Parallels Workstation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parallels Workstation | |
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 OS/2 Warp Server and Xandros running simultaneously in Windows XP via Parallels Workstation for Windows. |
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| Developer: | Parallels, Inc. |
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| Latest release: | 2.2 |
| OS: | Microsoft Windows, Linux |
| Platform: | Wintel, Lintel |
| Use: | Virtual machine |
| License: | Proprietary |
| Website: | Parallels Workstation |
Parallels Workstation is the first commercial software product released by Parallels, Inc., a developer of desktop and server virtualization software. The Workstation software consists of a virtual machine suite for Intel x86-compatible computers (running Microsoft Windows or Linux) which allows the simultaneous creation and execution of multiple x86 virtual computers. The product is distributed as a download package.
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[edit] Implementation
Like other virtualization software, Parallels Workstation uses hypervisor technology, which is a thin software layer between Primary OS and host computer. The hypervisor directly controls some of the host machine's hardware resources and provides an interface to it for both virtual machine monitors and primary OS. This allows virtualization software to reduce overhead. Parallels Workstation's hypervisor also supports hardware virtualization technologies like Intel Virtualization Technology ("VT") and AMD SVM (Secure Virtual Machine).
[edit] Functionalities
Parallels Workstation is a hardware emulation virtualization software, in which a virtual machine engine enables each virtual machine to work with its own processor, RAM, floppy drive, CD drive, I/O devices, and hard disk – everything a physical computer contains. Parallels Workstation virtualizes all devices within the virtual environment, including the video adapter, network adapter, and hard disk adapters. It also provides pass-through drivers for parallel port and USB devices.
Because all guest virtual machines use the same hardware drivers irrespective of the actual hardware on the host computer, virtual machine instances are highly portable between computers. For example, a running virtual machine can be stopped, copied to another physical computer, and restarted.
Parallels Workstation is able to virtualize a full set of standard PC hardware, including:
- A Pentium or AMD Duron processor
- A generic motherboard compatible with Intel i815 chipset
- Up to 1.5GB of RAM (even though the real i815 only supports 512 MB)
- VGA and SVGA video cards with VESA 3.0 support
- A 1.44 MB floppy drive, which can be mapped to a physical drive or to an image file.
- Up to four IDE devices. This includes virtual hard drives that range in size from 20 MB to 128 GB each and CD/DVD-ROM drives. IDE devices can be mapped to physical drive or to an image file.
- Up to four serial ports that can be mapped to a real port, to a pipe or to an output file.
- Up to three bi-directional parallel ports, each of which can be mapped to a real port, to a real printer or to an output file.
- An Ethernet virtual network card compatible with Realtek RTL8029(AS).
- 2-port USB 1.1 controller.
- An AC97 compatible sound card.
- A 104-key Windows enhanced keyboard and a PS/2 wheel mouse.
[edit] Current Issues
- Can only run on 32 bit Primary OSes.
- Inability to assign multiple CPUs to your virtual machine to gain additional performance for CPU-intensive workloads.
- DVD/CD-ROM "pass-through" access has not been implemented, which means that it is impossible to use DVD and CD burners exclusively in guest virtual machines.
- Supported memory limit for all virtual machines is 4 GB, and memory limit for a single virtual machine is 1500 MB.
- In practical terms, Parallels has not yet fulfilled its promises of full USB 1.1, hampering many users' experience of the software. Devices like USB mice, memory keys, webcams, and cellular phones are frequently cited on the company's support forum as not working correctly[citation needed]. The support team has promised to fix some of these issues, but has not indicated when users can expect a fix.
