Seen on http://www.techsupportforum.com/ - Load time results are much better on VMware 6. VPC 2007 is a hog. To me, VPC is a cheaper solution, but I ended paying more for VMware 6. VMware 6 has the ability of "snapshots". You can create snapshots of the state of the virtual machine and revert back to it at any time. Also, Vmware offers tools like Vmware converter to allow you to convert a OS like Win2003 and load it on your Vmware workstation. Vmware is way ahead of the game at the moment.
Seen On http://www.mangoorange.com - Now I'm happy to say that, I'm starting to love Ubuntu, especially their font rendering engine. Have to agree with my friend - the font rendering in Ubuntu is much better.
So, the reason why I went back to Ubuntu again, is because I found the right virtual machine software, VirtualBox, that overcome all the limitations I face previously with VirtualPC and VMWare.
The 5 main reasons why you should use VirtualBox:
- Mouse Integration - Nothing can beat the feeling of not having to search for your mouse when you switch OS and the cursor moving at different speeds.
- Share Folder - There might be third-party software out there, but this feature comes with VirtualBox. Simple installation and your Windows files are available on Linux. Nothing change except the OS.
- Super lightweight - Self-explaination. The smallest VM I ever seen.
- Free as in free beer - According to Andrew Min, VMware has free version but it's slower compared to it's professional edition. Thus, the VirtualBox takes the crown.
- Easy and Fast - It takes me less than 30 mins to download, install and setup everything.
If you are still considering switching, maybe you should give this VM a try. I felt VirtualBox has everything to overcome the limitations of having multiple OSes. (I love the Linux font rendering engine, it makes blogging much better, do give it a try)
Update: This is merely my experience and my opinion after using both VMware and VirtualBox. Nonetheless, I acknowledge the lack of technical comparison here. So feel free to give it a try and do your own comparisons. Cheers.
This comparison below is courtesy Wikipedia, where they compare basic information about platform virtual machine (VM) packages.
Name  | Creator | Host CPU | Guest CPU | Host OS(s) | Guest OS(s) | License |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bochs | Kevin Lawton | any | x86, AMD64 | Windows, Windows Mobile, Linux, IRIX, AIX, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, BeOS, Mac OS X | DOS, Windows, xBSD, Linux | LGPL |
| Containers | Sun Microsystems | x86, x86-64, SPARC (portable: not tied to hardware) | (Same as host) | Solaris 10 | Solaris (8, 9 or 10), Linux (BrandZ) | CDDL |
| Cooperative Linux | Dan Aloni helped by other developers (1) | x86[1] | (Same as parent) | Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista[1] | Linux | GPL version 2 |
| Denali | University of Washington | x86 | x86 | Denali | Ilwaco, NetBSD | ? |
| DOSBox | Peter Veenstra and Sjoerd with community help | any | x86 | Linux, Windows, Mac OS Classic, Mac OS X, BeOS, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, QNX, IRIX, MorphOS, AmigaOS | Internally emulated DOS shell. Classic PC booter games and unofficially, Windows 1.0 to 3.11 | GPL |
| DOSEMU | Community Project | x86, AMD64 | x86 | Linux | DOS | GPL version 2 |
| FreeVPS | PSoft | x86, AMD64 | compatible | Linux | Various Linux distributions | GPL version 2 |
| GXemul | Anders Gavare | any | ARM, MIPS, M88K, PowerPC, SuperH | Unix-like | NetBSD, OpenBSD, Linux, Ultrix, Sprite | BSD |
