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VMware has announced the public availability of VMware Workstation 6, which is the sixth generation of the company’s desktop virtualization software product. VMware Workstation 6 delivers revolutionary advances in virtualization technology while offering several new features such as Windows Vista support, along with industry-first support for numerous display monitors and USB 2.0 devices, thus making it perfect for IT administrators, developers, testers and other technical professionals and enthusiasts.

Dan Chu, vice president of emerging products and markets at VMware said, “This feature-packed release of VMware Workstation demonstrates our commitment to delivering cutting-edge products that help enable users to maximize the benefit of virtualization on the desktop.” Chu added, “VMware Workstation 6 raises the bar significantly for desktop virtualization—it is a must-have product and the only choice for serious desktop virtualization users.”

The VMware Workstation was launched over eight years back and allowed the pre-production testing of desktops and servers in virtual machines, re-hosting of legacy applications, rapid provisioning and resetting of multi-tier environments and accelerated software development and testing. With an advanced feature set and broad support for x86 operating systems, VMware Workstation continues to be the “gold standard” virtualization product for desktop and laptop computers.

“As a software company, we have to support a multitude of operating systems, so VMware Workstation is invaluable to me as a developer every day of the week,” said Mike Spragg, technical director at E1 Business, a CRM solution provider for mid-size companies. “With VMware Workstation 6, I can upgrade to Windows Vista, which will allow me to utilize all 4GB of my laptop’s memory. I also like the headless mode, which lets me minimize virtual machines and come back to them later.”

“I am a developer who works primarily with Windows Vista x64, so VMware Workstation’s 64-bit support is very useful to me,” said James Michels, head of technology at Bluefin Trading, a private trading firm specializing in equities, debt, option and derivatives trading. “Before I release my code, I regularly use VMware Workstation to try the application out on 32-bit Windows Vista as well as 32-bit Windows XP. Additionally, I have fresh installs to test out applications against. And I can do all of this on a single desktop. Once you use VMware Workstation, you can’t imagine life without it.”

VMware Workstation has the distinction of providing a wide range of operating system support for Windows, Linux, NetWare, Solaris x86 and FreeBSD. In addition, it also features a sophisticated architecture that includes full 64-bit support, industry-first support for up to 10 network interface cards and experimental support for two-way Virtual SMP.

Brett Shavers, managing principal at NTI Associates, a company specializing in forensic work said, “VMware Workstation is one of the strongest tools in our toolbox. VMware Workstation helps us with our forensic investigations, enabling us to restore individual workstations and networks to the exact state of a machine under investigation so we can test for trojans and viruses. We are excited about upgrading to VMware Workstation 6 for its support of USB 2.0 devices, which will enable us to run our forensic processing applications on the fastest running hardware available—helping us save time and avoid delays in our results.”

New features in VMware Workstation include:

In addition, VMware Workstation 6 enhances the modern virtualization technology with innovative new capabilities including:

VMware Workstation 6 is available for both Windows and Linux host operating systems for $189 from an electronic download at www.vmware.com/products/ws/. The product can also be purchased through the network VMware of resellers and distributors.