Is this the best vitualization solution for a college student?

Hello, everyone
I’m looking for a virtualization solution for my desktop. I want to run Linux, windows 7, and Vista for now. I have mainly been an XP windows user, but I I would like to learn the other operating systems that I have mentioned above, so that I can tell my future employer that I have experience with them. I have a few questions about how I should implement a virtual environment. Also, in the near future I would like to add windows server 2008 and windows server 2003. One more thing I would like to move the VMware software and Operating/ server systems to my new computer, would this be an easy task?
1. What’s the best linux distribution to run, for a user with no experience?
2. I hear a lot things about VMware, is there a good trial version to use?
3. How many operating systems can I run using the VMware software?
4. Does your antivirus/antispyware software that you are running on your main computer transfer to the other operating systems that run in virtual mode?
5. Would VMware Workstation be a good solution? (I saw someone list that after the trial period you can buy the full licensee at a discount rate) I’m a college student so I would get a discount  here is the link....
VMware Academic Store.
One more thing I would like to migrate the VMware software from my old computer tomy new computer, would this be an easy task?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

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kalebksp

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

Hello, everyone
I’m looking for a virtualization solution for my desktop. I want to run Linux, windows 7, and Vista for now. I have mainly been an XP windows user, but I I would like to learn the other operating systems that I have mentioned above, so that I can tell my future employer that I have experience with them. I have a few questions about how I should implement a virtual environment. Also, in the near future I would like to add windows server 2008 and windows server 2003. One more thing I would like to move the VMware software and Operating/ server systems to my new computer, would this be an easy task?

I would start by trying out VirtualBox, it's completely free and is pretty good. VMware is currently the gold standard in virtualization, but if you're on a budget free is nice.

Virtual machines are easily transferred between computers with both VirtualBox and VMware, you generally just have to copy a folder with the machines "hard drives" and configuation files.

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

1. What’s the best linux distribution to run, for a user with no experience?

Probably Ubuntu, it's very popular so there is lots of documentation/guides and there are many people that can provide help if you need it.

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

2. I hear a lot things about VMware, is there a good trial version to use?

Workstation is VMware's desktop version, it's a 60 day trial I believe. There is also Server, which is free, but it's designed to run all the time, I wouldn't recommend installing it on your main computer. Additionally you can download ESXi, which is also free, it is it's own operation system, so you have to wipe out Windows it install it. The down side of ESXi is that it only supports specific hardware, check out the Whitebox HCL if you're interested in that.

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

3. How many operating systems can I run using the VMware software?

As many as your computer can handle.

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

4. Does your antivirus/antispyware software that you are running on your main computer transfer to the other operating systems that run in virtual mode?

Nope, your host system is completely separate from the virtual machines.

NetworkingStudent wrote: »

5. Would VMware Workstation be a good solution?

It's a very nice piece of software and I use it at work, but the price is a little steep for me when VirtualBox does everything I need in the way of desktop virtualization.

JDMurray

To get started in virtualization, running VirtualBox on Ubuntu with a copy of Windows as a guest OS is a great way to go. You can even run this setup on old Pentium III laptops. But I really recommend Ubuntu 7 or 8 for older hardware. Ubuntu 9 is more demanding and doesn't play well with older hardware.

JBrown

Many colleges and uni's have an agreement with VmWare that allows their students to get most of the VmWare products for free. Inquire with your Computer Science department / adviser if they have any such an agreement.

ServerProvides

First, I completely agree with the suggestion of Virtual Box. It is a very reliable piece of open software from Sun, and it is on par with VMware.

The number of machines you can run will more than likely be dictated by the amount of system memory your system have. You assign each machine a specific amount of memory which directly effects the virtual OS's performance.

Using linux as a host OS for Virtual Box was also a great idea. It's much less greedy than Windows when it comes to system resources and should run Virtual Box like a champ.

As far as the version of Linux you choose, I have seen a lot of people reply that Ubuntu is a good distribution to start out with for you. I'm not entirely sure how much I agree with that statement. Ubuntu comes with a lot of "bloat" and while it could be fine to virtualize it I'm not sure if it would be the best choice as the host OS. In my opinion, it might be better to try a smaller Live CD distro of Fedora. Fedora is very similar to RedHat which is probably the most common distro you will find of Linux working out in the field. (Next would probably be SuSe) Also, by starting off with a smaller distro you will get more experience installing and configuring programs which is great practice for the "real world". While it might be a bit steeper of a learning curve than Ubuntu if you've never touched Linux before, you'll end up with a system that you've built to exactly your needs without alot of extra packages to worry about keeping up to date and compatible.

Everbody has an opinion when it comes to distros, and the important thing is to just get a linux distro and start learning. Good luck on setting up the lab. Let us know how setup goes for you!