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Virtual_Machines.txt
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Virtual_Machines.txt
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Virtual Machines are an excellent way to test software. Use them!
= Available Virtual Machines =
There are several virtual machine implementations available. Some of them are commercial, and some are freely available. We of course prefer the free ones! :)
Free VM:s:
* VirtualBox - [http://www.virtualbox.org/ http://www.virtualbox.org/]
* Virtual PC - [http://www.microsoft.com/virtualpc/ http://www.microsoft.com/virtualpc/]
Commercial:
* VMWare - [http://www.vmware.com/ http://www.vmware.com/]
= Terminology =
Two terms used later in the text:
* ''host (OS)'': computer's main OS installation, which boots the computer
* ''guest (OS)'' : the OS installed into VM, run and controlled by the VM software
= Before Installing =
Check before installing that you have:
== Enough Disk Space ==
Virtual machine software itself does not require much space, but every virtual machine is a real operating system installation. So you need 5-10 gigabytes of disk space for every virtual machine.
Some software allows creating "cheap" copies which only clone changed files. So the new machine doesn't take much space if you don't make big changes to it.
== Enough Memory ==
Virtual machines reserve some amount of memory. That memory cannot be used by the host OS. So needed memory is: memory for the host + memory for the guest. If you want to run Win XP guest in Win XP host, you'll need at least 512 + 512 MB.
= Useful Features =
The most useful features are easy cloning and/or snapshotting.
''Cloning'' means you take an exact copy of the current status of the machine. So basically one can install OS once to virtual machine, and then just take a new copy when needed for use.
''Snapshotting'' means virtual machine saves the current status of the machine. Then later one can revert back to this exactly same state. This is very handy for experimenting / testing things. Take a snapshot. Do whatever testing/experimenting you want. Revert all the changes by going back to the snapshot. It is kind of taking a backup and then restoring it. Just a lot easier and faster.
= Testing Installer =
Testing installer is easy with the virtual machines. Create a new clone/snapshot, and run the installer. If something goes wrong, fix/report the bug, take new clone or revert to snapshot and try again. It is a real time saver. And it allows easy testing of updates too.