What is considered the best VM system under Mac OS X for running Windows and Linux?
I'd like to setup a MacBook as a one stop shop for OS testing and light purposes, primarily for cross OS/browser web testing and related tasks.
Currently using Bootcamp to support Windows 7 and Mac OS X, but if I want to add more OSes, what is the best option? Parallels? VMware?
Which has the best OS support, features, performance, etc?
VirtualBox works well (on Linux for me) and there is a free OSX version available here. The free version is pretty much identical to the non-free version, except there's no USB support, and you're not allowed to use it for commercial work (it may also have a few other subtle differences, but those are not fundamental).
Parallels and VMware are both relatively equal in terms of features - performance wise I've never had any problems with Parallels - performance is always adjustable with the virtual computer. You'd be fine either way, I went with Parallels because I had heard about it first
parallels is faster: Parallels vs. Fusion
I tried both Parallels and VMware Fusion, and found the latter to be better in terms of performance. I've been using it regularly for the last year, and its been pretty good. I found both to be similar in terms of other criteria. That being said, I think you can go with either and not have any problems.
Fusion is great, I'm running Windows 7 64-bit with near native performance... after a bit of prodding I'm even able to get the iSight working to use windows-only videoconferencing software :)
Fusion hands down. I used to use Parallels, but at version 3 stability went out the window. I do not know if 4 is any better - I lost patience.
I'm currently using the latest version of VMWare Fusion and Parallels. Both run great but I've never been able to get auto-snapshot feature to work in Fusion. The feature is on, it just never takes snapshots.
One thing you might consider as well; Fusion VM's are compatible with VMWare Workstation on the PC. So if you have images you need to move from a VM Ware shop, say between work and home (as I do), then Fusion is way to go.
I have found vmware fusion to work very well with Windows and Linux. I have pulled virtual machines over from my vmware workstaion on XP without any fuss.
If money is a premium or you want to run OpenSolaris (dtrace, whee) then go for VirtualBox.
VMware Fusion has a headless mode which allows VMs to run in the background while the Mac user can log out.
This alone makes VMware MUCH more usable than Parallels.
VMware's Cocoa GUI also looks more "Macish" than Parallels' ported GUI.
I use Parallels in my MacBook where I never log out and don't use my Windows VM quite as often. But on my 8 GB Mac Pro I don't see why my three VMs (32 bit XP, 64 bit Vista, 64 bit Linux) shouldn't run in the background at all times.
Fusion is my choice no doubt. Beyond performing great, the other features just make that more useful. The UNITY mode makes virtual machines look like a part of os x. I love this feature. The other major winner is the compatibility with other vmware products so you can transfer images to other installs. Fusion is the clear winner in my book.