Virtual machine software from VMware, Inc., Palo Alto, CA (www.vmware.com) that allows multiple copies of the same operating system or several different operating systems to run in the same x86-based machine. For years, VMware has been the leader in virtualization software (see virtual machine).

Client Versions
VMware Workstation runs on Windows and Linux host machines and supports most versions of Windows, Linux, Solaris x86, Netware and FreeBSD guest operating systems. VMware ACE is a deployment tool for propagating virtual machines created in VMware Workstation to other PCs. A user's desktop (OS and applications) can be stored on a USB drive for transport.

Vmware Fusion can run Windows, Linux and other guest operating systems on the Mac (see VMware Fusion).

VMware Player is a free runtime engine that can execute applications packaged as a virtual appliance without requiring full VMware in the computer (see VMware Player).

Server Versions
VMware ESX Server is VMware's flagship server virtualization product, and ESX Server 3i is a compact version for embedding into firmware. ESX Server is the highest performance product in the VMware family and includes tools for datacenter management. For example, VMware's Vmotion enables virtual machines to be migrated live from one server to another.

VMware Server (formerly GSX Server) is a free product used as a starting point for server virtualization in an organization. However, VMware Server requires an underlying operating system to work, whereas VMware ESX is a "hypervisor," a stand-alone virtual machine monitor that directly controls the hardware.

Thin Clients - Virtual Desktop Manager
Under the umbrella of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) VMware's Virtual Desktop Manager (VDM) provides a desktop virtualization environment for thin clients. Each user's desktop resides as a VMware virtual machine in the server. See thin client and virtual machine.