Articles about Virtualization

After getting the new 2013 Apple MacBook Air I looked into how I could get it to run Windows 8.1 seamlessly, as my aging HP laptop does. While my needs for using Windows software have decreased dramatically, I do still need a couple of applications every now and then, that either are not available for OS X or do not work as well as I would like them to on Apple's operating system. My first thought was to use Boot Camp, which allows to run Windows 8.1 natively on the MacBook Air, and other Macs.

My experience with Boot Camp has been far from ideal, as some features that I have grown to love in OS X, like the touchpad and the efficient power management, do not work as well under Windows 8.1. This is to be expected because Microsoft did not design its new operating system to run on Macs, but rather PCs, and the drivers provided by Apple are, also, far from perfect. No matter what is to blame, users wanting to run Windows 8.1 will find a way to do it, despite the shortcomings. After my Boot Camp experiment, I decided to try Parallels, one of the best known virtualization software for Macs, to test how well Windows 8.1 can run next to OS X, in a virtual machine.

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Last week my colleague Mihaita Bamburic explained how to install the freshly released Windows 8.1 in VMware Player and Workstation, and I wanted to follow that up by showing how to set up the new OS in my personal favorite virtualization software -- Oracle VirtualBox.

There are many reasons why you may want to try out Windows 8.1 before committing to it as your primary operating system -- if you used Windows 8 and hated it, you may want to see exactly how much better the updated release is. If you’re thinking of upgrading from an old OS but aren’t sure about the Modern UI, this a good way of trying it out first.

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Microsoft has officially released Windows 8.1 to consumers, following the operating system's availability on MSDN and TechNet. The new version addresses many of the issues that plague Windows 8, and adds a number of new features that, among others, make it easier to use the Desktop and relegate the Modern UI. PC users should definitely be happier with Windows 8.1.

If you want to try Windows 8.1 before installing it on your primary devices, your best option is to use a virtual environment. VMware offers two of the most popular dedicated applications, and in this article I will show you how to leverage VMware Player and VMware Workstation to install Microsoft's latest consumer operating system for testing on a virtual machine.

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One of the biggest problems I have with all those fancy iPad rollouts in corporate America is that they are merely patching a larger problem instead of solving it. Let's face it, nearly 60 percent of tablet buyers currently are not replacing their primary mobile devices -- they're merely supplementing them. Less than 9 percent truly see themselves replacing their laptops with tablets. If tablets are the future of mobile computing, there is a serious problem with their perception by non-consumption driven buyers.

When one of my customers approached us about helping them migrate an aging, near-crippled fleet of netbooks into modern tablets, I knew there had to be a better way than the "iPad standard". We initially toyed with the idea of getting tablets to use in conjunction with GoToMyPC or LogMeIn, but the recurring costs on such an approach started to balloon. Plus, a workforce that lives and dies by the full Microsoft Office suite would never adjust to a touch-only future.

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VMware today announces VMware Workstation 10 ($249, $119 upgrade), the latest release of its virtualization software, as well asVMware Fusion 6.0 and VMware Player 6.0.

If you’re thinking that a virtual machine is probably the best way to trial the upcoming Windows 8.1, then VMware Workstation 10 comes ready to help. The regular Easy Install feature has been updated to recognize Windows 8.1, as well as the latest Linux distributions, automating the installation process. And physical Windows 8.1 systems can now be converted into virtual machines in a few clicks.

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Microsoft just released the long-awaited Windows 8.1 Preview, allowing early adopters to get a taste of what is coming in the final version of the new operating system. The changes are significant and will unquestionably tempt users to give the early build a go. But, because this is not ready for prime time, there is only one way to experience it without getting into trouble -- install the Windows 8.1 Preview in a virtual machine.

A virtual machine allows for a safe testing environment and will spare you of any potential issues in dealing with an early build. There are a couple of virtualization programs available, with two of the most competent and popular options being VMware's Player and Workstation.

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Shortly after Windows 8.1 Preview was announced at this year's Build conference, Microsoft made it available to install through the Windows Store. The ISO files took a while to appear (MSDN subscribers got to download them first, followed by anyone with access to BitTorrent) but they are finally available to download officially from here.

Because Windows 8.1 is a preview version, and far from the finished article, you may not want to upgrade your existing operating system just yet. Fortunately, you can try the Windows 8 refresh without risk by installing it in a virtualized environment using the free Oracle VM VirtualBox.

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Windows Azure undergoes constant improvements as Microsoft continues to beef up the cloud platform with new features and enhancements. The software giant has released SDK 2.0 for .NET (Software Development Kit), introduced Hadoop, Dropbox and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) support, new VM (Virtual Machine) configurations and adopted a new pricing strategy, all within the past couple of months.