| Hercules | Jay Maynard | any | z/Architecture | Unix-like | Linux on zSeries, z/OS, z/VM, z/VSE, OS/360, DOS/360, DOS/VS, MVS, VM/370, TSS/370. | QPL |
| Hyper-V | Microsoft | x64 + hardware-assisted virtualization (Intel VT or AMD-V) | x64,x86 | Windows 2008 w/Hyper-V Role | Supported Drivers for Windows 2000, Windows 2003, Windows 2008, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Linux (SUSE 10 Released, More Announced)) | Proprietary (free of charge with Windows Server 2008) |
| iCore Virtual Accounts | iCore Software | x86 | x86 | Windows XP | Windows XP | Proprietary |
| Integrity Virtual Machines | Hewlett-Packard | IA-64 | IA-64 | HP-UX | HP-UX, Windows, Linux (OpenVMS announced) | Proprietary |
| JPC (Virtual Machine) | Oxford University | Any running the Java Virtual Machine | x86 | Java Virtual Machine | DOS | GPL version 2 |
| KVM | Qumranet [1] | Intel/AMD processor with X86 virtualization,IA64,s390,PowerPC | same as platform | Linux | Linux, Windows, FreeBSD, Solaris | GPL version 2 |
| LinuxOnLinux | Gelato@UNSW | Itanium | compatible | Linux | Linux | GPL |
| Linux- VServer | Community Project | x86, AMD64, IA-64, Alpha, PowerPC/64, PA-RISC/64, SPARC/64, ARM, S/390, SH/66, MIPS | compatible | Linux | Various Linux distributions | GPL version 2 |
| Logical Domains | Sun Microsystems | UltraSPARC T1, UltraSPARC T2 | compatible | Solaris 10 | Solaris, Linux, and FreeBSD | ? |
| LynxSecure | LynuxWorks | x86, Intel VT-x, Intel VT-d | x86 | no host OS | LynxOS, Linux, and Windows | Proprietary |
| Mac-on-Linux | Mac On Linux | PowerPC | PowerPC | Linux | Mac OS X, Mac OS 7.5.2 to 9.2.2, Linux | GPL |
| Mac-on-Mac | Sebastian Gregorzyk | PowerPC | PowerPC | Mac OS X, up to Tiger excluded | Mac OS X, Mac OS 7.5.2 to 9.2.2, Linux | GPL |
| OKL4 | Open Kernel Labs | x86, ARM, MIPS | as host | none (bare metal) | Linux, eCos, "other RTOSes" | BSD |
| OpenVZ | Community project, supported by SWsoft | Intel x86, AMD64, IA-64, PowerPC64, SPARC/64 | Same as host | Linux | Various Linux distributions | GPL |
| Oracle VM | Oracle Corporation | Intel x86, x86-64, Intel VT-x | Intel x86, x86-64, Intel VT-x | none (bare metal install) | Microsoft Windows, Oracle Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux | Free, Commercial |
| OVPsim | OVP [2] | Intel x86 | OR1K, MIPS32 (and public API which enables users to write their own processor models) | Microsoft Windows | MIPS Malta (and public API which enables users to write their own peripheral and system models) | Apache 2.0 |
| Padded Cell for x86 | Green Hills Software | x86, Intel VT-x | x86 | INTEGRITY Real-time OS | Windows, Linux, Solaris | Proprietary |
| Padded Cell for PowerPC | Green Hills Software | PowerPC | PowerPC | INTEGRITY Real-time OS | Linux | Proprietary |
| Palacios VMM | The V3Vee Project | AMD-V | x86 | OS independent (currently GeekOS, Kitten) | Linux | BSD |
| Parallels Desktop for Mac | Parallels, Inc. | Intel x86, Intel VT-x | Intel x86 | Mac OS X (Intel) | Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, MS-DOS, Solaris | Proprietary |
| Parallels Workstation | Parallels, Inc. | x86, Intel VT-x | x86 | Windows, Linux | Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, OS/2, eComStation, MS-DOS, Solaris | Proprietary |
| PearPC | Sebastian Biallas | x86, AMD64, PowerPC | PowerPC | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD | Mac OS X, Darwin, Linux | GPL |
| PowerVM | IBM | POWER4, POWER5, POWER6, PowerPC 970 | POWER4, POWER5, POWER6, PowerPC 970 | hardware / firmware, no host OS | Linux-PPC, AIX, i5/OS, IBM i | Proprietary |
| Proxmox Virtual Environment | ProxMox | x86-64 | x86, x86-64 | Debian Etch w/ProxMox Role | Same as KVM; Same as OpenVZ | GPL v2 |
