VMware Workstation 5.5 Now Available
VMware released the latest version of its VMware Workstation product on Wednesday, adding better support for 64-bit operating systems and hardware, experimental support for two-way SMP, and enhancements to the virtual machine importer and command line interface.
Virtualization is useful to software developers and testers because it allows them to mimic the setups of several different computers on a single machine. This gives users the capability to test a program across a variety of production environments.
"Our customers have indicated that features like support for 64-bit guest operating systems and multi-CPU virtual machines are very important to them as they plan their infrastructure for the future," VMware vice president Brian Byun said in a statement.
Version 5.5 debuted in beta form in September. The update brings 64-bit support for both AMD Athlon 64-based and Intel EMT64-based systems. It also offers support for Linux and Windows, and experimental support for Solaris x86 and FreeBSD, with the capability to run 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems simultaneously.
The new release will additionally feature experimental support for two-way virtual symmetric multiprocessing, or SMP. The term refers to a multiprocessor computer architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory.
VMware 5.5 also features an enhanced virtual machine importer that will have the capability to convert Symantec Live State Recovery images into virtual machines, or open them directly using VMware. An improved command line interface, meanwhile, allows easier automation of repetitive tasks.
Images can also be deployed to WMware Player, a free tool first made available in October that allows users to run virtual machines on Linux or Windows PCs.
VMware Workstation is available today from the VMstore for a price of $189 USD for an electronic download. Boxed versions will be made available for $199 USD. The company is also making a free trial of the software available from its Web site.