Quick Bites:
- VMware Workstation 17 comes with some cool new stuff.
- You can now set your virtual machines to start automatically when your computer boots up.
- It supports new operating systems, including Windows 11, and offers faster encryption options.
- There’s also a virtual Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 for added security.
- Plus, it has better graphics support and improved performance.
- This update makes VMware Workstation even more useful for running virtual machines on your computer.
There are two types of hypervisors in the virtualization space. The type 1 where the operating system is designed to run virtual machines as close to the hardware as possible, and a type 2 where the VMs run in a software installed on a host OS like Windows, Linux or MacOS. Type 1 hypervisors are much more efficient but type 2 are very convenient for testing (most use cases).
Table of Contents
- Auto Start Virtual Machine
- Support for new guest OS versions
- Fast encryption
- New Virtual Trusted Platform Module 2.0
- Improved Graphics Support: OpenGL 4.3
- Support for WDDM 1.2
- Wrap up
While vSphere ESXi is VMware’s type 1 hypervisor, Workstation is the type 2 product that you can install on your machine to create VMs quickly. Over two years after the release of its predecessor, VMware released Workstation 17 which brought a number of new features and improvements to the product. We will be discussing those in this article.
Note that Workstation Pro is the commercial version which is priced at $199 and the upgrade at $99 with a 30-day trial period. Workstation Player is the free version that includes a limited feature set. In a nutshell, Workstation Pro includes All the Features of Workstation Player plus:
- Virtual Network Customization
- Connect to vSphere/ESXi Server
- Instantly Create Copies of VMs with Linked Clones
- Create portable VM duplicates without hassle with Full Clones
- Remote vSphere Host Power Control
- Network Bandwidth and Packet Loss Simulation
Before looking at the new feature, note that the option to map or mount a virtual disk to a drive on the host system is no longer available in Workstation Pro.
Auto Start Virtual Machine
A pretty cool new feature is that you can now configure a local virtual machine to start automatically when the host computer boots up. You can even specify a start-up order of the virtual machines similarly to what you would do in vSphere ESXi. Note that only Windows and Linux machines are supported at the moment and you cannot configure Auto Start for an encrypted VM.
The feature runs under the VMware Autostart Service which must be started and set to Automatic. This being a service, you can configure a different user account to run the VMware Autostart Service. By default, the service is configured to run with LocalSystem account so changing the account information is recommended.
Support for new guest OS versions
Like with every new version, Workstation 17 adds support for several new OS versions that you can choose from when creating a new VM.
- Windows 11 (Improved Virtual Trusted Platform Module or vTPM and new ‘fast’ VM Encryption type)
- Windows Server 2022
- Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.10
- Debian 11.5, Debian 12,
- Fedora 37, Fedora 36,
- RHEL 9
- FreeBSD 12, FreeBSD 13
Fast encryption
You now have the choice to select security (Full) and performance (Fast) options for VM encryption that use vTPM.
In Fast mode, the VM performance is improved as only certain files making up the VM will be encrypted with .nvram, .vmss, .vmem, .vmx and .vmsn.
New Virtual Trusted Platform Module 2.0
Trusted Platform Module (TPM) is designed to provide hardware-based and security-related functions. A TPM chip is a secure crypto-processor that is designed to carry out cryptographic operations that can be used to manage the use of cryptographic keys, device authentication and ensure platform integrity.
Windows 11 requires TPM 2.0 which has been shipped on most PCs in the last 5 years or so.
Workstation Pro now offers a virtual Trusted Platform Module (version 2.0) device to support Windows 11 and other operating systems that require a TPM.
Improved Graphics Support: OpenGL 4.3
Workstation Pro now supports OpenGL 4.3 for the virtual machines.
- Guest Operating System Requirements:
- Windows 7 or higher
- Linux with Mesa 22.0.0 and Linux kernel 5.16.0
Support for WDDM 1.2
Workstation Pro now supports WDDM 1.2 (Windows Display Driver Model) for the virtual machines which brings several new enhancements that improve performance, reliability, and the overall end-user experience.
Wrap up
Over two years after the release of Workstation 16, VMware finally released Workstation version 17. It could be argued that if the release notes qualify for a new major version instead of a minor but the resolved issues and the extended guest OS compatibility makeup for the difference.
In my opinion, the start feature of this release is Fast Encryption with TPM 2.0 support as it will unblock many users out there and improve performances. VM auto-start is also an excellent add but I wonder how many use cases require to start a virtual machine at boot time for a type-2 hypervisor.
VMware Workstation is a great product to run virtual machines on your laptop or desktop machine without the hassle of running a home server. If you don’t have a need for advanced features, VMware Player will be a good fit for you as it is free of charge. If you still need more features but don’t have the budget for Workstation Pro, I suggest you check out Virtual Box, a full-featured free alternative distributed by Oracle.
Related Articles:
VMware Workstation 15 – New Features and Improvement
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