| QEMU | Fabrice Bellard helped by other developers | x86, AMD64, IA-64, PowerPC, Alpha, SPARC 32 and 64, ARM, S/390, M68k | x86, AMD64, ARM, SPARC 32 and 64, PowerPC, MIPS | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, BeOS | Changes regularly [3] | GPL/LGPL |
| QEMU w/ kqemu module | Fabrice Bellard | Intel x86, AMD64 | Same as host | Linux, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, Windows | Changes regularly [4] | GPL/LGPL |
| QEMU w/ qvm86 module | Paul Brook | x86 | x86 | Linux, NetBSD, Windows | Changes regularly | GPL |
| QuickTransit | Transitive Corp. | AMD64, x86, IA-64, POWER | MIPS, PowerPC, SPARC, x86 | Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris | Linux, Mac OS X, Irix, Solaris | Proprietary |
| RTS Hypervisor | Real-Time Systems | Intel and AMD x86 | x86 | none: bare metal installation | Windows XP, XP-Embedded, Linux, VxWorks, Windows CE, ETS, OS-9 and proprietary OS | Proprietary |
| SimNow | AMD | AMD64 | AMD64 | Linux (64bit), Windows (64bit) | Linux, Windows (32bit and 64bit) | AMD proprietary |
| SIMH | Bob Supnik / The Computer History Simulation Project | Alpha, ARM, HPPA, x86, ia64, x86-64, M68K, MIPS, MIPSel, POWER, s390, SPARC | Data General Nova, Eclipse; Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-1, PDP-4, PDP-7, PDP-8, PDP-9, PDP-10, PDP-11, PDP-15, VAX; GRI Corporation GRI-909, IBM 1401, 1620, 1130, 7090/7094, System 3; Interdata (Perkin-Elmer) 16b and 32b systems; Hewlett-Packard 2114, 2115, 2116, 2100, 21MX; Honeywell H316/H516; MITS Altair 8800, with both 8080 and Z80; Royal-Mcbee LGP-30, LGP-21; Scientific Data Systems SDS 940 | Windows, BSD, Linux, Solaris, VMS | Depends on target machine, Includes NetBSD/VAX, OpenBSD/VAX, VAX/VMS, UNIX v6, UNIX v7, TOPS-10, TOPS-20, ITS | Unique, BSD-like license |
| Simics | Virtutech | x86, x86-64, SPARC v9 | Alpha, ARM, IA-64, MIPS32, MIPS64, MSP430, PPC32, PPC64, POWER, SPARC v8, SPARC v9, x86, x86-64, TI TMS320C64xx. | Windows, Linux, Solaris | Depends on target machine, VxWorks, OSE, QNX, Linux, Solaris, Windows, FreeBSD, RTEMS, TinyOS, and many others have been run. | Proprietary |
| Sun xVM Server | Sun Microsystems | x86-64, SPARC | (Same as host) | none (bare metal with Solaris as special guest providing backend drivers to guests) | Windows XP & 2003 Server (x86-64 only), Linux, Solaris | GPL version 3 |
| SVISTA 2004 | Serenity Systems International | x86 | x86 | Windows, OS/2, Linux | Windows, Linux, OS/2, BSD | Proprietary |
| TRANGO | TRANGO Virtual Processors, Grenoble, France | ARM, XScale, MIPS, PowerPC | Paravirtualized ARM, MIPS, PowerPC | none: bare metal execution, Linux or Windows as dev. hosts | Linux, eCos, µC/OS-II, WindowsCE, Nucleus, VxWorks | Proprietary |
| User Mode Linux | Jeff Dike helped by other developers | x86, x86-64, PowerPC | (Same as parent) | Linux | Linux | GPL version 2 |
| View-OS | Renzo Davoli helped by other developers [5] | x86, PowerPC, AMD64 (in progress) | (Same as parent) | Linux 2.6+ | Linux executables | GPL version 2 |
| VDSmanager | ISPsystem LLC | x86 | (Same as host) | FreeBSD | FreeBSD | Proprietary |
| Sun xVM VirtualBox | Sun Microsystems | x86, x86-64 | x86, (x86-64 only on VirtualBox 2 with hardware virtualization) | Windows, Linux, Mac OS X (Intel), Solaris, eComStation | DOS, Windows, Linux, OS/2, FreeBSD, Solaris | GPL version 2; full version with extra enterprise features is proprietary (free of charge for personal and educational use and evaluation) |
| Virtual Iron Virtual Iron 3.1 | Virtual Iron Software, Inc. | x86 VT-x, AMD64 AMD-V | x86, AMD64 | none: bare metal execution | Windows, Linux | Complete product carries a proprietary license [6]; a few components are GPL version 2 [7] |
