Virtualization & Intel Macs

IT Architecture Forum 7 November 2006 Mark H. Anbinder mha1@cornell.edu

A little History
Cornells IBM mainframes offered virtualization decades ago, with logical partitions supporting separate OSes or just virtual machines for separate users on the same hardware. Early Mac virtualization would have provided multi-user support on a single Mac IIfx with multiple monitors and keyboards hooked up but suddenly, hardware prices plummeted.

Early emulators for Macs

Remember SoftPC, RealPC, and SoftWindows from FWB and Insignia? A software PC-in-awindow was slow. OrangeMicros Orange386 NuBus card offered better performance from hardware, a PC-on-a-card. Apple even sold Macs with built-in DOS emulator cards.

Virtual PC offered virtual machine, not just Windows

Faster PowerPC processors meant reasonable, if not stellar, performance from a software emulator. Connectixs Virtual PC provided a seamless Windows experience and even came with Windows! Didnt want Windows? Use the Intelbased OS of your choice. Virtual PC for Windows let you run Windows or Linux in a Window on a PC! That caught Microsofts eye...

Nothing up my sleeve...
Intel Macs meant the possibility of Windows running natively. Apple and Dells Core Duo machines had almost identical configurations. First... the hack! An OnMac.net contest put thousands of dollars toward a working solution. Apples Boot Camp public beta made it easy partition, install, and run Windows or Mac OS X. Not both at the same time.

Why use Boot Camp?

Easy... its free. You need a standalone, licensed copy of Windows. (Not so free... but you might already have one.) Perfect when you need to use Mac OS sometimes and Windows sometimes, but not both at once. Optimum Windows performance no sharing the machine. Switching takes a few minutes.

Why use Parallels Desktop?

Mac OS and Windows at the same time. $80 software, and you still need an OS. Its really Windows and youre not limited to XP. Need to run in Win2K? Test in Vista? Mac OS and Windows and Linux and OS2 and whatever else, all at the same time. Slight performance overhead.

Why use CrossOver Mac?

No Windows needed! Based on WINE opensource Windows emulator project. Uses X11. One program per window! $40 pre-order price. Some applications will just work, and some just wont.

Careful, its still Windows...

If youre running Windows via Boot Camp or Parallels, youre running Windows! Keep Windows patched and updated. Install, update, and use anti-virus software. Practice safe computing by using easily compromised software like IE and Outlook as little as possible, or not at all. Use shared networking in Parallels, if possible. Be paranoid.

Whats next?
Next version of Boot Camp? Better Parallels and CrossOver Mac? VMWare Fusion?

Resources...
OnMac.net www.macwindows.com www.apple.com/bootcamp/ www.parallels.com crossover.codeweavers.com

Questions?
Look for this presentation and helpful links later this week at ata.cit.cornell.edu Have you voted yet?