Experience the power of running Windows, Linux, and BSD virtual machines on your Windows or Linux desktop with VMware Workstation Pro.
With VMware Workstation Pro, you can easily build, test, and demonstrate software across a variety of devices, platforms, and clouds. IT professionals, developers, and businesses rely on Workstation Pro to support their projects and customers every day. Workstation Pro simplifies running complex local virtual environments to simulate operating systems, platforms, and clouds all from your desktop PC.
Different Editions of VMware Workstation
The VMware Workstation product line consists of two products: Workstation Pro and Workstation Player. Together, they are known as ‘VMware Workstation,’ with unique differences when necessary.
Differences between Workstation Pro and Workstation Player
While both Workstation Pro and Workstation Player share the same hypervisor technology, they offer unique user interfaces for different types of use.
Workstation Player is designed for single graphical VM operation or command line operation with ‘vmrun’ for running a different operating system in a secure isolated sandbox on a PC.
On the other hand, Workstation Pro is tailored for IT professionals and developers, providing a more fully-featured interface with the ability to run multiple virtual machines simultaneously. Workstation Pro allows for virtual networking configuration, clone creation, vSphere connectivity, displaying multiple VMs in a tabbed UI, and more.
Dual Booting and Disk Repartitioning Not Required
With VMware Workstation, you can utilize your computer’s file system to create files that map to a virtual machine’s disk drives, eliminating the need to partition disks for each operating system. If you already have a dual-boot setup on your computer, you can use VMware Workstation to run the other OS in a virtual machine on your host operating system.
Instead of dual booting, you have the flexibility to run both operating systems simultaneously and seamlessly switch between them with a simple click of your mouse.
Key Features
Run VMs and Containers on a Single PC
Deploy local OCI containers and Kubernetes clusters with VM isolation, virtual networking, and virtual resource options using the new vctl CLI tool.
Develop and Test for Any Platform
Enhance software development and testing efficiency with Workstation Pro by virtualizing nearly any x86 operating system available on a desktop PC.
Enjoy Baked-In vSphere and ESXi Support
Run ESXi and vCenter as virtual machines on your desktop and connect to a remote vSphere environment for quick VM access and basic management tasks.
Run Secure and Isolated Desktops
Utilize a secure second desktop with customized privacy settings, tools, and networking configurations for online protection or to create “snapshots” that can be restored later.
Expand Your PC’s Power with Virtualization
Unlock the full potential and flexibility of your desktop or laptop computer with VMware Workstation. Save on hardware costs by running multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single PC, automate tasks to increase productivity, and streamline software development and testing processes. Join the global community of Workstation users to:
- Host legacy applications and overcome platform migration challenges
- Configure and test new software or patches in an isolated environment
- Automate tasks for software development and testing
- Demonstrate multi-tier configurations on a single PC
Concurrently Run Multiple Operating Systems on a Single PC
VMware Workstation simplifies creating and managing multiple virtual machines on your desktop or laptop. You can convert an existing physical PC into a VMware virtual machine or create a new VM from scratch. Each virtual machine acts as a complete PC, including the processor, memory, network connections, and peripheral ports.
With VMware Workstation, you can run Windows, Linux, and various other operating systems side-by-side on your computer. Switch between operating systems instantly, share files between VMs with drag-and-drop, and access all your peripheral devices seamlessly.
Take Snapshots & Videos of Your Virtual Machines
Utilize Workstation to take “snapshots” that preserve a virtual machine’s state for easy reversion to a stable system state. Workstation displays thumbnail previews of all snapshots for quick access and management.
Additionally, you can record and play video files of your VMs to capture changes over time, ideal for software debugging, Help Desk support, sales demos, and training.
Run an Entire Multi-tier System on a Single Host
Manage network-connected virtual machines with the Teams feature in Workstation 6 to run multi-tier enterprise applications on a single hardware unit. Teams allow you to create virtual network environments with client, server, and database VMs.
You can easily toggle an entire multi-tier environment on and off with a single click using Workstation Teams. Live thumbnails of connected VMs make it simple to identify and switch between team-associated virtual machines.
Clone Virtual Machines for Quick Deployment
Save time on installations by creating clones of a virtual machine from a single setup process. Distribute standardized computing environments to employees or students, or establish a baseline configuration for testing purposes effortlessly.
Take Your Virtual Machines Anywhere
With the ACE Option Pack in Workstation, you can create and deploy secure virtual machines (ACEs) for mobility. Carry your desktop securely on portable media devices like USB thumb drives for on-the-go access.
What’s New
Exciting news! Starting November 11, 2024, VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation will be available for free to all users – commercial, educational, and personal – reflecting our commitment to accessibility.
Introducing vmcli
vmcli, a command-line tool included in VMware Workstation Pro, allows users to interact directly with the hypervisor from a Linux or macOS terminal or Windows command prompt. Perform various operations such as creating new VMs, generating templates, powering on VMs, and modifying settings with ease. Create scripts to execute multiple commands sequentially for enhanced efficiency. For more details, refer to the ‘Using VMware Workstation Pro’ documentation.
New Guest Operating System Support
- Windows Server 2025
- Windows 11 Version 23H2
- Ubuntu 24.04
- Fedora 40
New Host Operating System Support
- Windows Server 2025
- Windows 11 Version 23H2
- Ubuntu 24.04
- Fedora 40
Resolved Issues
- Fix for VMware KVM crashes with ‘vmware-kvm –preferences’ command
- Improvement for virtual machines running slowly on Windows hosts
- Resolution for Workstation installation failure on Linux hosts with compilation errors
Security Updates
- Updated OpenSSL, Expat, and 7zip for enhanced security
Known Issues
- CentOS 9 Stream with specific kernel versions not supported on Workstation Pro 17.6 as a host
- Product upgrade from versions prior to 17.6 not automatic for Workstation Pro on Windows Host
- Multi-monitor feature issues in certain topologies