| Virtual PC 2007 | Microsoft | x86, x86-64 | x86 | Windows Vista (Business, Enterprise, Ultimate), XP Pro, XP Tablet PC Edition | DOS, Windows, OS/2, Linux(Suse, Xubuntu), OpenSolaris(Belenix) | Proprietary (free of charge from Jul 2006) |
| Virtual PC 7 for Mac | Microsoft | PowerPC | x86 | Mac OS X | Windows, OS/2, Linux | Proprietary |
| VirtualLogix VLX | VirtualLogix | ARM, TI DSP C6000, Intel x86, Intel VT-x and Intel VT-d, PowerPC | Same as parent | none: bare metal installation | Linux, Windows XP, C5, VxWorks, Nucleus, DSP/BIOS and proprietary OS | Proprietary |
| Virtual Server 2005 R2 | Microsoft | Intel x86, AMD64 | Intel x86 | Windows 2003, XP | Windows NT, 2000, 2003, Linux (Red Hat and SUSE) | Proprietary (Free) |
| Virtuozzo | SWsoft, now Parallels, Inc. | x86, IA-64, AMD64 | x86, IA-64, AMD64 | Linux, Windows | Linux, Windows | Proprietary |
| VMware ESX Server | VMware | x86-64[citation needed] | x86-64 | none (bare metal install) | Windows, Linux, Netware, Solaris, FreeBSD, ... | Proprietary |
| VMware ESXi Server | VMware | x86, x86-64 | x86, x86-64 | none (bare metal install) (embedded) | Windows, Linux, Netware, Solaris, FreeBSD, ... | Proprietary - (Free) |
| VMware Fusion | VMware | x86, Intel VT-x | x86, AMD64 | Mac OS X (Intel) | Windows, Linux, Netware, Solaris, others | Proprietary |
| VMware Server | VMware | x86, AMD64 | x86, AMD64 | Windows, Linux | DOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Netware, Solaris, Virtual appliances | Proprietary (Free) |
| VMware Workstation 6.0 | VMware | x86, AMD64 | x86, AMD64 | Windows, Linux | DOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Netware, Solaris, Darwin, Virtual appliances | Proprietary |
| VMware Player 2.0 | VMware | x86, AMD64 | x86, AMD64 | Windows, Linux | DOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, Netware, Solaris, Darwin, Virtual appliances | Proprietary (Free) |
| Wind River hypervisor | Wind River | x86, PPC | (Same as host) | bare metal | Linux, VxWorks, bare metal virtual board | Proprietary |
| Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform | Wind River | PPC | (Same as host) | bare metal | VxWorks, bare metal virtual board | Proprietary |
| Xen | Citrix Systems | x86, AMD64, (PowerPC and IA-64 ports in progress) | (Same as host) | NetBSD, Linux, Solaris | FreeBSD, NetBSD, Linux, Solaris, Windows XP & 2003 Server (needs vers. 3.0 and an Intel VT (Vanderpool) or AMD-V (Pacifica)-capable CPU), Plan 9 | GPL |
| z/VM | IBM | z/Architecture | z/Architecture (z/VM does not run on predecessor mainframes) | None or itself, single or multiple levels/versions deep, e.g. VM/ESA running inside z/VM 4.4 inside z/VM 5.2 inside z/VM 5.1. | Linux on zSeries, z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, z/VM, VM/CMS, MUSIC/SP, OpenSolaris for System z, and predecessors | Proprietary, one-time charge plus maintenance/support |
| z LPARs | IBM | z/Architecture | z/Architecture | Intrinsic feature of System z mainframes | Linux on zSeries, z/OS, z/VSE, z/TPF, z/VM, VM/CMS, MUSIC/SP, and predecessors | Intrinsic feature of System z mainframes |
| Name | Creator | Host CPU | Guest CPU | Host OS(s) | Guest OS(s) | License |
[edit] More details
| Name | Guest OS SMP available? | Runs arbitrary OS? | Drivers for supported guest OS available? | Method of operation | Typical use | Guest OS speed relative to Host OS | Commercial support available? | Needs administrative rights? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bochs | Yes, up to 8-way | Yes | ? | Emulation | Hobbyist, Developer | Slow | ? | (network support needs packet capture/TUN which requires admin rights to be installed) |
