VMware has released a new version of desktop virtualisation tool with over 10 new features including twice the 3D graphics performance, support for more scalable virtual machines, and tighter Windows 7 integration.
The company claims that VMware Workstation 7.1 includes up to 2x the graphics performance for DirectX 9.0 and hardware acceleration for OpenGL 2.1 in Windows 7 and Windows Vista virtual machines.
According to VMware, the new offering has optimised performance for Intel’s Core i3, i5, i7 processor family for virtual machine encryption and decryption. It also provides support for virtual machines with 8 virtual processors (or 8 virtual cores) and 2TB virtual disks; and has the ability to import and export Open Virtualisation Format (OVF 1.0) packaged virtual machines and upload directly to VMware vSphere.
VMware said Workstation 7.1 supports running over 600 operating systems and adds support for the new Linux operating systems including Ubuntu 8.04.4, Ubuntu 10.04, OpenSUSE 11.2, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5, Fedora 12, Debian 5.0.4 and Mandriva 2009.1.
Pat Lee, director of personal desktop products for VMware, said: VMware Workstation provides the best way for technical professionals to quickly learn about Windows 7, check application compatibility, and test corporate images all on their PC.
“VMware Workstation 7.1’s excellent Windows 7 performance and integration makes it easy for technical professionals to effortlessly learn, test and demo new platforms and technologies like Windows 7, Microsoft Office 2010, and SharePoint 2010 – without disrupting their current PC environments.
