Create Virtual Machine in VMware Workstation 17 Pro: Best Steps

This article, brought to you by Orcacore’s Virtualization tutorials, will provide a comprehensive, step-by-step guide on how to Create Virtual Machine in VMware Workstation 17 Pro.

VMware Workstation is a powerful and widely used hypervisor software. It allows you to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single physical machine. This is incredibly useful for testing software, running applications that are not compatible with your primary OS, or simply exploring different operating systems without the need for dual-booting or dedicated hardware.

To illustrate the benefits of VMware Workstation, consider this scenario: You’re a software developer who needs to test your application on both Windows and Linux. Installing both operating systems in a dual-boot configuration can be cumbersome and time-consuming. Furthermore, continually rebooting your machine to switch between operating systems disrupts your workflow. With VMware Workstation, you can run both Windows and Linux simultaneously, switching between them with ease. This eliminates the need for dual-booting and significantly streamlines your development and testing process. Create Virtual Machine in VMware Workstation 17 Pro is the key to unlocking this capability.

VMware Workstation is the ideal solution, saving you the cost of a new PC or the inconvenience of dual booting.

Create a Virtual Machine in Workstation 17

Let’s dive into the process of creating a virtual machine. First, you need to download and install VMware Workstation 17 Pro on your computer. Once installed, launch the application.

• Click on "Create a New Virtual Machine."

• Point: If you don’t see these options, Click on File Menu and choose New Virtual Machine.

You’ll be presented with several options for how to install the operating system:

• Installer Disk: This option allows you to install the OS directly from a physical DVD in your computer’s drive.

• Installer disk image file (ISO): This is the most common method. You’ll browse your hard drive for the ISO image of the operating system you want to install.

• I will install the operating system later: This option skips the OS selection for now, allowing you to configure the VM’s hardware first and install the OS later.

Select your Guest operating system and version on this window and click next.

You can click on finish or if you want to customize hardware click on customize hardware.

That’s It. You have successfully created a virtual machine in Workstation 17 Pro and you can use it.

Increase/Decrease RAM on VMware workstation 17 pro

If you need to add more RAM to your virtual machine or you want to decrease it, follow these steps.

First, Go to Edit virtual machine from the VM menu and click settings, or press CTRL+D buttons on your keyboard.

click on Memory from the left panel, and set your desired amount from the right panel.

Increase/Decrease CPU Core on VMware workstation 17 pro

If you want to change the CPU core for the virtual machine, you can select processors from the left panel and select a new value from the right panel.

Conclusion of Create a Virtual Machine in Workstation 17 Pro article

In this tutorial, we taught you how to Create Virtual Machine in VMware Workstation 17 Pro step by step with some customized settings.

The Orcacore team plans to publish other tutorials related to VMware Workstation in the future.

If you have any questions or suggestions, leave us a comment.

Alternative Solutions for Running Multiple Operating Systems

While VMware Workstation is a robust solution, other options exist for running multiple operating systems. Here are two alternatives:

1. Using Docker Containers

Docker is a containerization platform that allows you to package and run applications in isolated environments called containers. While Docker is primarily designed for running applications, it can also be used to run entire operating systems, albeit in a slightly different way than a full-fledged virtual machine.

Explanation:

Instead of virtualizing the entire hardware, Docker containers share the host operating system’s kernel. This makes them much lighter and faster to start than virtual machines. You can create a Docker container based on a specific operating system image (e.g., Ubuntu, Fedora). This container provides a user-space environment where you can run applications as if you were on a dedicated instance of that operating system. However, it’s important to understand that this is not a full virtualization. It’s more like a chroot jail on steroids.

Example:

To run an Ubuntu container, you would first need to install Docker Desktop or Docker Engine on your host machine. Then, you can use the following command in your terminal:

docker run -it ubuntu:latest /bin/bash

This command does the following:

• docker run: Starts a new container.
• -it: Allocates a pseudo-TTY connected to the container and keeps STDIN open, allowing you to interact with the container’s shell.
• ubuntu:latest: Specifies the Ubuntu image to use (the latest tag refers to the most recent version).
• /bin/bash: Executes the Bash shell inside the container.

This will download the Ubuntu image (if you don’t already have it) and then drop you into a Bash shell inside the container. You can then install software, run commands, and otherwise interact with the Ubuntu environment.

Advantages of Docker over VMware Workstation:

• Lightweight: Containers are much smaller and faster than VMs.
• Resource Efficiency: Containers share the host OS kernel, reducing overhead.
• Portability: Containers are easily portable between different environments.

Disadvantages of Docker compared to VMware Workstation:

• Kernel Dependency: Containers rely on the host OS kernel, limiting the range of OS versions you can run.
• Less Isolation: Containers offer less isolation than VMs, which can be a security concern in some scenarios.
• Not a true VM: It’s not a complete virtualized environment, and certain tasks requiring full hardware virtualization may not be possible.

2. Using Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)

Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) is a feature in Windows that allows you to run a Linux environment directly on Windows, without the need for a virtual machine or dual-booting.

Explanation:

WSL provides a compatibility layer that enables you to run Linux binary executables natively on Windows. It’s not a traditional virtual machine, as it doesn’t virtualize the entire hardware. Instead, it translates Linux system calls into Windows system calls, allowing Linux applications to run seamlessly on Windows.

Example:

First, you need to enable WSL on your Windows machine. Open PowerShell as an administrator and run the following command:

Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Windows-Subsystem-Linux

After restarting your computer, you can install a Linux distribution from the Microsoft Store (e.g., Ubuntu, Debian, Kali Linux). Once installed, you can launch the distribution and start using the Linux command line.

Example using Python:

# In your WSL terminal
print("Hello from WSL!")

# You can install python packages and run scripts
pip install requests
import requests
response = requests.get("https://www.example.com")
print(response.status_code)

Advantages of WSL over VMware Workstation:

• Seamless Integration: WSL integrates seamlessly with Windows, allowing you to access files and resources from both environments.
• Lightweight: WSL is much lighter than a traditional virtual machine.
• Performance: WSL offers excellent performance, as it runs Linux binaries natively.

Disadvantages of WSL compared to VMware Workstation:

• Limited to Linux: WSL is only for running Linux distributions.
• Graphics Support: While graphics support has improved, it’s still not as robust as in a full-fledged VM.
• Kernel Dependency: WSL relies on the Windows kernel, limiting the range of Linux versions you can run.
• Not a true VM: Like Docker, it’s not a complete virtualized environment.

In conclusion, while Create Virtual Machine in VMware Workstation 17 Pro offers a robust and versatile solution for virtualization, Docker and WSL provide viable alternatives, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. The best choice depends on your specific needs and requirements.