emulating an Intel-based platform while running on ... an Intel-
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based platform (!) means that vmWare can in fact pass many instructions straight to
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the CPU for execution with no intermediate translation, thus speeding up the process
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somewhat. This is a bit different from a Java virtual machine, for instance, where
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the emulator gets to translate Java byte-codes to Intel instructions before getting
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them executed.</p>
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<p>Yes, it is a commercial program; i.e. you <EM>should</EM> pay for it, though you do get to
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evaluate for free. Now, before going into the details, allow me to state my position
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on commercial programs: I am not against commercial programs. I have used several
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commercial programs that were in fact pretty good, and well worth the money invested.
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However, I do prefer open-source software, not for the ecomical aspect but because that
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if - or rather when - something goes wrong or is not quite what I need, I
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can fix it myself instead of depending on a corporation to do it at their leasure.
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I have nothing against vmWare, on the contrary ... but for the above reason I would
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much prefer to be reviewing an open source version of the same type of program.</p>
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<p><b>Why use vmWare?</b></p>
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<p>1/. One good reason to use it is when you really must. For example, I use a laptop
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at work that is shared between several people (not yet Linux users), and that
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for mainly administrative reasons:</p>
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<ul><li>must run Windows 2000</li>
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<li>cannot be repartitioned as a dual-boot</li></ul>
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<p>On the other hand, I teach a course on web site creation and administration with
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Apache and PHP, for which it is expedient to use a laptop running Linux and
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X Windows.</p>
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<p>2/. vmWare sets up a virtual machine that you can configure according to your needs -
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not according to the real hardware on your computer. For example, it sets up by
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default a 4 GByte file on the hard drive to emulate the drive on the virtual machine.
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To the virtual machine, this file looks like a SCSI drive, when it is in fact just
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a file on the IDE drive. Also by default, it uses an IDE CD drive just like ... an IDE
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CD drive. Though you can tell it to use it as a SCSI drive, or set up an ISO CD-ROM
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image as a drive with the CD inside it (e.g. for installation). You get to use hardware
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you don't actually have, such as tape drives. Good for experimentation.</p>
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<p align=center><img src="misc/ward/screen0.jpg"></p>
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<p>3/. You can also have several virtual machines running at the same time, and set up a
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local network on your computer with different operating systems. This is good either to </p>
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<ul><li>try out a new OS without repartitionning (wiping it back out is just a click away :-)</li>
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<li>see how the new OS integrates your existing network before having to format a
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(sometimes unavaiblable) computer</li>
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<li>show people how multiple OS integrate with a single LCD projector</li></ul>
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<p align=center><img src="misc/ward/screen3.jpg"></p>
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<p>4/. If you really need a program that does not run on the main operating system,
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you get it in a window.</p>
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<p>Rather interestingly, this used to be a problem for Linux users that needed
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programs available only under Windows (usually commercial). Word processors and
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spreadsheets were a bit of a problem before StarOffice and OpenOffice became
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commonplace. Right now, I find I often have this problem in reverse: I get interesting
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programs for Linux that are available only with difficulties for Windows, or not any
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recent versions. Some examples are mathematical plotting tools such as gnuplot and scilab,
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or just user programs I prefer like Evolution.</p>
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<p><b>Why not use vmWare?</b></p>
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<p>1/. Speed. After all, we are sharing a single CPU between two or more operating
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systems. Though this problem is mitigated if we run user-land programs on just one
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system at a time. By the way, it would be nice on a SMP system to have vmWare dedicate
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one CPU to each virtual machine ... though probably impossible to have without
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redesigning the host operating system's kernel completely.</p>
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<p>2/. Speed once again. You do need plenty of physical RAM to run at a reasonable
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speed. Try to have at least 128 MByte per operating system, or be prepared for intensive
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swapping. This may be a problem on a laptop, either way (remember that a laptop's hard disk
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is not built for intensive use). Try not to use the virtual machines' swap systems.</p>
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<p>3/. Speed, third time 'round. All peripherics (drives, network cards) are shared
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between virtual machines. For example, on a machine with two virtual machines running
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and with much luck, each system gets a fair share (one third - remember the host
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system!) of the bandwidth. Actual results can be much lower, depending mainly on the
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host operating system's design and efficiency.</p>
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<p><b>Installing vmWare</b></p>
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<p>Using vmWare is rather easy. I got to install only the Windows version (because of
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bandwith problems for downloading), and as noted above it is the version I needed the most.
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However, it may make more sense to use the more stable OS as host; i.e. run Windows
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in a virtual machine on a Linux host computer instead of the opposite as I was forced
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to do.</p>
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<p>Installing Linux in a virtual machine is as easy as:</p>
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<ul><li>creating a new virtual machine with the desired characteristics</li>
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<li>inserting the Linux bootable CD in the drive (or you could set up it's ISO
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image as a virtual CD drive)</li>
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<li>powering up the virtual machine</li></ul>
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<p>I installed both SuSE 8.1 and Mandrake 8.2 with no problems in this way,
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though the virtual machine insisted on an IDE CD drive for booting. I was able
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to switch to a SCSI drive once the system was installed, though.</p>
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<p align=center><img src="misc/ward/screen2.jpg"></p>
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<p>The virtual machine has access to the network through a proprietary vmWare
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bridging protocol - but only if your network card has been enabled on the host system.
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It can either use a static IP address or get a dynamic address from your
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network DHCP server.</p>
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<p>You can then connect to a server running on the virtual machine from the
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virtual machine itself, from other computers on your network, or even from
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the host computer through the virtual machine's external network address.</p>
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<p>Note that vmWare assigns to both the host system and virtual machines addresses
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on subnetworks 192.168.19.0/24 and 192.168.199.0/24 for its bridging protocol -
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you cannot use these for your connections.</p>
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<p align=center><img src="misc/ward/screen4.jpg"></p>
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<p>There may be more straightforward ways of passing files from one system to
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another, but the easiest I found was to set up a Samba server on the virtual
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Linux machine. It works well enough, and is logically faster than a 100 Mbaud
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link, but may not be a good idea in a production environment.</p>
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<p align=center><img src="misc/ward/screen5.jpg"></p>
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<p>The end result of all this is that I find vmWare a fascinating concept - with
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its drawbacks, true enough. It can be useful in a development environment, either
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for programming or for systems administration. But it should be avoided for
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production: if you really need two operating systems, you may be better off buying
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two computers!</p>
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<p>PS. Should anybody want to translate this article: I wrote it in
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the spirit of the GPL software licence. i.e. you are free (and
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indeed encouraged) to copy, post and translate it -- but please,
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PLEASE, send me notice by email! I like to keep track of translations --
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it's good for the curriculum :-)</p>
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<P>
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<P>
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<P>
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<img ALIGN="LEFT" ALT="[BIO]" SRC="../gx/2002/note.png">
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<em>
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Alan teaches CS in Andorra at high-school and university levels. His hobbies
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include science photography (both digital and traditional), trekking, rock and
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processor collecting.
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</em>
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<!-- *** BEGIN copyright *** -->
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<hr>
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<CENTER><SMALL><STRONG>
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Copyright © 2003, Alan Ward.
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Copying license <A HREF="../copying.html">http://www.linuxgazette.com/copying.html</A><BR>
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Published in Issue 86 of <i>Linux Gazette</i>, January 2003
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</STRONG></SMALL></CENTER>
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