 Current icon of VMware Workstation Pro used since Version 15.0 | |
| Developer(s) | VMware |
|---|---|
| Initial release | 1999[1] |
| Stable release | 17.6.1[2] 
/ 2 September 2024 |
| Written in | C, C++ |
| Operating system | Windows Linux |
| Platform | x86-64[3] (version 11.x and above, previous versions were available for IA-32 as well) |
| Type | Hypervisor |
| License | Freeware |
| Website | www |
VMware Workstation Pro (known as VMware Workstation until release of VMware Workstation 12 in 2015) is a hosted (Type 2) hypervisor that runs on x64 versions of Windows and Linux operating systems.[4] It enables users to set up virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical machine and use them simultaneously along with the host machine. Each virtual machine can execute its own operating system, including versions of Microsoft Windows, Linux, BSD, and MS-DOS. VMware Workstation is developed and sold by VMware, which has been owned by Broadcom since November 2023. In May 2024, Workstation Pro became free of charge for personal use, with paid subscriptions available for commercial use, while the free restricted VMware Workstation Player (known as VMware Player) was dropped.[5] In November 2024, VMware Workstation was made free for commercial use, with paid subscriptions and support no longer available.[6]
VMware Workstation supports bridging existing host network adapters and sharing physical disk drives and USB devices with a virtual machine. It can simulate disk drives; an ISO image file can be mounted as a virtual optical disc drive, and virtual hard disk drives are implemented as .vmdk files.
VMware Workstation Pro can save the state of a virtual machine (a "snapshot") at any instant. These snapshots can later be restored, effectively returning the virtual machine to the saved state,[7] as it was and free from any post-snapshot damage to the VM.
VMware Workstation includes the ability to group multiple virtual machines in an inventory folder. The machines in such a folder can then be powered on and powered off as a single object, useful for testing complex client-server environments.
- ^ Thiruvathukal, George K; Hinsen, Konrad; Läufer, Konstantin; Kaylor, Joe (2010). "Virtualization for Computational Scientists". Computing in Science & Engineering. 12 (4): 52–61. Bibcode:2010CSE....12d..52T. doi:10.1109/MCSE.2010.92. ISSN 1521-9615. S2CID 6472898.
- ^ "VMware Workstation 17.6 Pro Release Notes". 2 September 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
- ^ "Processor Requirements for Host Systems". VMware Workstation 9 Documentation Center. VMware. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ^ "Supported host operating systems for Workstation Pro 12.x, 14.x, 15.x (2129859)". Retrieved 2023-12-22.
- ^ VMware's Fusion Pro and Workstation Pro are now free for personal use - ZDnet, 16 May 2024
- ^ VMware makes Workstation and Fusion free for everyone - Bleeping Computer, 11 November 2024
- ^ Warren, Steven (2008-11-20). "Snapshots in VMware Workstation". Blogs.techrepublic.com.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-07. Retrieved 2012-09-13.