VMware Revs Workstation 4.5 For Enterprise Developer

VMware Workstation 4.5, which was made available on Monday, incorporates several new features including virtual networking, easier provisioning, preboot execution environment, integration with the Windows Performance Monitor and better support for the Linux 2.6 kernel, according to the Palo Alto, Calif., company.

The new features will, for instance, enable developers and administrators to build and test server-level applications running in Windows, Linux or Novell NetWare on a single desktop. Developers can then use the preboot execution environment to rapidly boot and install operating system images into new virtual machines over a network.

The company, a subsidiary of EMC, has been shipping VMware Workstation for more than five years but is now competing with Microsoft, whose Virtual PC 2004 product shipped last fall.

In the 4.5 release, for instance, VMware tied its workstation more closely to its existing virtual server platforms. The software gives developers the flexibility to deploy and test service pack and server applications on the desktop and then deploy them to the company's enterprise-based GSX server and data center-level SX server, the company said. In addition, the 4.5 version allows virtual machines to be managed by the company's recently released Virtual Center management platform.

The software also increases memory capacity with support for virtual machines with up to 3.6 Gbytes of memory and 4 Gbytes of memory for all virtual machines running on the desktop.

Workstation 4.5 also can be configured to do automatic check for product updates. The product is available for $189.