The Business Value Of VMWare
If I were a hobbiest, or if I were using computers for personal use only, I would be running Linux and using OpenOffice. However, I am a developer and my clients require me to use Windows, and that is fine. However, yesterday, I downloaded a print driver for one of my Windows Virtual machines – the one I use for .NET development work. I was not careful, and my system became infected with a virus. I went through the usual fight to remove it, but the virus was smarter than the tools I was using to protect myself. For many people, especially casual users, this is a common occurance. For me, it was a breeze to fix.
First, my primary os is Linux, and I was running Windows under Linux using the VMware Player. Therefore, I deleted my entire Windows VM and restored from a preconfigured VM I had on my fileserver. I did not lose any files because all of my code is under version control using Subversion on my client’s server. The server at work is backed up on a daily basis. Other documents and files are stored on a fileserver at my home, and they are backed up, too.
My recovery time was twenty minutes. It may take me as long to write this blog entry about recovering from my virus as it did to recover from it. I do not care about finding the perfect virus checker, or jumping through stupid hoops. I regard each Windows vitual instance as a throw away instance that is not worth fixing if it is compromised in any way. I have almost 1TB of storage at home and I have a lot of room for preconfigured versions of Windows, as well as several Linus distros configured in different ways. I have a few old machines that I use for regular backups of important files, and a DVD I take offsite once a week. Disaster recovery does not have to be hard.
Although I am still using the VMs I created with the trial version of VMWare Workstation, I will buy it eventually. The cost is nothing compared to the business value of the software. It was a little harder for me to install VMWare and the VMPlayer on my Linux box – I had to find the right header files and recompile my kernel. Every time I upgrade my kernel, I need to run a special script to reconfigure my VMPlayer. It is a slight pain, but the windows version of VMWare installs very easily – if you are willing to run Windows. Overall, I recommend VMWare to any serious computer user. Companies should definitely be using it.
The other day, I watched a co-worker configure a laptop for a new consultant. Wouldn’t it be easier to install the VM player and copy a preconfigured virtual machine to the laptop? It would have all of the required software, and it would be ready to go. That is where I see things going.
This is a technology to watch. (Vitualization, not necessarily VMWare – VMware has the ease of use advantage for now, but there are other projects to watch. See XEN.)