VMware Server alternative

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faugusztin

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Mar 9, 2008
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Hi,

i want to virtualize few OS installations for development, but i am having issue which one to choose. I want to run virtual computers on remote computer, while having a remote interface (application or web page) for controlling the virtualized computers and some sort of remote access to the running system.

Now VMware Server would be ideal for this - except that "In January 2010, VMware announced the End of Support for VMware Server with support ending on June 30, 2011.".

Each free alternative i explored has it's own limitations :
- VMware Player and Workstation are desktop solutions, so they don't provide me the remote possibility
- vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi) is not suitable because it runs on "bare metal", that means i couldn't use my DVB-C card in Windows, again because i5-2500K i have in that computer doesn't provide VT-d
- Virtualbox + phpVirtualbox is close, but i can't get the remote console to work and without it the whole thing is useless.

I really wouldn't like to switch CPU just to run ESXi; VMware Server is really probably the closest thing to my needs, but it is discontinued :(.

Any ideas, recommendations ?
 
Xenserver, free version
Straight kvm or proxmox ve (nice web interface to configure stuff)

Both are easier if you konw linux, but to get them working you don't need to know linux.
 
Isn't this one having same issue as VMware vSphere Hypervisor, which means i need VT-d for my DVB-C card run in Windows, which my i5-2500K doesn't have ?

Edit: Update, i can't even use VT-d anyway :
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1037313343&postcount=2935

So i need a Windows based solution, which works exactly like VMware Server (virtualization platform running on Windows as host OS, while providing web or remote UI), but it is not abandoned. Sure, i can install VMware Server for now, but it is a half-baked solution considering it is abandoned.
 
Last edited:
well you already listed your options and they reasons why you don't want to use any of them.
my suggestion, spend the money and get a cpu with VT-d, get an ESXi box running.
 
Why not just use VMware Workstation or Virtualbox and RDP/VNC into the computer running them?
 
@ripken204: as i linked above, i would have to replace the board as well, as VT-d is pretty much limited to Q67 boards according to Asus.
@AMD_Gamer: that is what i use now, but it is a really uncomfortable solution.
@Child of Wonder: Hyper-V again has the same issue as Xensource or ESXi - the issue with VT-d.

So it looks that there are really not more options than i already explored. Time to find out then why i can't get the phpVirtualbox console working, and if i can't then i had to settle for a unsupported software (VMware Server 2.0) and hope that in year or so there will be a better replacement.
 
faugusztin said:
<snipped>
@Child of Wonder: Hyper-V again has the same issue as Xensource or ESXi - the issue with VT-d.
<snipped>
Click to expand...

I am not experienced with Hyper-V, but I thought the 2008 (non-R2) version
was just an add-on role to 2008 ....so maybe it would work the way you want
it to.

EDIT: nm .. very unique need you have
 
My "server" is a Windows 7 computer, so getting a Windows Server 2008 licence for home use is a bit... overkill ?

And i don't think it is such a unique need, when there was VMware Server (and VMware GSX) for a long time providing exactly this kind of service. I don't have problem with Virtualbox, but i can't get console and remote access working (yes, i have the Oracle addon installed, which should provide this), which means it is useless. Maybe for some using a application inside virtual machine, which runs as a application through remote desktop is acceptable, but i would like to skip the middle man and connect directly to the virtual machine which runs on remote computer, while leaving other functionality of that remote computer intact (DVB-C TV card watching via MediaPortal, Squeezebox server, file server,...).
 
faugusztin said:
My "server" is a Windows 7 computer, so getting a Windows Server 2008 licence for home use is a bit... overkill ?

And i don't think it is such a unique need, when there was VMware Server (and VMware GSX) for a long time providing exactly this kind of service. I don't have problem with Virtualbox, but i can't get console and remote access working (yes, i have the Oracle addon installed, which should provide this), which means it is useless. Maybe for some using a application inside virtual machine, which runs as a application through remote desktop is acceptable, but i would like to skip the middle man and connect directly to the virtual machine which runs on remote computer, while leaving other functionality of that remote computer intact (DVB-C TV card watching via MediaPortal, Squeezebox server, file server,...).
Click to expand...

Get a Technet Standard subscription for $149 a year and you have access to almost all of Microsoft's software (including Windows Server) for personal use and testing.

Then you can load up Windows Server 2008 R2 and add the Hyper-V role. Now you can use your card in Windows, have remote access, and can get to the console of your VMs.

Problem solved.
 
Workstation 8, IIRC, has remote management. No fiddling with hyper-v or ESX then :)
 
Then the discontinuation of VMware Server (GSX) finally makes sense from their viewpoint. Going to try it and will see how it looks. 150&#8364; is a bit steep, but if it works well it could be acceptable. Still less than few hundred euros for Windows Server 2008 licence or hardware replacement for VT-d support (Asus P8B WS + i5 2500 instead of my current P8Z68-V PRO+i5 2500K).
 
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