Ever have the need to support more than one web browser version, specifically IE versions, or different version of Windows for end users? Many years ago this required multiple computers. Then came virtualization, basically the ability to run a virtual computer inside of your running operating system just like you would run Microsoft Word or Mozilla Firefox. It offers great flexibility for support people, e.g. website developers and help desk personnel.
There are quite a few virtualization solutions out there, both paid for and free. One of the leaders is VMware, which has a slew of solutions, ranging from the desktop based VMware Workstation to vSphere for data center solutions. They also offer a couple of free products, ESXi and VMware Server. ESXi is a product that is installed on a server and used strictly for running virtual machines. You install the product as you would an OS, from a CD, and manage the server from a remote workstation. VMware Server on the other hand can be installed on your currently installed Windows or Linux OS and essentially can be used as a free replacement of VMware Workstation. It is managed through a web based interface and is missing some of the enhancements of VMware Workstation, but it works very well.
Another product that is making headlines recently is a called Virtualbox. It is a direct competitor with the VMware Workstation product and can be installed on Linux, OS X or Windows computers. It included the ability to use VMware VMs or to convert VMware VMs to a native Virtualbox format. It is also free and could possibly be easier to manage and run VMs more quickly than VMware Server, depending on your needs and how you use it. I’ve been using it more frequently and have found it to be a very adequate replacement for the VMware Workstation and Server products that I run on my laptop. There are other solutions as well, but for this article, I’m sticking with VMware and Virtualbox.
In the end, your mileage will vary, depending on your use of the solution. Regardless, it will most certainly reduce the hardware required run multiple servers and workstations on your network. It will also give you the ability to test different operating systems without have to install them directly on your computer. You will be limited on how many you can have running at one time due to RAM limitations, but you can have as many virtual machines installed on your computer as your hard drive storage will allow. There are countless VMs available for download. Some perform very specific functions, like spam filtering while many are just basic installations of free operating systems like Ubuntu, openSUSE and CentOS.
Using VMs to optimize your workplace and work habits could help you in the long run. Give some of them a try and see how they work for you. You may even have some fun testing a new OS or two.