With support for over 200 operating systems including Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and over 20 other versions of Windows, along with Redhat, Ubuntu, OpenSuse and 26 additional versions of Linux, VMware Workstation delivers the broadest guest platform support for running multiple operating systems at the same time on your PC.
New Features in VMware Workstation 7:
* Windows 7 — Create and run Windows 7 32-bit and 64-bit virtual machines using VMware Workstation. VMware Workstation has been enhanced for performance and to take advantage of the new Windows 7 features including Live Thumbnails and Aero Peek.
* Aero Glass — A new Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) graphics driver has been developed for Windows Vista and Windows 7 virtual machines. The WDDM driver can display the Windows Aero user interface, OpenGL 1.4, and Shader Model 3.0.
* Windows XP Mode Compatible — Import a Windows XP Mode virtual machine using VMware Workstation 7.0 and run the virtual machine without being prompted to enter a Windows XP license key. VMware Workstation
enables the Windows XP Mode virtual machine to take advantage of more
than one processor, render high-end graphics, integrate seamlessly with
Unity, and transfer files easily with drag and drop, and shared folders. VMware Workstation also has the ability to run concurrently with Windows XP Mode.
* 3D Graphics Improvements for Windows XP guests — OpenGL 2.1 and Shader Model 3.0 support is now available for Windows XP virtual machines. The XPDM (SVGAII) graphics driver works with Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. However, only Windows XP virtual machines install the XPDM graphics driver by default.
* vSphere 4.0 and ESX Support
— Install and run ESX 4.0 as a guest operating system. Running ESX as a
guest eliminates the need to have spare hardware available to run ESX
natively and enables ESX to run on systems that are not listed on the
ESX hardware compatibility list (HCL). This feature is intended for
educational and demonstration purposes only and should not be used in
production environments.
* Virtual Printing — Print from virtual machines
without mapping network printers or installing printer drivers in the
virtual machine. With virtual printing enabled in the virtual machine
setting, all of the printers installed on the host operating system are
available in the guest operating system. This functionality is enabled
through a partnership with ThinPrint, Inc.
* Four-Way SMP — Create and run virtual machines
with a total of four processor cores, which can consist of four
single-core processors, two dual-core processors, or one quad-core
processor likethe new Intel i7.
* 32GB Guest Memory — Run virtual machines with up to 32GB of memory using VMware Workstation.
* 256-bit Encryption — Secure your virtual machines with AES256-bit encryption to prevent unauthorized users from accessing or running the configuration files.
* AutoProtect —Schedule snapshots of your virtual machine to be created
at a regular interval to ensure that you always have a snapshot
available to revert to when needed.
* Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA) — ALSA significantly improves the sound of virtual machines running on a Linux host and streams the audio from each virtual machine on a separate channel so that multiple virtual machines can be heard simultaneously.
* Cross-Platform License Keys — Use the VMware Workstation 7.0 license key on both the Windows and Linux versions. Make sure you read the EULA for the terms and conditions that must be met when switching platforms.
* Pause a Virtual Machine — Free your CPU resources instantaneously without powering off or suspending the virtual machine.
* Expand Virtual Disks — Increase the size of the virtual disk from within VMware Workstation. For Windows Vista and Windows 7 guests, the disk partitions can be adjusted without the use of additional software.
* Compact Virtual Disks — Reclaim unused space from a virtual disk so that the host or another virtual machine can use it.
* Shared Folder Compatibility — Increased compatibility with many
Windows applications that previously were unable to read or write files
to shared folders.
* On-Demand VMware Tools Download — On-demand download capability provides the latest VMware Tools
for the guest operating system. This feature reduces the overall
download size of VMware products by downloading only the required set
of VMwareTools and and enables VMware to release new versions frequently.
* Drag and Drop Enhancements — Drag and drop enhancements include support for new file types including images and formatted text and extend the existing ability to drag and drop files to a broader set of guest and host operating systems.
* Virtual Network Editor — User interface enhancements have simplified creating and configuring virtual networks.
* Fuse Mount for Linux — Use Fuse to mount .vmdk disks on to the file system of Linux hosts.
* Simplified Collection of Support Information — Gather detailed information about multiple virtual machines and the host machine at the same time. The information is packaged in a compressed file so that you can email it to VMware support or post it on the VMware Workstation forums.
* IPv6 Support — Create a bridged connection to an IPv6 network on VMware Workstation virtual machines.
