Parallels Virtualization Continues to Impress
Parallels makes virtualization easy on mainstream workstation hardware and the newest Parallels for Mac version 4.x is an improvement worth attention.
Parallels has been providing a multitude of virtualization solutions for a while now. Parallels Workstation is for Windows and Linux that lets users create multiple, independent, fully-functional virtual machines. The host operating system can be Linux or Windows and there is support for Windows 3.1 to Vista. There is also a Parallels Server product that comes in versions for Windows or Macintosh servers. The product that I continue to use and enjoy is Parallels for Mac, now at version 4.x.
Parallels for Mac allows Intel CPU based Macintosh systems to run a broad range of x86 operating systems including Windows and Linux. Parallels can run in a windowed or coherent mode in which Mac and Windows operating systems share windowing space for the user interface. Parallels for Mac runs on top of Mac OS X Leopard.
I recently upgrades to Parallels 4 on my primary work machine – a Mac Pro with 5 GB of RAM. Parallels installed easily and on first running the hypervisor, Parallels asked if I wanted to convert the former Windows XP Pro and Ubuntu containers that I used in Parallels version 3. Of course, I did want to convert or upgrade the containers to the new Parallels 4 container structure. Parallels encountered a couple issues during the conversion, but after a second and third continuation of the container upgrade process, Parallels was finally ready to run.
The hypervisor’s user interface is much more integrated with the Mac OS and seems to run at the same speed as the old version of Parallels. However it takes less memory and does a better job of managing resources so that Macintosh applications like PhotoShop do not seem as sluggish.
In the coming days, I hope to try out some other operating system installations for testing purposes like Windows Vista x86 and Server 2003. I want to keep Server 2008 and Hyper-V on a separate PC machine for testing – when free time comes around. <grin> I also want to test the Parallels transporter which moves physical installation of OSes to virtual containers. This works in both the Macintosh and PC hardware environment.
There are some limitations, but they seem reasonable to me. There are 5 virtual network adapters leading to the limit of 5 VMs running at the same time. Of course, I usually run only 2 VMs – Windows XP Pro and Ubuntu 8. We will keep working towards testing and implementing these solutions for our IT staff as they make costly and scarce resources more productive at ArrowQuick.
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I love my Parallels on my Mac. XP runs quite smooth as well as vista. love the ability to switch quickly between the operating systems. I do agree…beef up the RAM as much as possible in order to enjoy the ride.