VMware Fusion
Encyclopedia
VMware Fusion is a virtual machine
software product developed by VMware
for Macintosh
computers with Intel processors. Fusion allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 and x86-64
"guest" operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows
, Linux
, NetWare and Solaris
as virtual machines simultaneously with Mac OS X
as the "host" operating system using a combination of paravirtualization
, emulation
and dynamic recompilation
.
platform. Much of the underlying technology in Fusion is inherited from other VMware products, such as VMware Workstation
, allowing Fusion to offer features such as 64-bit
and SMP
support from the first beta version onward.
Fusion 1.0 was released on August 6, 2007, exactly one year after being announced.
and taskbar
and runs the Windows applications directly from the dock
in OS X. Further, users can drag and drop files between Windows and the Mac, and use familiar Mac keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste between Windows and Mac applications. It is (almost) fully compatible with Exposé
. Fusion windows that are covered by other Fusion windows don't redraw when switching to Exposé, causing visual anomalies. This feature is later made available in VMware Workstation
6.5 Beta, which is designed to be run on Windows/Linux platforms.
DirectX 9.0 is supported through dynamic recompilation to OpenGL
instructions in Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 virtual machines. Hence, users can play supported games through Fusion or run applications which require 3D graphics. VMware Fusion 3 has DirectX 9 Shader Model 3 and OpenGL support.
32-bit and 64-bit guest operating systems are supported by VMWare Fusion. Over 60 operating systems are supported, including Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, and Solaris. Additionally, VMWare Fusion 2.0 adds support for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 (Leopard) as a guest on a Mac OS X host. Additionally, Fusion 2.0.1 added experimental support for un-released developer builds of Mac OS X Server 10.6 (Snow Leopard) – presumably for software developers with Apple-granted access to pre-release builds of Snow Leopard. There is also support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 Boot Camp partitions: a user can use his Windows Boot Camp partition, eliminating the need for two separate Windows installations.[6] In addition, VMWare Fusion offers support of up to 8 GB of memory on guest 64-bit operating systems, and up to 16GB of RAM on Mac Pro
s and Xserve
s.
Snapshots enable users to save a stable state of the guest operating system to disk, allowing users to quickly return to their virtual machine without the need of rebooting.
Shared Folders allow the mounting of folders from the host operating system to the guest operating system.
Extensive hardware support is built into VMWare Fusion. For networking, there is support for wired and wireless networks, in NAT
or bridged mode (albeit, erratic availability with wireless interfaces). There is access to physical devices from the virtual machine (i.e. read and write CDs and DVDs) as well as access to USB 2.0 devices such as video cameras, iPods, printers, and disks
at full speed. Firewire support is still missing in the latest version, although a workaround exists by mounting the device as a shared folder .
Support for multiple CPUs (SMP) or multicore CPUs is built into VMWare Fusion. Fusion also allows the user to assign up to eight CPUs to one virtual machine to gain additional performance for CPU-intensive workloads .
Portability. Virtual machines created with VMware Fusion can be used with other VMware products and vice versa, and are compatible with other VMware virtual appliance
s.
VMware Fusion 2.0 was released as a free upgrade on September 12, 2008. New features in this release include:
VMware Fusion 3.0 was released as a paid upgrade on October 27, 2009. Some new features in this release include:
VMware Fusion 4.0 was released as a paid upgrade on September 14, 2011. Some new features in this release include:
Virtual machine
A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software...
software product developed by VMware
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
for Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
computers with Intel processors. Fusion allows Intel-based Macs to run x86 and x86-64
X86-64
x86-64 is an extension of the x86 instruction set. It supports vastly larger virtual and physical address spaces than are possible on x86, thereby allowing programmers to conveniently work with much larger data sets. x86-64 also provides 64-bit general purpose registers and numerous other...
"guest" operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
, NetWare and Solaris
Solaris Operating System
Solaris is a Unix operating system originally developed by Sun Microsystems. It superseded their earlier SunOS in 1993. Oracle Solaris, as it is now known, has been owned by Oracle Corporation since Oracle's acquisition of Sun in January 2010....
as virtual machines simultaneously with Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
as the "host" operating system using a combination of paravirtualization
Paravirtualization
In computing, paravirtualization is a virtualization technique that presents a software interface to virtual machines that is similar but not identical to that of the underlying hardware....
