Desktop virtualisation house Parallels has come out with software that will run or move virtual machines (VMs) across mixed platforms of PC, Linux or Macintosh system.
Parallels Desktop 4 for Windows and Linux takes advantage of the company’s FastLane architecture, which is used to create completely isolated virtual instances of Windows and Linux on a single machine.
A virtual machine can be created on any Linux or Windows platform and it can then be moved to any Unix, Windows or Mac environment, David Abramowski, director of product marketing explained.
“The system allows multiple operating systems and applications to be run simultaneously on the same single server,” he said.
Parallels has also integrated its Parallels Transporter product to enable users to quickly capture physical environments or import other third-party virtual machines.
It said the new software could help cut the need for organisations to purchase new hardware as users can run multiple operating systems side-by-side on a single machine.
Similarly, it could come into play to avoid having to make application upgrades when moving from one version of the Windows operating systems to the next. “You could use the software to capture an XP machine and run it unchanged on a Windows 7 machine,” Abramowski suggested.
The company said the new system is designed to run virtualised 32 and 64 bit operating systems and applications up to eight times faster than achieved previously, due to increased support for up to eight virtual CPUs and eight gigabyte of virtual RAM.
It also said the release has implications for cloud. These environments are typically configured with a minimum of four virtual machines, which commonly includes a MySQL or Postgres database server, a couple of application servers and a front end load balancer. The advantage of being able to run this on a single machine is that developers can individually test applications and changes without needing to access an actual cloud environment.
The package includes a number of tools and applications that simplify and speed some of the virtualisation procedures.
An inbuilt snapshot manager allows an administrator to keep multiple copies of each VM and then quickly rollback as needed. Parallels Desktop 4 can also detect the connection of an UNB device and either connect it to the host or connect it across VMs so that it is available to all of them.
The user experience is guaranteed with the use of features that manage the speed of screen refresh and which adjust the power of the computer seamlessly so that depending on what is being clicked on by the user, either the host or the VM, the experience is the same.
The product will compete in the market with the likes of Windows VirtualPC, Sun VirtualBox and VMware Workstation and will be priced to start at around $80, €70 or £50.
