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Ask Slashdot: Which Virtual Machine Software For a Beginner?

Posted by Soulskill on from the not-the-holodeck dept.

An anonymous reader writes "I am getting ready to start learning the use of virtual machines. What VM software would you recommend? This is for personal use. It would be good to run both Windows VMs and Linux VMs. Early use would be maintaining multiple Windows installs using only one desktop computer with plenty of cores and memory. I would be starting with a Windows host, but probably later switching to a Linux host after I learn more about it. Free is good, but reliability and ease of use are better. What is your preferred choice for a VM beginner? VMware? Xen? VirtualBox? Something else?" It may also be helpful if you can recommend particular VM software for particular uses, or provide some insight on different hosting options.

6 of 361 comments (clear)

  1. VMware is very easy by blandcramration · · Score: 5, Informative

    I honestly just used VMware for the first time today but it was very easy to use and booted up in seconds. You can add virtual drives with a click and if you are anywhere familiar with the operating system you are attempting to emulate, I'd say it's a safe bet. Maybe the community can offer a few free options for you to try out as well.

  2. VirtualBox by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    VirtualBox is the best for a beginner. User-friendly GUI, sane defaults, it Just Works.

  3. VirtualBox Certainly by mqhiller · · Score: 5, Informative

    Easy to set up (I walked my brother through it over the phone) easy to use (ditto) and fairly full featured.

  4. Virtualbox by BuypolarBear · · Score: 5, Informative

    Virtualbox is pretty reliable and includes acceleration on 64 bit systems along with an extremely simple to use GUI and easy to install guest additions that allow your display to easily scale. It's the one thing from Oracle that I actually use and recommend to others. For your requirements, it's licensed under the GPL v2 and works on Windows, Linux, and Mac.

  5. VirtualBox or VM Workstation by PraiseBob · · Score: 5, Informative

    VirtualBox is the easiest free option to get started.
    It can run inside a host OS, so you don't need a bare metal install, and don't need a web interface to use it.
    It has easy to install and operate clients in Windows and Linux (can't speak for Mac).
    It can build VM's easily. (VMWare free options cannot create VM's)

    If you are willing to spend a little money, the VMWare Workstation is more powerful and offers similar features to those above, but better resource management in general.

    1. Re:VirtualBox or VM Workstation by SilentChasm · · Score: 5, Informative

      Your knowledge of VMware is a bit out of date.

      VMware player can create virtual machines (and has for some time) and it is still free. It works well on Windows and Linux hosts.