Hosted virtualisation suites: a group test
Published: 22 Jun 2009
Installation
VMware Workstation
Installation for VMware Workstation is straightforward. After downloading the product from its product page, it was a simple case of installing the packages needed in Ubuntu, executing the downloaded software bundle and following the prompts. The bundle is an easier alternative to converting the rpm file for non-rpm-based distributions such as Ubuntu.
The hardest part of this install was having to sign up to the VMware site and receive a trial key, which is a sign of the ease of installation for this mature product.
It's simple to get Windows XP running under VMware Workstation with the unattended install process.
VirtualBox
Two options exist to get VirtualBox onto a Linux system: via the distribution's package manager or via the VirtualBox site itself.
Based on previous experience with a Gentoo box, the VirtualBox OSE package can be more hassle than it's worth. The pre-packaged version available from the VirtualBox site worked liked a charm. Simply download the appropriate file, click to install it and you will have VirtualBox up and running in no time.
The speed of the pre-packed VirtualBox installation is hard to beat.
Parallels Workstation
Parallels' traditional strength has been on the OS X operating system, and one would truly hope so after the drama needed to get Parallels working properly on Ubuntu. It's easy enough to acquire a copy of Parallels and the necessary trial key from its product page, but careful reading of said page should flash some warning lights.
For instance, the site says 'New! Parallels Workstation now installs on new Linux kernel (2.6.23)' — a kernel that has its origins in 2007 and has since been superseded by six stable releases.
Also 'new' to Parallels Workstation, according to its product page, is support for Ubuntu 7.10 and Fedora 8 — yet again, the state-of-the-art Linux circa late 2007.
The real pain with installing Parallels came after installing the deb archive off the site and finding it impossible to complete the 'parallels-config' command. This was because we used the latest Ubuntu distribution. Thanks to the instructions available here we were able to complete the installation, but this process easily made Parallels Workstation the hardest product to get up and running.
Parallels proved the hardest hypervisor to get up and running under Ubuntu.
KVM
KVM's installation is handled by Ubuntu's apt package management system, however unlike Wine (below), there are a number of other steps needed to complete the installation. Some of the steps require editing of XML files, but the instructions are straightforward and should not create any difficulty.
It's also recommended that you install a graphical tool for KVM, to make virtual machines much easier to manage.
In typical *nix fashion, the Virtual Machine Manager shown here does not come bundled with KVM.
Wine
Wine installation is also handled by Ubuntu's apt package management system. An apt-get install wine is all that is needed to install it, followed by running the winecfg command. Once these two commands are completed, you're ready to roll.
Wine integrates fully with the Ubuntu environment.
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