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Run Virtual Operating Systems on One PC

Whether you need a streamlined virtualization interface for the classroom or a way to secure corporate desktops on BYO devices, Workstation Player uses VMware vSphere Hypervisor technology to provide a simple and secure local virtualization solution.

Simple, Powerful Local Virtualization

With more than 20 years of development and sharing the same hypervisor platform as vSphere, Workstation Player is one of the most mature and stable solutions for local desktop virtualization.

 

The Perfect Tool for Learning

Running virtual operating systems on a desktop PC allows students to explore software delivery, operating systems and application development in safe, accurately simulated, local sandboxes.

Your Path to ‘Work from Anywhere'

Isolate corporate desktops to user-owned devices by running secure virtual containers on nearly any Windows or Linux PC, with management capabilities compatible with services like Workspace ONE.

 

Safe Web Browsing in a Secure Sandbox

Run a second desktop in a secure and isolated environment with different privacy settings, tools and networking configurations to keep your host system safe while browsing online.

 

Multiple Operating Systems at Your Fingertips

Workstation Player Education Discount

Claim your savings on VMware Workstation for university or college students, prospective students, parents, faculty and more.

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Use Cases

Education
Business

Tech Specs

System Requirements

VMware Workstation runs on standard x86-based hardware with 64-bit Intel and AMD processors, and on 64-bit Windows or Linux host operating systems. For more detail, see our System Requirements documentation.

 

System Requirements

  • A compatible 64-bit x86/AMD64 CPU launched in 2011 or later *
  • 1.3GHz or faster core speed
  • 2GB RAM minimum/ 4GB RAM or more recommended

General Host OS Requirements

VMware Workstation Pro and Player run on most 64-bit Windows or Linux host operating systems:

  • Windows 10
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2012
  • Windows 8
  • Ubuntu
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • CentOS
  • Oracle Linux
  • openSUSE
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server

Note that Windows 7 hosts are no longer supported, Workstation 16 will not function on them.

Workstation Pro installation:

  • 1.2 GB of available disk space for the application.
  • Additional hard disk space required for each virtual machine
  • Please refer to vendor's recommended disk space for specific guest operating systems

Supported Guest Operating Systems

VMware Workstation 16 supports hundreds of 32-bit and 64-bit guest operating systems. 

Here is a list of the most popular:

  • Windows 10
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 7
  • Windows XP
  • Ubuntu
  • RedHat
  • SUSE
  • Oracle Linux
  • Debian
  • Fedora
  • openSUSE
  • Mint
  • Solaris, FreeBSD, and various other Linux Distros 

See the VMware Compatibility Guide for a complete list of supported host and guest operating systems.

For Hyper-V Enabled Hosts:

CPU Requirements:

  • Intel Sandy Bridge or a newer CPU 
  • AMD Bulldozer or a newer CPU

Host Operating Systems:

  • Windows 10 2004

Minimum Requirements to Run Container Runtime on workstation Windows Host Operating Systems:

  • Windows 10 1809 or higher

Minimum Requirements to Dark Theme support on Workstation Windows Host Operating Systems:

  •  Windows 10 1809 or higher

For 3D Hardware Accelerated Graphics Support:

Hardware Requirements:

  • For Windows hosts, a GPU that supports DirectX 11 is required. 
  • For Linux hosts, the latest NVIDIA proprietary drivers are required. 
  • For Linux hosts, AMD devices are not supported

Software Requirements:

64-bit Host Operating System:

  • Windows 8 or higher
  • GNU/Linux with NVIDIA drivers that support OpenGL 4.5 and above

Guest Operating System

  • Windows 7 or higher
  • GNU/Linux with vmwgfx 

*With exception, the following CPUs are not supported: 

  • Intel Atom processors based on the 2011 “Bonnell” micro-architecture (e.g. Atom Z670/Z650; Atom N570)
  • Systems using Intel Atom processors based on the 2012 “Saltwell” micro-architecture (e.g. Atom S1200, Atom D2700/D2500, Atom N2800/N2600.
  • Systems using AMD processors based on the “Llano” and “Bobcat” micro-architectures (e.g. code-named “Hondo”, “Ontario”, “Zacate”, “Llano”)

In addition, the following CPUs are supported:

  • Intel processors based on the 2010 “Westmere” micro-architecture (e.g. Xeon 5600, Xeon 3600, Core i7-970, Core i7-980, Core i7-990)

For a complete list of supported host and guest the operating systems visit the VMware Compatibility Guide.

