Meeting Report - Thr 16 Nov - VMware by Shawn O'Shea

[Bill Sconce]

Now THIS is how to write up a meeting.    *wow*

Thanks, Ben!

-Bill  (and so say a lot of other GNHLUGers, no doubt)



On Sun, 19 Nov 2006 18:07:08 -0500
"Ben Scott" <dragonhawk at gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all,
> 
>   MerriLUG (Nashua) held its regular meeting on Thr 16 Nov 2006.
> Roughly 20 people attended.  The presentation was on VMware, by Shawn
> O'Shea.  His slides have been uploaded to the GNLUG website in PDF
> form:
> 
> http://wiki.gnhlug.org/twiki2/pub/Www/PastEvents/2006-11-16-vmware-presentation.pdf
> 
>   VMware is a machine virtualization tool which can run on Linux.  In
> simple terms, this lets you create virtual computers (virtual
> machines, VMs) which run as software on your real computer.  You can
> load other Linux distributions, OpenBSD, Solaris, MS Windows, and even
> some really weird stuff like OS/2 on a VM.  Applications for this
> include testing, evaluation, learning, software development,
> sandboxes, and more.
> 
>   VMware Player is a free (gratis) program which will let you boot and
> run a pre-existing VM.  The idea is that one can create a VM,
> distribute it to others, and they only need the Player to use it.
> VMware Inc provides a website where people can share and even sell
> their pre-packaged VMs.
> 
>   When started, a VM appears as a window like any other.  The first
> thing you see is a "virtual BIOS", followed by a boot loader or OS
> splash screen or whatever.  You can also switch to a full-screen mode.
> 
>   VMware Server is a free (gratis) program which will let you create
> VMs.  It runs as a service, with a nice GUI front-end.  You can
> connect and disconnect the VMs from the front-end, which is why it is
> called "Server".  Shawn demo'ed creating VMs, configuring the virtual
> hardware, booting the VM, and installing a couple of OSes.
> 
>   The GUI gives you a point-and-click UI for configuring the virtual
> hardware.  You can attach host devices (e.g, CD-ROM, floppy) to VM
> devices, or allocate host resources to them (e.g., RAM, virtual
> disks).
> 
>   In practical terms, VMware Server is an ideal tool for someone who
> wants to try out different Linux distributions.  Just create a VM and
> install the distribution in the VM.  You can stop, start, suspend, or
> delete VMs as you like.  It also lets you run an OS like Windows on
> Linux, for those one or two legacy programs that you just can't live
> without.
> 
>   Note that this is "free" as in "no charge", not "Free" as in
> "Freedom".  VMware gives the program and license away, but it's still
> closed-source.
> 
>   VMware also offers payware products, including VMware Workstation,
> ESX Server, and Virtual Center.  Assuming you are willing to throw
> enough money at it, you can get some really neat functionality.
> Coolest of all has to be the ability to move a VM from one host to
> another *while the VM is running*.  No longer does one need to
> shutdown the system just because you're upgrading your hardware!
> 
>   Thanks to Shawn for an informative and engaging presentation.
> 
>   The next regular meeting of MerriLUG will be on Thr 21 Dec.  Due to
> the holidays, no formal presentation has been scheduled.  Instead,
> we're planning on having semi-formal, mini-presentations by members.
> Spend 5 minutes talking about your favorite program, feature, website,
> man page, system call, etc.  More on this as we make it up!  :)
> 
> -- Ben