And, late-yesterday, Microsoft revealed a new update for Windows Azure, designed to enhance its development and testing credentials. There are two noteworthy changes aimed at minimizing cost: users are now billed by the minute when using the cloud platform's resources (instead of by the hour, prior to the update) and they are no longer charged for stopped VMs (the deployment state and configuration are both preserved).

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Some of Microsoft's greatest battles aren't being fought in the open, contentious field of constant public opinion and media coverage. If there's one thing Microsoft has always done better than the competition, it's blowing open new areas of opportunity and running with the ball on the sly. Apple and Samsung can keep their tactical flags limited to consumer electronics; Microsoft has far greater potential as a rising star in the cloud arena. The war started with its drive to push email to the cloud with Office 365, and the next leg of battle sits in the helm of Windows Azure and XaaS dominance.

If you're under the impression that we are not yet in the era of massive, prevalent 'big data', you're wildly mistaken. Our data needs are already climbing to astronomical levels, with IBM stating that 90 percent of the data in existence today was created in just the last two years. Not surprisingly, much of these growing data needs are being tossed into virtual environments whether it be on-premise in a VMWare or Hyper-V driven route, or my personal favorite: cloud-hosted virtual machines.

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Microsoft has announced the general availability of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) support for Windows Azure. The software giant also unveiled a couple of new features for IaaS meant to beef up the company's cloud platform. Timing is interesting --Amazon's AWS (Amazon Web Services) Summit kicks off in New York tomorrow.

Windows Azure's IaaS support introduces the Virtual Machine and Virtual Network features, and "is now live in production, backed by an enterprise SLA, supported by Microsoft Support, and is ready to use for production apps", according to Microsoft's Scott Guthrie.

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Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.2.12, a maintenance update for its cross-platform, open-source virtualisation tool. A large number of fixes and updates have been applied, including dynamic support for multi-monitor setups via the Windows Additions.

There are also a notable number of GUI fixes concentrating on improving multi-screen support, including one that stops a crash when changing visual mode, and another that ensures OS X hosts display the correct menu bar in each machine window.

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Second in a series. Out of fairness, I follow up my long analysis "The enterprise will never embrace Apple" with some advice for the company. There's room in the enterprise if only Apple made more effect. None of these suggestions is outside the reach of CEO Tim Cook and the core leadership.

Perhaps Apple stays out of the enterprise game because the top brass knows that they have little expertise in the general directions that big business is heading. Their lack of desire (or capability) for true Active Directory integration, for example, is already public knowledge. When it comes to virtualization and the move to virtual desktops, Apple has no public strategy for allowing (or supporting) such an infrastructure on OS X devices, at least first party. To put it plainly, Apple's overall game plan for cozying up to the wants of enterprise is nearly nonexistent.

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New versions of Windows do not come out often, so when Windows Blue leaked onto the Interwebs during the weekend -- as an early preview build -- it grabbed our immediate attention. There are new and updated apps, new features and a slightly tweaked user interface among the most noticeable changes, some of which my colleague Alan Buckingham has already gone through. But how can you taste the goodies by yourself?

Surely, looking at a slideshow is simply not good enough. As a result, you have two options. First, you can dual-boot Windows Blue alongside your operating system of choice (or install it as the sole option). Second, you can spare yourself any potential issues and headaches in dealing with an early preview build and install Windows Blue on VMware Player or VMware Workstation -- two of the most popular software virtualization products.

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Oracle has released VirtualBox 4.2.8, a maintenance update for its open-source, cross-platform virtualisation tool that should improve stability and fix various regressions. Notable changes include a fix that caused guests to crash when using a huge amount of guest RAM on machines with Intel Virtualisation (VT-x) technology.

Aside from bug fixes, there is one minor performance tweak of note, which sees the time for merging snapshots reduced under certain conditions. Users can now also change VRDE settings for saved VMs under Settings.

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On Tuesday, even with all the CES 2013 madness, Microsoft introduced a host of new features addressed to the company's Windows Azure SDK for .NET. The latest version of the software development kit focuses on expanding support in roles, increasing productivity, making new tools available and delivering new and updated libraries.

The revised Windows Azure SDK for .NET allows users to run cloud service applications in Windows Server 2012, and provides access to more features in IIS 8 (Internet Information Services) and .NET 4.5 when the server operating system is selected. The updated software development kit also introduces support for Visual Studio tools, delivering improved tooling for Cache and Server Explorer for Storage and Service Bus, diminished context switching to portal as well as support for up to 25 management certificates per subscription.

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