Mac OS X Lion Server For Dummies®

Choosing Virtualization Software

Three major companies make virtualization software for Macs: Parallels, VMware, and Oracle. In a nutshell, here are the choices:

• Parallels Server: Meant for serious virtualization of multiple production servers on one Mac, Parallels Server includes management software for the servers. It comes in several versions, from a $300 Mac mini edition to the $2,000 Parallels Server for Mac.

  www.parallels.com

• Parallels Desktop: This user-level, or desktop, application costs under $100. You need version 7 or later to run Lion in a virtual machine.
• VMware Fusion: Another user-level virtualization package, Fusion is very similar to Parallels Desktop and similarly priced. You need version 4 or later to run Lion in a virtual machine.

  www.vmware.com

• Oracle VirtualBox: This open source product is free for personal use.

  www.virtualbox.org

You can use the desktop versions for testing servers or for running services that don't use a lot of system resources. A desktop version won't let you assign as much of the Mac hardware to a virtual machine Parallels Server.

Choosing a desktop virtualization package

Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion are roughly equivalent. With each new version, one pulls slightly ahead of the other in terms of features, so at any given month, one might be ahead of the other. Both products can import virtual machines from each other, so if you decide to switch, you can move over your virtual machines. Both run Lion Server well. ...