Developer(s) | VMware |
---|---|
Initial release | 1999 [1] |
Stable release | 17.5.1
[2]
/ 27 February 2024 |
Written in | C, C++ |
Operating system |
Windows Linux |
Platform |
x86-64 only
[3] (version 11.x and above, previous versions were available for IA-32 as well) |
Type | Hypervisor |
License |
Freeware and commercial (Workstation Player) Trialware and commercial (Workstation Pro) |
Website |
www |
VMware Workstation Pro (known as VMware Workstation until release of VMware Workstation 12 in 2015) is a hosted (Type 2) hypervisor that only runs on x64 versions of Windows and Linux operating systems. [4] There used to be an IA-32 version for earlier versions for the software. [3] 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, Inc. There is a free-of-charge version called VMware Workstation Player (known as VMware Player until release of VMware Workstation 12 in 2015), for non-commercial use. An operating systems license is needed to use proprietary ones such as Windows. Ready-made Linux VMs set up for different purposes are available from several sources.
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, [5] 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.
VMware Workstation versions 12.0.0, 12.0.1, and 12.1.0 were released at intervals of about two months in 2015. [6] In January 2016 the entire development team behind VMware Workstation and Fusion was disbanded and all US developers were immediately fired. [7] [8] [9] [10] The company said that "the restructuring activities will not impact the existence of any current product lines", that "roles and responsibilities associated with particular businesses will be moved to other regions and office locations", and that investment would continue "with emphasis on our growth products". The future of Workstation and Fusion became uncertain. On 24 April 2016 maintenance release 12.1.1 was released. In September, same year, the company announced that "we’re very much alive and well". [11] Consequently, on September 13 Workstation 12.5 and Fusion 8.5 were released as free upgrades which added support for Windows 10 Anniversary edition and Windows Server 2016. Since then versions 14 (in 2017, skipping number 13), 15 (in 2018), 16 (in 2020) and 17 (in 2022) were released.
Color | Meaning |
---|---|
Red | Unsupported release |
Green | Current or still supported release |
Blue | Future release |
Version | Release date | Significant changes |
---|---|---|
1.0 [12] | 15 May 1999 | First release |
1.0.1 [12] | 14 June 1999 |
|
1.0.2 [12] | 25 June 1999 | |
1.0.3 [12] | 20 July 1999 |
|
1.1 for Linux [13] | 11 October 1999 | First Linux release
|
1.1.1 for Linux [13] | 18 October 1999 |
|
1.1.2 for Linux [13] | 13 November 1999 |
|
1.0.1 for Windows [14] | 15 November 1999 | |
2.0 [15] | 3 March 2000 |
|
2.0.1 [15] | 19 June 2000 | |
2.0.2 [15] | 1 August 2000 | |
2.0.3 [15] | 2 November 2000 |
|
2.0.4 [15] | 21 May 2001 |
|
3.0 [16] | 11 November 2001 |
|
3.1 [17] | 29 March 2002 |
|
3.1.1 [18] | 9 April 2002 |
|
3.2 [19] | 16 September 2002 | |
4.0 [20] | 7 April 2003 | Single snapshots |
4.5 [21] | 15 March 2004 | |
5.0 [22] | 7 April 2005 |
|
5.5 [23] | 29 November 2005 |
|
6.0 [25] | 9 May 2007 |
|
6.5 [26] | 23 September 2008 | |
7.0 [29] | 10 October 2009 |
|
7.1 [31] | 25 May 2010 | |
8.0 [32] | 14 September 2011 | |
9.0 [34] | 23 August 2012 |
|
10.0 [35] | 3 September 2013 |
|
10.0.1 [36] | 24 October 2013 |
|
10.0.2 [37] | 17 April 2014 |
|
10.0.3 [38] | 1 July 2014 | |
10.0.4 [39] | 30 October 2014 |
|
10.0.5 [40] | 27 January 2015 |
|
10.0.6 [41] | 5 May 2015 |
|
10.0.7 [42] | 2 July 2015 |
|
11.0 [43] | 1 December 2014 |
|
11.1 [44] | 17 February 2015 |
|
11.1.1 [45] | 9 June 2015 |
|
11.1.2 [46] | 15 June 2015 |
|
12.0.0 Pro [47] | 24 August 2015 | The following features have reached end of life in Workstation 12 Pro and have been removed:
[48]
Added support for, amongst other things:
|
12.0.1 Pro [49] | 29 October 2015 | Bug fixes. |
12.1.0 Pro [50] | 8 December 2015 | |
12.1.1 Pro [51] [52] | 21 April 2016 | |
12.5 Pro [53] [52] | 13 September 2016 |
|
12.5.1 Pro [56] | 27 October 2016 | Bug fixes, security updates for undisclosed vulnerabilities and performance improvements. |
12.5.2 Pro [57] | 13 November 2016 | This release of VMware Workstation 12 Pro addresses an out-of-bounds memory access vulnerability related to the drag-and-drop feature. This may allow a guest to execute code on the operating system that runs VMware Workstation 12 Pro. |
