VMware Fusion is a virtual machine software product developed
by VMware for Macintosh computers with Intel
processors. Fusion allows Intel-based Macs to run
x86 and
x86-64 "guest"
operating systems, such as
Microsoft Windows,
Linux,
NetWare and
Solaris as virtual machines
simultaneously with
Mac OS X as the "host"
operating system using a combination of
paravirtualization,
emulation and
dynamic recompilation.
Overview
Fusion is VMware's first entry into the emerging Macintosh x86
virtualization market, which has been made possible by the
Apple Intel transition. Fusion
utilizes
Intel VT present in the
Intel Core microarchitecture
platform. Much of the underlying technology in Fusion is inherited
from other VMware products, such as
VMware Workstation, allowing Fusion to
offer features such as
64-bit and
SMP support from the first beta
version onward.
Fusion 1.0 was released on August 6, 2007, exactly one year after
being announced.
System requirements
- An Intel-based Mac (64-bit guest operating systems require a
Intel 64-capable processor)
- 1 GB of RAM (2 GB or more recommended)
- ATI Radeon x1600, Nvidia GeForce 8600M or better graphics
hardware required for Windows Aero support
- 700 MB free disk space for VMware Fusion
- 5 GB free disk space for each virtual machine (10 GB or more
recommended)
- Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later
Features
VMware Fusion running in Unity view on
Mac OS X 10.6
Unity view creates a seamless desktop environment
between Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X applications. It optionally
hides Windows'
start menu and
taskbar and runs the Windows applications directly
from the
dock in OS X. Further,
users can drag and drop files between Windows and the Mac, and use
familiar Mac keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste between Windows
and Mac applications. It is (almost) fully compatible with
Exposé. Fusion windows that are
covered by other Fusion windows don't redraw when switching to
Exposé, causing visual anomalies. This feature is later made
available in
VMware Workstation
6.5 Beta, which is designed to be run on Windows/Linux
platforms.
Direct X 9.0 is supported through dynamic
recompilation to
OpenGL instructions in
Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 virtual
machines. Hence, users can play supported games through Fusion or
run applications which require 3D graphics. VMware Fusion 3 has
DirectX 9 Shader Model 3 and OpenGL support.
32-bit and 64-bit guest operating systems are
supported by VMWare Fusion. Over 60 operating systems are
supported, including Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, and Solaris.
Additionally, VMWare Fusion 2.0 adds support for Mac OS X Server
version 10.5 (Leopard) as a guest on a Mac OS X host. Additionally,
Fusion 2.0.1 added experimental support for un-released developer
builds of Mac OS X Server 10.6 (Snow Leopard) - presumably for
software developers with Apple-granted access to pre-release builds
of Snow Leopard. There is also support for Windows XP Service Pack
2 Boot Camp partitions: a user can use his Windows
Boot Camp partition, eliminating the
need for two separate Windows installations.[6] In addition, VMWare
Fusion offers support of up to 8 GB of memory on guest 64-bit
operating systems, and up to 16GB of RAM on
Mac
Pros and
Xserves.
Snapshots enable users to save a stable state of
the guest operating system to disk, allowing users to quickly
return to their virtual machine without the need of
rebooting.
Shared Folders allow the mounting of folders from
the host operating system to the guest operating system.
Extensive hardware support is built into VMWare
Fusion. For networking, there is support for wired and
wireless networks, in
NAT or bridged mode. There is
access to physical devices from the virtual machine (i.e. read and
write CDs and DVDs) as well as access to
USB 2.0
devices such as
video cameras,
iPods,
printers, and
disks at full speed . Firewire support is still
missing in the latest version, although a workaround exists by
mounting the device as a shared folder .
Support for multiple CPUs (SMP) or multicore CPUs
is built into VMWare Fusion. Fusion also allows the user to assign
up to four CPUs to one virtual machine to gain additional
performance for CPU-intensive workloads .
Portability. Virtual machines created with VMware
Fusion can be used with other VMware products and vice versa, and
are compatible with other VMware
virtual appliances.
VMware Fusion 2.0 was released as a free upgrade
on September 12, 2008. New features in this release include:
- Multi-display support - enables the use of up to 10 additional
displays by guest operating systems
- Virtual Machine conversion - allows the conversion of Parallels
Desktop and Microsoft Virtual PC virtual machines to VMware
- Support for DirectX 9.0 Shader Model 2
- Application sharing between Windows and Mac - users can set
certain files to launch with specific Mac or Windows
applications
- Folder Mirroring - allows select folders to be accessible on
both the host and guest operating system
- Keyboard and Mouse shortcut mapping
- Snapshot improvements - multiple snapshot support, in addition
to creating automatic snapshots at set intervals
- Improved CPU resource utilization
- Support for 4 processor virtual machines
- Mac OS X Leopard Server virtualization support
- Improved Linux support
VMware Fusion 3.0 was released as a paid upgrade
on October 27, 2009. Some new features in this release include:
- Optimization for Mac OS X 10.6 clients, including full 64 bit
process support
- Full support for Mac OS X 10.6 Server clients
- Improved PC Migration Assistant
- Improved support for Windows 7 virtual machines, including full
Windows Aero support with Flip 3D and Aero Peek
- Support for DirectX 9.0c with Shader Model 3 and OpenGL 2.1
graphics libraries
- Improved VM disk and graphics performance under Mac OS X 10.6
clients
- New "Always-on" Applications Menu provides enhanced start menu
functionality in the Mac OS X Finder
- Improvements to Virtual Machine Library window
- Automatic software update functionality
- Improvements to Copy and Paste, Drag and Drop functions on
Windows and Linux virtual machines
Version history
| Version |
Released |
Notes |
| 1.0 |
August 6, 2007 |
First release (following 4 betas) |
| 1.1 |
November 12, 2007 |
Support for Leopard, Boot Camp, and improvements to DirectX
support and Unity |
| 1.1.1 |
January 24, 2008 |
Various bug fixes |
| 1.1.2 |
April 23, 2008 |
Support for Time Machine and various bug fixes |
| 1.1.3 |
May 30, 2008 |
Various bug fixes |
| 2.0 |
September 12, 2008 |
Multiple Snapshots with AutoProtect, Improved Unity, DirectX
9.0 Shader Model 2 3D, and support for Mac OS X Server guests |
| 2.0.1 |
November 14, 2008 |
Various bug fixes |
| 2.0.2 |
February 11, 2009 |
Import from Parallels, supports Mac OS X Server 10.5.6 host,
mounts dmg, supports Ubuntu 8.10 in Unity mode |
| 2.0.3 |
April 2, 2009 |
Various bug fixes. Adds experimental support for Snow Leopard
Developer Builds |
| 2.0.4 |
April 9, 2009 |
Fixed Host code execution vulnerability |
| 2.0.5 |
June 23, 2009 |
Support for Nehalem Mac Pro. Experimental support for OS X 10.6
as guest. Support for Ubuntu 9.04 as guest. Various Bug Fixes |
| 2.0.6 |
October 01, 2009 |
Fixed issues when running on Snow Leopard. Fixed issues with
NVidia graphics cards on OS X 10.6. Various Bug Fixes |
| 3.0 |
October 27, 2009 |
Added support for Windows 7 with Aero. Full 64-bit
compatibility with OS X 10.6 host and guest. DirectX 9.0 Shader
Model 3 3D. WDDM-compatible display driver. |
See also
References
-
http://www.macnn.com/articles/09/06/21/fusion.beta.version/
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