| Containers | Yes, over 100-way | No | N/A | Operating system-level virtualization | Business, Development, Enterprise Server Consolidation, Hosting, Service separation, Security, Isolation | Native | Yes | |
| Cooperative Linux | No[1] | No | some are supported | Porting | used as a separate machine for a server or with X11 networking | Native | ? | Always. User-mode console can be attached to running instances, though.[1] |
| Denali | No | No | ? | Paravirtualization and Porting | Research | Slow | ? | |
| DOSBox | No | No | Yes | Emulation using Dynamic Translation or interpretation. | execution of DOS applications, especially games | Slow (10% native), much slower on non-x86 systems. | ? | |
| DOSEMU | No | Yes | Yes | Hardware virtualization | Legacy application support | Native | ? | |
| FreeVPS | Yes | No | n/a | Operating system-level virtualization | Hosting, Service separation, Security | Native | ? | |
| GXemul | No | No | N/A | Emulation | Hobbyist, Developer | Slow | ? | |
| iCore Virtual Accounts | Yes | No | Compatible | Operating system-level virtualization | Safe Home Computing | Native | Yes | |
| Integrity Virtual Machines | Yes (8-way supported, 16-way experimental) | Yes | Unnecessary | Virtualization | Server consolidation and Security | Near native (no guest additions necessary) | Yes | |
| Jail | Yes | No | N/A | Operating system-level virtualization | Hosting, Service separation, Security | Native | ? | |
| Hyper-V | Yes | Yes | Yes | Hypervisor | All | Native. Drivers IO is non-emulated for better IO performance. However, substantial performance loss on some workload (network and disk intensive especially) is associated with all virtualization solutions. | Yes | |
| JPC (Virtual Machine) | No | Yes | N/A | Emulation and Dynamic Translation | Research | Slow (at most 20% of native) | No | |
| KVM | Yes | Yes | N/A | In-kernel Virtualization | ? | Near native | ? | Needs |
| LinuxOnLinux | Yes | No | Under development | Paravirtualization by Afterburning plus Type II hypervisor | researching virtual machines | Near native (within 10%) | No | |
| Linux- VServer | Yes | No | N/A | Operating system-level virtualization | Hosting, Service separation, Security | Native | ? | |
| Logical Domains | Yes | No | Yes (for supported OS such as Solaris 10) | Paravirtualization | Server consolidation, Hosting, Service separation, and Security | Near native | Yes | |
| LynxSecure | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and Operating system-level virtualization | Embedded and enterprise-level workstation and servers, high-assurance security, secure domain separation (MLS, MILS, MSL), and cross-domain solutions | Native or near native performance | Yes | |
| Mac-on-Linux | ? | ? | ? | Virtualization | Native | ? | ||
| Mac-on-Mac | ? | ? | ? | Virtualization | Native | ? | ||
| OKL4 | ? | No | Yes | Paravirtualization | embedded systems | Native | ? | |
| OpenVZ | Yes | No | Compatible | Operating system-level virtualization | Virtualized Server Isolation | Native | ? | Needs |
| Oracle VM | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and hardware virtualization | Server consolidation and security, enterprise and business deployment | Near native | Yes | |
| Padded Cell for x86 | No | Yes | Yes | Virtualization, Lightweight Hypervisor | Developer, Business workstation, Security | Near native | ? | |
| Padded Cell for PowerPC | No | No | Yes | Paravirtualization, Lightweight Hypervisor | Developer, Business workstation, Security | Near native | ? | |
