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Players gonna play
October 07, 2015

Players gonna play

Stephen Demsky | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User

Software Version

12

Overall Satisfaction with VMware Player

I used VMWare Player to give myself an introduction to virtualization. It allows you to get your feet wet without committing money to a paid product, such as VMware Workstation or VMware Fusion. The features are limited, but as a beginner, you will be mainly concerned with the creation and maintenance of basic VMs, which is doable with VMware Player.
  • Allows beginners to experience virtualization
  • Simple to use
  • Lightweight
  • Would be nice to use more VMs at once, but this is basically trial software, so it's hard to fault them.
  • Educational tool without the cost
  • Could be helpful for lightweight virtualization
Most of this is apples to oranges. VMware Horizon View allows for a cloud-based virtualization solution, whereas VMware Player is better suited for educational purposes (basic, local, etc.). VMware Fusion is nice, but I prefer Parallels when it comes to local virtualization on a Mac. VMware Fusion is less user-friendly than Player, but you have to take into account the difference between a Mac (Fusion) and Windows (Player) environment overall.
Better suited for personal use, more-than-likely in an academic environment. For business you're better off with a paid product such as VMware Workstation or VMware Fusion. The Pro version of VMware Player may be a better choice for some, but again you're committing to purchasing and may as well go with Workstation/Fusion at that point.