, emulation
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...
and dynamic recompilation
Dynamic recompilation
In computer science, dynamic recompilation is a feature of some emulators and virtual machines, where the system may recompile some part of a program during execution...
.
Overview
Fusion, made possible by the Apple–Intel transition, marked VMware's first entry into Macintosh-based x86-virtualization. Fusion utilizes Intel VT present in the Intel Core microarchitectureIntel Core microarchitecture
The Intel Core microarchitecture is a multi-core processor microarchitecture unveiled by Intel in Q1 2006. It is based around an updated version of the Yonah core and could be considered the latest iteration of the P6 microarchitecture, which traces its history back to the Pentium Pro introduced...
platform. Much of the underlying technology in Fusion is inherited from other VMware products, such as VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation is a virtual machine software suite for x86 and x86-64 computers from VMware, a division of EMC Corporation, which allows users to set up multiple x86 and x86-64 virtual machines and use one or more of these virtual machines simultaneously with the hosting operating system...
, allowing Fusion to offer features such as 64-bit
64-bit
64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...
and SMP
Symmetric multiprocessing
In computing, symmetric multiprocessing involves a multiprocessor computer hardware architecture where two or more identical processors are connected to a single shared main memory and are controlled by a single OS instance. Most common multiprocessor systems today use an SMP architecture...
support from the first beta version onward.
Fusion 1.0 was released on August 6, 2007, exactly one year after being announced.
System requirements
- A 64-bit capable Intel-based Mac
- 2 GB of RAM (4 GB or more recommended)
- ATI Radeon x1600, Nvidia GeForce 8600M or better graphics hardware required for Windows Aero support
- 750 MB free disk space for VMware Fusion
- 5 GB free disk space for each virtual machine (10 GB or more recommended)
- Mac OS X 10.6.7 or later
Features
Unity view creates a seamless desktop environment between Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X applications. It optionally hides Windows' start menuStart menu
The Start Menu and Start Button are user interface elements used in the later versions of the Microsoft Windows operating systems and in some X window managers...
and taskbar
Taskbar
In computing, a taskbar is a bar displayed on a full edge of a GUI desktop that is used to launch and monitor running applications. Microsoft incorporated a taskbar in Windows 95 and it has been a defining aspect of Microsoft Windows's graphical user interface ever since. Some desktop environments,...
and runs the Windows applications directly from the dock
Dock (computing)
The Dock is a prominent feature of the graphical user interface of the Mac OS X operating system. It is used to launch applications and switch between running applications...
in OS X. Further, users can drag and drop files between Windows and the Mac, and use familiar Mac keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste between Windows and Mac applications. It is (almost) fully compatible with Exposé
Exposé (Mac OS X)
Exposé is a feature of the Mac OS X operating system. First previewed on 23 June 2003 at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference as a feature of the then forthcoming Mac OS X v10.3, Exposé allows a user to quickly locate an open window, or to hide all windows and show the desktop without the need...
. Fusion windows that are covered by other Fusion windows don't redraw when switching to Exposé, causing visual anomalies. This feature is later made available in VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation
VMware Workstation is a virtual machine software suite for x86 and x86-64 computers from VMware, a division of EMC Corporation, which allows users to set up multiple x86 and x86-64 virtual machines and use one or more of these virtual machines simultaneously with the hosting operating system...
6.5 Beta, which is designed to be run on Windows/Linux platforms.
DirectX 9.0 is supported through dynamic recompilation to OpenGL
OpenGL
OpenGL is a standard specification defining a cross-language, cross-platform API for writing applications that produce 2D and 3D computer graphics. The interface consists of over 250 different function calls which can be used to draw complex three-dimensional scenes from simple primitives. OpenGL...
instructions in Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 virtual machines. Hence, users can play supported games through Fusion or run applications which require 3D graphics. VMware Fusion 3 has DirectX 9 Shader Model 3 and OpenGL support.