| Parallels Desktop for Mac | Yes | Yes | Yes | Virtualization, Lightweight Hypervisor | Hobbyist, Developer, Tester, Business workstation | Near native | Yes | |
| Parallels Workstation | No | Yes | Yes | Virtualization, Lightweight Hypervisor | Hobbyist, Developer, Tester, Business workstation | Near native | Yes | |
| PearPC | No | Yes | Yes | Emulation using Dynamic Translation | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation | Slow (1/15 native; 1/500 on G4) | ? | |
| PowerVM | Yes | Yes, max 10 / CPU | Yes | native or (micro lpars) hypercalls to firmware-hypervisor | any use, up to 64-way | native, POWER5 and later have no raw-iron mode | Yes | |
| QEMU | Yes | Yes | ? | Dynamic Recompilation | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation, Server | Slow when emulating a different architecture (i.e. powerpc on x86 or vice versa) (10% to 20% of native). Reasonably fast otherwise. | ? | if TAP access is desired, other networking modes require no admin |
| QEMU w/ kqemu module | No | Yes | ? | Virtualization | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation, Server | Near native [17] | ? | Needs |
| QEMU w/ qvm86 module | No | Yes | ? | Virtualization | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation, Server | Near native | ? | Needs |
| QuickTransit | Yes | Yes | No | Dynamic binary translation | Various | Varies depending on host/guest processor combination | Yes | |
| RTS Hypervisor | Yes | Yes | Yes | native, binary - direct HW access | Embedded real-time systems; Medical, Industrial, Mil-Aero | Native | Yes | |
| SimNow | Yes | Yes | Yes | Code caching, Virtualization | Developer, Server | Slow (10% of native) | ? | |
| SIMH | No | Yes | No | Emulation | Hobbyist, Legacy application support, Historical preservation | Slower than native | ? | |
| Simics | Yes | Yes | Yes, but most of time unmodified is the point | Full-system simulation | Early software development, embedded software development, advanced debug, computer architecture research | depends on target nature | Yes | |
| Sun xVM Server | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and Porting or Hardware Virtualization | Enterprise servers | Up to near native speed substantial performance loss on some workload (network and disk intensive especially) | Yes | |
| SVISTA 2004 | No | ? | ? | ? | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation | ? | ? | |
| TRANGO | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and Porting or Hardware Virtualization | Mob. phone, STB, routers, etc. | Native | ? | |
| User Mode Linux | ??? | No | special guest kernel+modules required | Porting | used as a separate machine for a server or with X11 networking | near Native (Runs slow as all calls are proxied) | ? | for networking |
| View-OS | Yes | No | N/A | Partial Virtualization through syscall trapping | security, isolation, testing, mobility | Near native (better with ptrace kernel patch) | ? | |
| VDSmanager | Yes | No | N/A | Operating system-level virtualization | Hosting, Service separation, Security, Isolation | Native | Yes | |
| Sun xVM VirtualBox | No | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Business workstation, Enterprise Server Consolidation, Business Continuity, Hobbyist, Developer | Near native | Yes (with commercial license) | Needs (See Support forums) |
| Virtual Iron Virtual Iron 3.1 | Yes (up to 8 way) | Yes | Yes | Native Virtualization | Enterprise Server Consolidation, Business Continuity, Dev/Test | Near Native | Yes | |
| Virtual PC 2007 | No | Yes | Yes | Virtualization (guest calls trapping where supported) | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation | Near native with Virtual Machine additions | ? | |
