In my previous column, I reviewed the two major commercial
virtualization products for the Mac, VMware Fusion and Parallels Desktop.
After declaring Fusion the winner, I promised to bring a comparison
between it and Sun's VirtualBox.
In this case, I could not declare a definite winner. Although both
are virtualization solutions, each product is targeted towards entirely
different computing segments.
Different Aims, Different Talents
For the purposes of this review, I found most direct comparisons
completely pointless. VMware Fusion touts
several very friendly consumer features - among them are automatic
printer interfacing, a free one-year subscription to McAfee VirusScan
Plus, and 3D graphics acceleration. Since these are qualities that
appeal to the average consumer, this product is popular in that
sector.
VirtualBox lacks all the
above features, but it offers many features that are quite useful to
another important sphere: server virtualization and other IT uses.
Among these unique advantages are finely grained virtual hardware
control, complete command line management of machines, headless remote
desktop display modes, and easy virtual machine portability to Linux
and Windows versions of the software.
This program excels in server roles: The virtual machines are
designed to easily run hidden in the background of a remotely managed
server while still allowing direct interface access through remote
desktop protocols. In fact, the whole setup process can be remotely
managed with no need to ever touch the target server.
I could easily see VirtualBox becoming a leading solution for server
virtualization in the Mac world. However, due to the easy portability
of the virtual machines, I doubt we will ever see it support Mac
OS X Server itself: The license restrictions only allow Server to
be virtualized on Apple hardware.
Win-Win Situation
Even though the two products are good at different things, they are
both still fairly general purpose. Fusion can work in a server
environment, and VirtualBox has enough user-friendliness to serve
passably in a basic consumer environment. If you can afford the extra
features of VMware Fusion and it's appropriate for your intended uses,
go ahead and buy it, but if VirtualBox serves your needs, I highly
recommend it.
After all, the price can't be beat. Plus, it's open-source, which
appeals to me greatly. 
Further Reading
Purchase Links
- VMware Fusion 2, currently $62.99 shipped from Amazon.com
