VMware Workstation allows you to run multiple operating systems at the same time, on the same physical computer. It gives you the equivalent of additional PCs on your desktop. VMware Workstation installs as an application on top of Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, or certain Linux distributions. Once installed, you can configure a virtual machine with memory, disk and its devices. Then you install an operating system on the virtual machine and boot it up as you would a physical PC. You can then use Workstation to test and debug software, including multi-tier configurations.

See Workstation product specifications for information on system requirements.

The evaluation copy is a fully functional version of VMware Workstation. There are no differences, except that the evaluation copy's license expires in 30 days.

The performance under VMware Workstation depends on your hardware and virtual machine's configuration. Having a 500MHz or faster processor and 256MB memory is recommended for best performance. Make sure you install VMware tools in your guest operating system.

Note: Remember, virtual machines running under VMware Workstation are like physical computers in many ways - and, like physical computers, they generally perform better if they have faster processors and more memory.

Unfortunately, no. VMware Workstation evaluation packages are only available here along with electronic download.

Instructions to Evaluate

1. Get your free evaluation license:
   Register here. You will be sent a 30-day evaluation license.
2. Download
   Download the installation file. Be sure to download the correct installation file for your system - Windows or Linux.
3. Install the software
   The best way to complete the installation is to follow the instructions on our Web site.
4. Make sure you install VMware Tools for your Guest Operating System.

See list of devices currently supported in a virtual machine.

Yes, VMware Workstation 5 supports up to two USB 1.1 controller ports. Devices include USB printers, scanners, PDAs, hard disk drives, memory card readers, digital cameras, webcams, and speakers. USB 2.0 host ports are mapped to USB 1.1 ports in the guest.

VMware Workstation supports access to RAID file systems as regular SCSI or IDE drives through the host operating system. So if your host can see the files on a RAID system, your guest operating system in VMware Workstation will be able to see the files as well.

Modems with serial interfaces can be used via the serial ports in the VMware Workstation Configuration Editor.

VMware offers self-help for evaluation users on our Web site. Free online resources include:

• Documentation - product documentation and manuals
• Technical Resources - technical papers and guides
• Knowledge Base - troubleshooting information (click on the link on this page)
• Discussion Forums - users can share their information and experiences with others (registration required)
• User Groups (VMUGs) - live, local gatherings of VMware user

Please note that we do not currently offer any additional assistance to individual evaluation users. If you are a corporate or academic institution evaluation user, please contact our Sales Team for assistance