| Virtual PC 7 for Mac | No | Yes | Yes | Dynamic Recompilation (guest calls trapping where supported) | Hobbyist, Developer, Business workstation | Slow | ? | |
| VirtualLogix VLX | Yes | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization and Porting or Hardware Virtualization | Embedded real-time systems: Mobile phone, STB, Softswitch, etc | Near Native | Yes | |
| Virtual Server 2005 R2 | No | Yes | Yes | Virtualization (guest calls trapping where supported) | Server, Server Farm | Near native with Virtual Machine additions | ? | |
| Virtuozzo | Yes | No | Compatible | Operating system-level virtualization | Server Consolidation, Business Continuity, Disaster Recover, Service Providers | Native | Yes | |
| VMware ESX Server 3.0 | Yes (Add-on) (up to 4 way) | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Enterprise Server Consolidation, Business Continuity, Dev/Test | Up to near native | Yes | Needs |
| VMware ESX Server 2.5.3 | Yes (Add-on) (2 way) | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Enterprise Server Consolidation, Business Continuity, Dev/Test | Up to near native | Yes | Needs |
| VMware Fusion | Yes | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Hobbyist, Developer, Tester, Business workstation | Near native | Yes | Needs |
| VMware Server | Yes (2-way) | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Server/Desktop Consolidation, Dev/Test | Up to near native, substantial performance loss on some workload (network and disk intensive especially)[citation needed] | Yes | Needs |
| VMware Workstation 6.0 | Yes (2-way) | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization (VMI) and Virtualization | Technical Professional, Advanced Dev/Test, Trainer | Up to near native | Yes | Needs |
| VMware Player 2.0 | Yes (2-way) | Yes | Yes | Virtualization | Technical Professional, Advanced Dev/Test, Trainer, End User (Prebuild Machines) | Up to near native, substantial performance loss on some workload (network and disk intensive especially)[citation needed] | Yes | Needs |
| Wind River hypervisor | No | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization, hardware assisted virtualization | Embedded, safety critical, secure | Native | Yes | Not applicable |
| Wind River VxWorks MILS Platform | No | Yes | Yes | Paravirtualization, hardware assisted virtualization | Embedded, safety-critical, secure | Native | Yes | Not applicable |
| Xen | Yes | Yes | Not required with the exception of the networking drivers where a NAT is required. A modified guest kernel or special hardware level abstraction is required for guest OSs. | Paravirtualization and Porting or Hardware Virtualization | ? | Up to near native speed substantial performance loss on some workload (network and disk intensive especially) | Yes | |
| z/VM | Yes, both real and virtual (guest perceives more CPUs than installed), incl. dynamic CPU provisioning and reassignment | Yes | Yes, but not required | Virtualization (among first systems to provide hardware assists) | Enterprise servers | Near Native | Yes | |
| z LPARs | Yes, both real and virtual (guest perceives more CPUs than installed), incl. dynamic CPU provisioning and reassignment; up to 64 real cores | Yes | Yes, but not required | Microcode and hardware hypervisor | Enterprise servers | Native: System z machines always run with at least one LPAR | Yes | |
| Name | Guest OS SMP available? | Runs arbitrary OS? | Supported guest OS drivers? | Method of operation | Typical use | Speed relative to Host OS | Commercial support |
