VMware Workstation Pro

About this release

A virtual machine is a whole computer running as a file on this one, with its own system, its own disk, its own network adapters and no way to reach the host except through the channels you allow. Workstation Pro is the desktop tool for building and running them, and it is what most people testing software, teaching systems or keeping incompatible environments apart end up using.

Snapshots are the feature that changes how you work. The complete state of a machine, disk and memory included, is captured in seconds, and returning to it is just as fast. That means a risky install, an unknown installer or a system change no longer needs to be reasoned about beforehand, because the worst case is a thirty second rollback. Snapshots branch into a tree, so several different outcomes from one starting state can be kept side by side.

The virtual hardware is genuinely capable. Multiple processors and cores, large memory allocations, graphics acceleration with three dimensional support, USB device passthrough including three point two devices, virtual network editors with custom subnets and network address translation, encrypted virtual machines and shared folders that bridge host and guest. Nested virtualisation runs a hypervisor inside a virtual machine for anyone building a lab.

Around that sit the practical pieces: cloning, both full copies and linked clones sharing a base disk to save space, a virtual network editor for building isolated multi machine test networks, remote connection to machines running on a server, and command line control so machine startup, shutdown and snapshot operations can be scripted into a build process.

What it does

Snapshot and rollback

Capture complete machine state in seconds and return to it just as fast, with branching snapshot trees.

Capable virtual hardware

Multiple processors, large memory, three dimensional graphics acceleration and USB passthrough.

Virtual networking

Custom subnets, address translation and isolated networks for multi machine test environments.

Cloning

Full clones or linked clones that share a base disk to save large amounts of storage.

Nested virtualisation

Run a hypervisor inside a virtual machine for lab and training setups.

Scriptable control

Command line tools for starting, stopping and snapshotting machines from a build process.

Changed in this version

• Improved graphics acceleration performance in guest systems.
• Faster snapshot creation on machines with large memory allocations.
• Better handling of USB devices reconnecting after host sleep.
• Virtual network editor reworked with clearer subnet configuration.
• Reduced host memory overhead when several machines run at once.

System requirements

Install order

1. Enable hardware virtualisation in the machine firmware before installing.
2. Unpack the archive and run the installer as administrator.
3. Store virtual machines on a fast drive with plenty of free space.
4. Install the guest tools inside each virtual machine after its system is set up.

Worth knowing before you start

File details