12.5.3 Pro [58] | 9 March 2017 | Bug fixes, security updates, and performance improvements.
|
12.5.4 Pro [59] | 14 March 2017 | This release addresses an out-of-bounds memory access vulnerability related to the drag-and-drop feature. This vulnerability might allow a guest to execute code on the operating system that runs VMware Workstation 12 Pro. |
12.5.5 Pro [60] | 28 March 2017 | This release of VMware Workstation Pro addresses the following issues:
|
12.5.6 Pro [61] | 18 May 2017 | This release includes the following highlights:
|
12.5.7 Pro [62] | 22 June 2017 | This release of VMware Workstation Pro includes some bug fixes and security updates. |
12.5.8 Pro [63] | 16 November 2017 |
Support added for:
|
12.5.9 Pro [64] | 10 January 2018 | |
14.0.0 Pro [65] | 26 September 2017 | This major version release includes the following highlights:
|
14.1.0 Pro [66] | 21 December 2017 |
|
14.1.1 Pro [67] | 9 January 2018 | |
14.1.2 Pro [68] | 21 May 2018 |
|
14.1.3 Pro [69] | 14 August 2018 | |
14.1.4 Pro [70] | 11 September 2018 |
|
14.1.5 Pro [71] | 23 November 2018 |
|
14.1.6 Pro [72] | 14 March 2019 |
This release of VMware Workstation Pro addresses the following issues:
|
14.1.7 Pro [73] | 29 March 2019 |
|
14.1.8 Pro [74] | 12 November 2019 |
This release of VMware Workstation Pro addresses the following issue:
|
15.0.0 Pro [75] | 24 September 2018 | This major version release includes the following highlights:
|
15.0.1 Pro [76] | 9 November 2018 |
|
15.0.2 Pro [77] | 22 November 2018 |
|
15.0.3 Pro [78] | 14 March 2019 |
|
15.0.4 Pro [79] | 29 March 2019 |
|
15.1.0 Pro [80] | 14 May 2019 |
|
15.5.0 Pro [81] | 19 September 2019 |
|
15.5.1 Pro [82] | 12 November 2019 |
|
15.5.2 Pro [83] | 12 March 2020 | |
15.5.5 Pro [84] | 28 May 2020 |
|
15.5.6 Pro [85] | 9 June 2020 |
|
15.5.7 Pro [86] | 19 November 2020 |
|
16.0 Pro [87] | 15 September 2020 | This major version release includes the following highlights:
|
16.1.0 Pro [88] | 19 November 2020 |
|
16.1.1 Pro [89] | 1 April 2021 |
|
16.1.2 Pro [90] | 17 May 2021 |
|
16.2.0 Pro [91] | 14 October 2021 |
|
16.2.1 Pro [93] | 9 November 2021 |
|
16.2.2 Pro [94] | 18 January 2022 |
|
16.2.3 Pro [95] | 10 March 2022 |
|
16.2.4 Pro [96] | 21 July 2022 |
|
16.2.5 Pro [97] | 7 December 2022 |
|
17.0 Pro [98] | 17 November 2022 |
|
17.0.1 Pro [99] | 2 February 2023 |
|
17.0.2 Pro [100] | 25 April 2023 |
|
17.5 Pro [101] | 19 October 2023 |
|
17.5.1 Pro [102] | 27 February 2024 |
|
Operating system | Workstation release |
---|---|
Windows 11 | 16.2 and later [103] |
Windows 10 October 2020 Update (20H2) and up | 16.0 and later |
Windows Server 2022 | 17.0 and later |
Windows Server 2019 | 15.5 and later |
Windows Server 2016 | 14.0 and later |
Linux distributions | Varies [103] [104] [105] |
Operating system | Workstation release |
---|---|
Windows 10 May 2020 Update (v2004) | 15.5.5 and later |
Windows 10 November 2019 Update (v1909) | 14.1.8 and later |
Windows 10 May 2019 Update (v1903) | 15.0 and later |
Windows 10 October 2018 Update (v1809) | 14.0 and later |
