User manual CONNECTIX THE TECHNOLOGY OF VIRTUAL MACHINES II

[. . . ] Virtual PCTM for Windows® The Technology of Virtual PC A Connectix white paper Connectix Corp. 94403 (650) 571-5100 www. connectix. com Table of contents INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 INTRODUCING VIRTUAL MACHINE TECHNOLOGIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 APPLICATIONS FOR VIRTUAL PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [. . . ] This is accomplished through the use of an integrated NAT (network address translation) mechanism with a DHCP server. Compelling benefits, distinct advantages What advantage is there to running multiple operating systems on one computer?Consider the compelling benefits of the virtual machine technologies developed and refined by Connectix: · · · · · Ease of use. Users may switch between operating systems and applications with the click of a mouse -- without Repetitive rebooting and relaunching. Multiple computers for each operating system, application, service or customer are no longer needed. Instead, one computer becomes capable of running multiple operating systems, applications and services. Operating systems and applications running within a virtual machine may be "cut off " from other environments. This provides for a safe execution and networking environment in which new operating systems and applications may be explored and stress tested -- while isolating and protecting the normal operating system and applications that are used day after day. This approach also maintains the stability of servers when adding applications and services. Alternatively, to avoid this long and often complex process, Connectix provides a variety of pre-installed and pre-configured operating systems. Using this approach, users are up and running in minutes with a new guest operating system. Users may suspend individual virtual machines so they stop consuming CPU cycles on the host processor. Virtual machines may also be saved to disk and restored at a later time. The restore process typically takes no more than a few seconds ­ much faster than rebooting the guest operating system. All virtual machines, whether running, suspended or saved, are managed through a single convenient user interface. Integrating applications makes interoperability between the guest and host operating systems a snap. For example, users may copy, paste, drag and drop between guest and host. Virtual PC for Windows 6 Applications for Virtual PC How do the virtual machine technologies built into Virtual PC apply in the real world?Consider these scenarios. Legacy Software Support With all the new versions of Windows available over the years there are, at least, ten times as many software applications built to run on various flavors of Windows. Not all software applications are updated or rewritten to run on the latest version of Windows creating complicated application compatibility problems. Many corporations have found it necessary to custom develop applications specifically for use within the entire enterprise and for use with their suppliers. Corporate IS departments may be planning a enterprise-wide upgrade to Windows 2000, but within the organization there is a custom developed mission-critical application that will only run in Windows 98. Rewriting the application is not an option that is reasonably feasible. Using Virtual PC Enterprise IT departments can upgrade the entire company to Windows 2000 and install Virtual PC with Windows 98 to run the custom application on only the systems that need to use the application. Technical Support Like developers, help desks and call centers must support an array of hardware and software configurations. [. . . ] Virtual PC virtual machines are isolated from each other and from the underlying host operating system. If an operating system within a virtual machine crashes, no other environment on the computer is affected. This isolation ensures that developers may test software to its limits without risking damage to the host or any other environment. Virtual PC also permits developers to test software in the reduced memory configurations typical of older computers. [. . . ]