Both are free hardware virtualization tools that can be used for testing purposes.
This type of software lets you run multiple operating systems at the same time on a single computer. If you plan to try these, you should consider using a virtualization tool. Testing in a virtual environment has many advantages even if you have PCs for testing purposes.

Sun VirtualBox is free software from Sun Microsystems. VirtualBox has its own disk format VDI (Virtual Disk Image), but it can open Microsoft’s VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) format and VMware’s VMDK (Virtual Machine Disk File) format.

You don’t have to import or convert virtual disks to load a third party virtual machine. This can be useful, if you already have virtual machines that you want to continue using with VirtualBox. Furthermore, it is possible to evaluate Microsoft software through its pre-configured VHDs . At least, this is the theory. I tried to launch two VHDs with VirtualBox on a Vista x64 host and it failed to open with the error message invalid pre-header. Sun already knows about this bug and it should be fixed in the next version. I was able to open a VMDK file that I created with VMware Workstation 6.5 in VirtualBox, but older VMware virtual machines did not boot up. I suppose there are ways to get these VMs running too. However, you probably have to invest some time.

VMware Workstation is a feature packed virtualization software. One feature that users will definitely love is the Easy Install feature. It will automatically detect which operating system you are installing from the disk or ISO image. Just click Finish and then Power on. Sit back, grab a coffee, and watch everything be done for you, including creating user accounts, selecting all the recommended settings, and even entering activation keys. You enter the user account info and keys before the install starts. If you frequently install virtual machines or have no idea how to go through an operating system installation, this is simply an awesome feature.

I have used both products. Sun VirtualBox is not quite a newcomer to the virtualization arena but it is definitely newer than VMware Workstation, and since it is free it is gaining quite a bit of traction. And the bottom line is that Sun VirtualBox is a little rough around the edges. While it loads faster, sound capability is lacking. It has a much simpler interface, but at the same time the interface is a little cryptic. It does, however, load virtual disks from VMware Workstation. To download VirtualBox, simply go there and download the 67.9 MB file. To download VMware (30 day trial), registration is required. In addition, the download is 507 MB, much larger than VirtualBox. The final install of VirtualBox is 79.4 MB compared to VMware’s 739 MB. The install of VirtualBox just feels a lot “cleaner.

To add virtual machines (VMs) to VirtualBox you must first create or add an existing virtual disk to the virtual disk manager. VirtualBox understands VMDKs from VMware Workstation 6.5 as well as those exported using VMware Converter from VMware ESX hosts. Once you have the virtual disk you can then create the VM and launch the VM.

VirtualBox a good simple product if all you need is a spare system to run USB devices that VMware Workstation doesn’t support. If VirtualBox was given sound support it could rival VMware Workstation. Even so it is a very good tool to include in your virtualization toolbox. Simply put, however, VirtualBox is not as robust as VMware.

VMware Workstation provides many more features than the VirtualBox. These features include embedded video creation, debugging modes for kernel developers, high speed inter-VM communication via VMCI, solid sound and video support, VM teaming, etc. If you need more than a bare bones, no thrills product then VMware Workstation is for you.

The organization of the virtual disks are cleaner in VirtualBox, which stores the disk inside one file. VMware starts off with one file, but eventually expands to multiple hard disk files even if you selected one single drive during initial guest setup.

VirtualBox opens each machine in its own separate window while VMware has each in a tab. When having multiple machines running, the tabbed interface feels cleaner and easier to use.

Both also feature a “Seamless” mode or “Unity” mode. This takes away the desktop background and window/tab and moves all the windows onto your host desktop. What makes VMware’s Unity stand above VirtualBox’s Seamless is that it manages to integrate the guest taskbar with the host taskbar and hide the guest taskbar completely. The application menu and start menu can be found by hovering over the host Start Menu. In VirtualBox, both taskbars show (along with the application bar of Linux).

VirtualBox has a MUCH faster update cycle than VMware. I checked out their changelogs.

VirtualBox updates come on average every 1-2 months. VMware updates seem to come every 4-5 months.

I recommend VirtualBox to all users because its free and for a free product, it comes really close to a popular paid product. However, I do recommend trying VMware. Download VirtualBox  Here

Tags: Sun VirtualBox, virtual machines, VMware Workstation