Windows 10 April 2018 Update (v1803) | 14.0–15.5 [105] |
Windows 10 Creators Update (v1703) / Fall Creators Update (v1709) | 15.0–15.5 [105] |
Windows 10 Anniversary Update (v1607) | 12.5–14.0 [105] |
Windows 10 v1507 and November Update (v1511) | 11.0–14.0 [105] |
Windows 8.1 | 10.0–16.2 [103] |
Windows 8 | 9.0–14.0 [105] |
Windows 7 | 7.1–15.5 [105] |
Windows Vista | 6.0–10.0 |
Windows XP | 3.0–10.0 [106] |
Windows 2000 | 2.0–6.5 [107] [108] |
Windows NT 4.0 | 1.0–4.5 |
Windows Server 2012 R2 | 10.0 and later |
Windows Server 2012 | 9.0–14.0 [105] |
Windows Server 2008 R2 | 8.0–12.0 [105] |
Windows Server 2008 | 6.0–10.0 |
Windows Server 2003 R2 | 6.0–10.0 |
Windows Server 2003 | 4.0–10.0 [109] |
There was a free VMware Player distinct from Workstation, with similar but reduced functionality, until VMware Player v7, Workstation v11. In 2015 the two packages were combined as VMware Workstation 12, with a free VMware Workstation Player version which, on purchase of a player license key granted commercial use. However, purchase of a pro license key became the higher specification VMware Workstation Pro. [110] VMware Workstation Player, like VMware Player [111] before it, is free of charge for non-commercial use, or for distribution or other use by written agreement. [6] [112] Workstation Pro is also available for download for a 30 day free trial period, and is easily confused with Workstation Player, which is an unlimited-time restricted-functionality version.
The features of the versions are compared on the VMware web site. [114]
VMware Tools, a package with drivers and other software available for the various guest operating systems VMware products support, installs in guest operating systems to add functionality. Tools is updated from time to time, with v12.1.5 in 29 November 2022. [116] It has several components, including the following:
Many ready-made virtual machines (VMs) which run on VMware Workstation Player, VMware Workstation Pro, and other virtualization software are available [118] with software for specific purposes ready-installed, either for purchase or free of charge. As one among many examples, there are free Linux-based "browser appliances" with the Firefox or other browser installed [119] [120] which can be used for safe Web browsing; if infected or damaged the VM can be discarded and replaced by a clean copy. Or the appliance can be configured to automatically reset itself after each use so that no changes, including personal information, modified files, damage, etc. are stored. [120] VMs distributed legally only have freely distributable operating systems, as operating systems on VMs must be licensed; ready-to-use Microsoft Windows VMs, in particular, are not distributed, except for evaluation versions.
VMware Workstation 12 Player is a streamlined desktop virtualization application that runs one or more operating systems on the same computer without rebooting.
In Unity mode, virtual machine applications appear on the host system desktop