Must have developer tool
Overall Satisfaction with VMware Workstation Pro
We use VMware Workstation (on Windows) and Fusion (on mac) to test our software and to test it safely with malware. We also use it to deploy development web servers in Linux on Windows development machines. We also use the Network Editor to test different networking conditions that would be harder to replicate physically.
Pros
- You can have different test machines on a single developer host.
- It's almost as fast as a physical machine.
- You can use snapshots to quickly experiment with new things and updates without worrying you will lose everything.
- With the Network Editor, you can configure whole LANs, which would require a lot of effort and equipment to set up physically.
- The VMX configuration file is easily editable for more advanced features.
Cons
- At the moment, it's incompatible with Microsoft's HyperVM, which is used in Docker and the Linux Subsystem on Windows 2 (WSL 2).
- VMware shared files sometimes stop working and need to be reset.
- 3D support is limited to Windows and only certain scenarios.
- It saved a lot of development time.
- It saved a lot of testing configuration time.
- It helped us also with archiving older build machines that would only occasionally be needed so it would be a waste to keep physical machines for them.
VirtualBox has done a lot of catching up with VMware in the past years, so if you don't need the advanced network configuration or 3D support it's a good alternative, but VMware seems to still be faster, and support for USB devices is a lot more robust. The UI is also more "native" in how it feels and moves.
Do you think VMware Workstation Pro delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with VMware Workstation Pro's feature set?
Yes
Did VMware Workstation Pro live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of VMware Workstation Pro go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy VMware Workstation Pro again?
Yes
VMware Workstation Pro Feature Ratings
Using VMware Workstation Pro
10 - development and QA
- Automated Malware testing
- Automated QA testing
- Software development environments
Evaluating VMware Workstation Pro and Competitors
- Product Features
- Product Usability
- Prior Experience with the Product
I've used it for many years and it always gets the job done. Even if you encounter issues, there are fixes available online.
I wouldn't change it
Using VMware Workstation Pro
Pros | Cons |
---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Snapshots
- File drag and drop (but only when permissions allow)
- Compacting disks
- Working with some composite USB devices.
- Working with HyperVM which is needed by many Windows features.
- Compacting disks when you don't have double the space.
Comments
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