Related Products

Explore other VMware products that support desktop virtualization.

VMware Workstation Pro

Virtual machines for Windows and Linux

VMware Fusion

Virtual machines for Mac

vSphere

Server virtualization software

Workstation Player or Workstation Pro - Choose the Right Version for You

General

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

Create New VMs

    

Create Large VMs (32CPU, 128GB RAM)

    

Convert PC into a virtual machine

    

Mass Deployment

    

 

 

 

Host Guest Integration

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

Host/Guest File Sharing

    

Shared/Mirrored Folders

    

One-Click SSH to Linux VM

    

Run VMs with Different View Modes

    

Unity View Mode (Windows guests only)

    

 

 

 

Graphics

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

3D graphics with DX11 and OpenGL 4.1 support

    

Large Graphics Memory: 8GB

    

 

 

 

Device Support

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

4K / 5K / Retina Display Support

    

Support a Wide Range of Virtual Devices

    

USB Smart Card Reader Support

    

USB 3.1 Device Support

    

Assistive Device Support (Section 508 Compliant)

    

Multi-Language Keyboard Support

    

Virtual Trusted Platform Module Device

    

Virtual NVMe Device

    

 

 

 

Security Features

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

Microsoft Virtualization Based Security (Guest) Support

    

Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM)

    

UEFI Boot Support

    

UEFI Secure Boot Support

    

GPU Sandbox Renderer

    

Snapshots

    

Create/Manage Encrypted VM

    

 

 

 

Guest Operating Systems

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

Over 200 Supported OSs (Linux, older Windows, BSD)

    

Windows 10 Guests

    

macOS Guests

    

 

 

 

Windows Host Specific Features

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

Windows 10 or 11 Hosts

    

DX11 Rendering Engine

    

Hyper-V Mode Support (Device Guard, WSL2)

    

 

 

 

Linux Host Specific Features

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

Vulkan Rendering Engine

    

Host Support - Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, RHEL, SUSE, openSUSE

    

 

 

 

Advanced Features

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

Command Line Operation: vmrun and VIX

    

vCenter Server Appliance Easy Deploy

    

REST API

    

"Nautilus Container Engine"

    

Virtual Network Customization (NAT, network rename)

    

Virtual Network Simulation (Packet Loss, Latency, Bandwidth)

    

Connect to Remote vSphere Hosts

    

Create Linked Clones

    

Create Full Clones

    

Encrypt VMs

    

 

 

 

Licensing

Workstation Player

Workstation Pro

Free for Personal Use

    

Commercial License

    

Trial License

    

 

 

 

Product

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VMware Workstation Player (formerly known as Player Pro) is a desktop hypervisor application that delivers local virtualization features and is available for free for personal use. A Commercial License can be applied to enable Workstation Player to run Restricted Virtual Machines created by VMware Workstation Pro and Fusion Pro.

VMware Workstation Player is free for personal, non-commercial use (business and nonprofit use is considered commercial use). If you would like to learn about virtual machines or use them at home, you are welcome to use VMware Workstation Player for free. Students and faculty of accredited educational institutions can use VMware Workstation Player for free if they are members of the VMware Academic Program.

Installation

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No. VMware Workstation Player is not designed to co-install with other VMware products. If an installation of VMware Workstation Pro or VMware Server is detected on a machine where Workstation Player is being installed, the Workstation Player installation will display an error message and abort. However, if you purchase and install Workstation Pro, a version of Workstation Player that will work is included with your purchase.

For a typical host system, we recommend that you have a 1 GHz or faster 64-bit processor (2GHz recommended) and 2GB RAM minimum (4GB RAM recommended). You must have enough memory to run the 64-bit host operating system, plus the memory required for each guest operating system and for applications on the host and guest. See your guest operating system and application documentation for their memory requirements. VMware Player requires approximately 150MB of disk space to install the application. For more details on minimum PC requirements, see the VMware Player Documentation.

For more answers to frequently asked questions, check out the full Workstation Player FAQs.

 

 

Ready to Get Started?

Deliver secure, isolated virtual desktops on nearly any PC. Whether in the hybrid workplace or classroom, choose VMware Workstation Player.