[Macpartners] VMware Workstation and Fusion Support Statement

[Patrick McNeal]

Good Afternoon,

Information Services & Technology (IS&T) is pleased to announce Phase  
1 support for VMware Workstation 6 for Windows and Linux and VMware  
Fusion 1 for the Mac. VMware is virtualization software that allows  
you create and run virtual machines. Phase 1 support includes the  
installation of VMware Workstation and Fusion, VMware tools, guest  
operating systems and network configuration.

IS&T, in collaboration with IT colleagues across campus, has tested  
VMware functionality (e.g., Guest OS installations and network  
configurations ). Based on test results, IS&T encourages the MIT  
community to take a cautious approach and to contact their respective  
IT support provider before installing VMware.  For Phase II support,  
we are exploring the creation of pre-configured virtual machines.

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ABOUT VIRTUAL MACHINES
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A virtual machine is a tightly isolated software container that can  
run its own operating systems and applications as if it were a  
physical computer. A virtual machine behaves exactly like a physical  
computer and contains its own virtual (ie, software-based) CPU, RAM  
hard disk and network interface card (NIC).

For additional information on virtual machines, please read  
"Visualization basics" at:

	http://www.vmware.com/technology/virtual-machine.html

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NEW FEATURES
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VMware Workstation 6.0.x for Windows and Linux provides several key  
new features, including:

	• Support for Windows Vista
	• Multiple monitor displays
	• Support for USB 2.0 devices

For additional features, please read "VMware Workstation release notes":

	https://www.vmware.com/support/ws6/doc/releasenotes_ws6.html#features

VMware Fusion 1.1.x for the Mac provides several key new features,  
including:

	• Support for Mac OS X Leopard
	• Support for Windows Vista 32-bit and 64-bit editions
	• Support for Windows XP 64-bit editions

For additional features, please read "Getting started with VMware  
Fusion":

	 http://www.vmware.com/pdf/fusion_getting_started_11.pdf

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BEST PRACTICES
---------------------------
IS&T recommends that the MIT community follow the security  
recommendations and best practice guidelines to ensure that backup,  
antivirus and anti-spyware software are installed on each virtual  
machine. For a more in-depth look at these recommendations and  
information about how to obtain, please review the page at:

	http://itinfo.mit.edu/article.php?id=8903

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LICENSING
--------------------------
As part of the Microsoft Campus Agreement at MIT, the licensing  
structure for using instances of a guest OS within a virtual  
environment is different than that of a standalone machine. For  
additional information, read:

	http://web.mit.edu/ist/topics/software/msca.html#virtual

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NOT SUPPORTED
---------------------------
IS&T does not provide support for the following:

	• VMware Importer Tool
	• VMware Player
	• Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) within VMware
	• VMware installations of Athena virtual machines

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KNOWN ISSUES
---------------------------
For a full list of known issues visit the VMware page at:

	https://wikis.mit.edu/confluence/display/vmware/VMware+Known+Issues

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HOW TO OBTAIN
---------------------------
VMware Workstation and Fusion are available to faculty, staff and  
students and can be obtained from the Software Download page:

	http://web.mit.edu/software/

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GETTING HELP
---------------------------
Documentation for using VMware is available at:

	Mac: http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=791
	Linux: http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=792
	Windows: http://itinfo.mit.edu/product.php?vid=790

If you need assistance installing or using VMware Workstation or  
Fusion, contact the Computing Help Desk at computing-help at mit.edu or  
617.253.1101.

Questions or comments can be sent to vmware-release at mit.edu

Regards,

Patrick McNeal, on behalf of Deb Bowser,
Team Leader - Software Release Team
Client Support Services
Information Services and Technology (IS&T)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Room N42-250k
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-253-3879
bowser at mit.edu