[ubuntu-uk] VMWare & Virtual machines (Was 'diabetes')

Mon Jun 4 12:18:55 BST 2007

Hi Eddie,

:( HTML formatted mail :(

On Mon, Jun 04, 2007 at 12:07:33PM +0100, Eddie Armstrong wrote:
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> Alan Pope wrote:
> <blockquote cite="mid:20070604105919.GF17009 at popey.com" type="cite">
>   <pre wrap="">KVM is only any use on newish CPUs that have the VT instructions, for 
> non-VT-capable CPUs I use the KQEMU module with QEMU.
>   </pre>
> </blockquote>
> RE VMs and MS Windows :<br>
> Would virtualisation <b>replace</b> Wine? <br>
> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; - or are there cases where Wine is the preferred choice?<br>

Virtualisation isn't the same as WINE. WINE "only" provides the application 
programming interface to allow a windows program to run under Linux. 
Virtualisation usually means running a "full" computer inside a computer. 
There's a considerable overhead with the latter, but the advantages are 
quite considerable. With a VM you can run pretty much anything inside the 
application (some restrictions apply) but you need enough memory, cpu and 
disk to run and hold your host machine and the guest *simultaneously*. With 
WINE there is just the WINE program and the specific windows programs and 
libraries you want to run that you need on disk and in memory. Much more 
lightweight.

There is also the philosophical side which includes the implication that 
running applications under WINE and/or VM puts less pressure on application 
developers to create Linux-native versions of their applications. 

There are also security issues with both. With WINE, the windows application 
has access to your host machine and thus any files that you as a user have 
access to. If the windows program allowed you to run a trojan/virus then it 
could wipe out your valuable data. With a VM the machine is encapsulated 
inside a "box" that keeps it safe..

..safe-ish.. with the CPUs that have the VT stuff it's potentially possible 
for an application running inside the VM to "break out" and execute code on 
the host.

http://theinvisiblethings.blogspot.com/2006/07/blue-pill-hype.html

Cheers,
Al.