Operating System Virtualization
Linux is becoming my operating system of choice, but many of my clients have standardized (?) on Microsoft Office for document handling. Google Docs, OpenOffice, Abiword and other opensource suites are good for content development, however, I have found that Microsoft Word documents (at least through 2003) must be viewed and formatted using Microsoft Word prior to sending the deliverable to my client. Also, many of my client’s systems require Microsoft Internet Explorer for web access, and although I could use a solid program such as IEs for Linux, I need a robust IE environment to access certain client systems. This is where operating system virtualization shines! Operating system virtualization allows me to run a host operating system (Linux) and a guest (Windows XP). I have experimented with VMWare’s Player and Server over the past few years, but for the past year I have been using Innotek’s Virtual Box on Ubuntu Linux. Virtual Box provides a stable environment for my XP guest OS, and I can do anything within the virtual OS that I can do on a native Windows XP machine, including folder sharing between Ubuntu and Windows. With my Dell 640m and 1.5 Gb of RAM, the speed of both my guest (Ubuntu Gutsy) and host (Windows XP) is fast. Good job VMWare and Innotek for making virtualization easier for all that need it!
Tags: ubuntu, virtual box, virtualization, vmware, xp
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