32-bit and 64-bit guest operating systems are supported by VMWare Fusion. Over 60 operating systems are supported, including Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, and Solaris. Additionally, VMWare Fusion 2.0 adds support for Mac OS X Server version 10.5 (Leopard) as a guest on a Mac OS X host. Additionally, Fusion 2.0.1 added experimental support for un-released developer builds of Mac OS X Server 10.6 (Snow Leopard) – presumably for software developers with Apple-granted access to pre-release builds of Snow Leopard. There is also support for Windows XP Service Pack 2 Boot Camp partitions: a user can use his Windows Boot Camp partition, eliminating the need for two separate Windows installations.[6] In addition, VMWare Fusion offers support of up to 8 GB of memory on guest 64-bit operating systems, and up to 16GB of RAM on Mac Pro
Mac Pro
The Mac Pro is a workstation computer manufactured by Apple Inc. The machines are based on Xeon microprocessors, but are similar to the Power Mac G5 they replaced in terms of outward appearance and expansion capabilities...
s and Xserve
Xserve
Xserve was a line of rack unit computers designed by Apple Inc. for use as servers. When the Xserve was introduced in 2002, it was Apple's first designated server hardware design since the Apple Network Server in 1996...
s.
Snapshots enable users to save a stable state of the guest operating system to disk, allowing users to quickly return to their virtual machine without the need of rebooting.
Shared Folders allow the mounting of folders from the host operating system to the guest operating system.
Extensive hardware support is built into VMWare Fusion. For networking, there is support for wired and wireless networks, in NAT
Network address translation
In computer networking, network address translation is the process of modifying IP address information in IP packet headers while in transit across a traffic routing device....
or bridged mode (albeit, erratic availability with wireless interfaces). There is access to physical devices from the virtual machine (i.e. read and write CDs and DVDs) as well as access to USB 2.0 devices such as video cameras, iPods, printers, and disks
Disk storage
Disk storage or disc storage is a general category of storage mechanisms, in which data are digitally recorded by various electronic, magnetic, optical, or mechanical methods on a surface layer deposited of one or more planar, round and rotating disks...
at full speed. Firewire support is still missing in the latest version, although a workaround exists by mounting the device as a shared folder .
Support for multiple CPUs (SMP) or multicore CPUs is built into VMWare Fusion. Fusion also allows the user to assign up to eight CPUs to one virtual machine to gain additional performance for CPU-intensive workloads .
Portability. Virtual machines created with VMware Fusion can be used with other VMware products and vice versa, and are compatible with other VMware virtual appliance
Virtual appliance
A virtual appliance is a virtual machine image designed to run on a virtualization platform ....
s.
VMware Fusion 2.0 was released as a free upgrade on September 12, 2008. New features in this release include:
- Multi-display support – enables the use of up to 10 additional displays by guest operating systems
- Virtual Machine conversion – allows the conversion of Parallels Desktop and Microsoft Virtual PC virtual machines to VMware
- Support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2
- Application sharing between Windows and Mac – users can set certain files to launch with specific Mac or Windows applications
- Folder Mirroring – allows select folders to be accessible on both the host and guest operating system
- Keyboard and Mouse shortcut mapping
- Snapshot improvements – multiple snapshot support, in addition to creating automatic snapshots at set intervals
- Improved CPU resource utilization
- Support for 4 processor virtual machines
- Mac OS X Leopard Server virtualization support
- Improved Linux support
VMware Fusion 3.0 was released as a paid upgrade on October 27, 2009. Some new features in this release include:
- Optimization for Mac OS X 10.6 clients, including full 64 bit process support
- Full support for Mac OS X 10.6 Server clients
- Improved PC Migration Assistant
- Improved support for Windows 7 virtual machines, including full Windows Aero support with Flip 3D and Aero Peek
- Support for DirectX 9.0c with Shader Model 3 and OpenGL graphics libraries ( v2.1 in XPDM drivers, v1.4 in WDDM drivers )
- Improved VM disk and graphics performance under Mac OS X 10.6 clients
- New "Always-on" Applications Menu provides enhanced start menu functionality in the Mac OS X Finder
- Improvements to Virtual Machine Library window
- Automatic software update functionality
- Improvements to Copy and Paste, Drag and Drop functions on Windows and Linux virtual machines
VMware Fusion 4.0 was released as a paid upgrade on September 14, 2011. Some new features in this release include:
