VMware Workstation vs VirtualBox: Which is better for Virtualization? 07/04/2023 – Posted in: Virtualization – Tags: , , , ,

Time to read: 5 minutes

Virtualization technology is becoming increasingly popular among IT professionals and developers. Virtualization allows you to run multiple operating systems on a single physical computer, which can be incredibly useful for testing, development, and even production environments. Two of the most popular virtualization tools are VMware Workstation and VirtualBox. In this post, we’ll compare the two and help you decide which one is right for you.

VMware Workstation

VMware Workstation is a powerful virtualization tool that allows you to create, manage, and run virtual machines on your computer. It supports a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. VMware Workstation offers a lot of features and flexibility that make it a great choice for developers and IT professionals.

One of the biggest advantages of VMware Workstation is its ability to create and manage snapshots. Snapshots are essentially a backup of the virtual machine’s state at a particular point in time. This allows you to easily revert back to a previous state if something goes wrong with the virtual machine.

Another great feature of VMware Workstation is its ability to share virtual machines with other users. This is especially useful if you’re working on a team or collaborating with other developers. You can simply export the virtual machine to an OVF (Open Virtualization Format) file and share it with others.

VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a free and open-source virtualization tool that is popular among developers and IT professionals. It supports a wide range of operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and macOS. VirtualBox offers a lot of the same features as VMware Workstation, but it’s free and open-source, which makes it an attractive option for many users.

One of the advantages of VirtualBox is its simplicity. It’s easy to set up and use, and it doesn’t require a lot of resources. This makes it a great choice if you’re new to virtualization or if you don’t have a lot of computing power to work with.

Another advantage of VirtualBox is its support for remote desktop protocols. This allows you to connect to virtual machines from other computers, which can be useful if you need to access your virtual machines from a remote location.

Which one is right for you?

Both VMware Workstation and VirtualBox have their strengths and weaknesses. VMware Workstation is a powerful tool with a lot of features and flexibility, but it’s also expensive. VirtualBox, on the other hand, is free and open-source, but it may not offer all of the features that you need.

If you’re a developer or IT professional who needs a powerful virtualization tool with a lot of features, then VMware Workstation is probably the best choice for you. If you’re just starting out with virtualization or if you don’t have a lot of computing power to work with, then VirtualBox is a great option.

In conclusion, both VMware Workstation and VirtualBox are great tools for virtualization. The one you choose depends on your specific needs and requirements.

References

  1. VMware Workstation – https://www.vmware.com/products/workstation-pro.html
  2. VirtualBox – https://www.virtualbox.org/