- Optimization for Mac OS X 10.7 clients, including support for full screen Windows programs, gestures and integration with LaunchPad and Mission Control
- Updated user interface
- Support for Time Machine compatible snapshots
- App Unity feature allows you to integrate Windows programs into Mac OS X 10.7 by adding them to Launchpad, searching them using Spotlight or accessing them directly from the Mac applications folder
- Improved resume function
- Support for virtual machine encryption
- Up to 2.5x faster OpenGL and DirectX 3D graphics performance on Mac OS X 10.7 clients
- New VMware Fusion Learning Center feature
Version history
| Version | Released | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | August 6, 2007 | First release (following 4 betas). | |
| 1.1.0 | November 12, 2007 | Support for Leopard, Boot Camp, and improvements to DirectX support and Unity. | |
| 1.1.1 | January 24, 2008 | Various bug fixes. | |
| 1.1.2 | April 23, 2008 | Support for Time Machine and various bug fixes. | |
| 1.1.3 | May 30, 2008 | Various bug fixes. | |
| 2.0 | September 12, 2008 | Multiple Snapshots with AutoProtect, Improved Unity, DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2 3D, and support for Mac OS X Server guests. | |
| 2.0.1 | November 14, 2008 | Various bug fixes. | |
| 2.0.2 | February 11, 2009 | Import from Parallels, supports Mac OS X Server 10.5.6 host, mounts DMG images, supports Ubuntu 8.10 in Unity mode. | |
| 2.0.3 | April 2, 2009 | Various bug fixes. Adds experimental support for Snow Leopard Developer Builds. | |
| 2.0.4 | April 9, 2009 | Fixed Host code execution vulnerability. | |
| 2.0.5 | June 23, 2009 | Support for Nehalem Mac Pro. Experimental support for Mac OS X 10.6 as guest. Support for Ubuntu 9.04 as guest. Various bug fixes. | |
| 2.0.6 | October 1, 2009 | Fixed issues when running on Snow Leopard. Fixed issues with NVidia graphics cards on Mac OS X 10.6. Various bug fixes. | |
| 2.0.7 | April 8, 2010 | Fixed security issues, accepts VMware Fusion 3 license keys. | |
| 3.0 | October 27, 2009 | Added support for Windows 7 with Aero. Full 64‑bit compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6 host and guest. DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 3 3D. WDDM-compatible display driver. | |
| 3.0.1 | December 10, 2009 | Improved 3D & video performance, full support for Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic Koala), 64‑bit networking subsystem, improved VMware Importer, improved VM resume times. | |
| 3.0.2 | February 18, 2010 | Fixes a problem so that the latest release of Mac OS X 10.6 Server (Snow Leopard) can run in a virtual machine. | |
| 3.1.0 | May 25, 2010 | Improved 3D & video performance, improved Unity view performance and integration, USB EasyConnect, improved migration assistant, 8‑core SMP support, increased virtual hard disk size, updated operating system support. | |
| 3.1.1 | August 12, 2010 | Various bug fixes. VMware vSphere 4.1 is now supported as a guest operating system. | |
| 3.1.2 | December 2, 2010 | Fixes various bugs and security issues. | |
| 3.1.3 | May 31, 2011 | Fixes various bugs and security issues. | |
| 4.0 | September 14, 2011 | Run Lion, Lion Server, Snow Leopard, Snow Leopard Server, and Leopard Server in virtual machines, up to 2.5x faster 3D graphics, add Windows programs to Launchpad, view in full screen, or in Mission Control. | |
| 4.0.1 | September 14, 2011 | Contains an update that ensures that disk buffering is enabled when set to automatic. | |
| 4.0.2 | September 27, 2011 | Addresses an issue starting virtual machines running a forthcoming version of Mac OS X Lion. | |
| 4.1.0 | November 17, 2011 | Added support for Lion's full screen mode, improved performance, and reintroduced the ability to turn on virtual machines automatically when VMware Fusion is opened. | |
| 4.1.1 | November 23, 2011 | Reintroduces the Mac OS X Server check after it was inadvertently omitted from 4.1.0. |
See also
- Comparison of VMware Fusion and Parallels DesktopComparison of VMware Fusion and Parallels DesktopRepresented by their respective products, VMware and Parallels are the two major commercial competitors in the Mac consumer virtualization market. Both products are based on hypervisor technology and allow users to run an additional 32- or 64-bit x86 operating system in a virtual machine alongside...
- Comparison of platform virtual machines
- Desktop virtualizationDesktop virtualizationDesktop virtualization , as a concept, separates a personal computer desktop environment from a physical machine using the client–server model of computing....
- Platform virtualization
- List of VMware software
- Virtual disk imageVirtual disk imageA virtual disk image is a file on a physical disk, which has a well-defined, published or proprietary, format and is interpreted by a Virtual Machine Monitor as a hard disk. IT administrators and software developers administer them through offline operations using built-in or third-party tools...