Re: Developing in virtual machine: Recommendations


"Ivo Bauer" <abuer@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:488f9596@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I've got a printed copy of the Workstation 6 users manual. However
it does not answer the following questions:

(a) What kind of OS are you running on when developing in a VM?

Why is that an issue? The Host OS makes no difference, since the VMs don't
see it. You can use whateer Host OS that VMWare supports. And you already
know which OSs you install into the VMs.

(b) How much memory do I need for the VM that will be used for
development?

You specify that when you configure each VM. Each Guest OS has a
recommended setting for memory usage. You don't have to run multiple VMs at
the same time if you are worried about eating up the Host's available
memory.

(c) Do you allow your VM to access the internet?

Depends on whether each particular VM needs it. Sometimes I do give my VMs
Internet access so that I can look at online developer resources, like MSDN,
without jumping to a different VM or back to the Host.

I do usually set up a Host-only network in all of my VMs, at least, so I can
share files with the Host. But I'm using VMWare Server, not Workstation. I
think Workstation has more features for supporting that natively than Server
does.

If so, do you install the antivirus and firewall there as well?

Nah. The antivirus/firewall on the Host should be good enough to catch
things before they reach a VM. Besides, since VMs are sandboxed anyway, if
one did get infected with a virus, at least it won't infect the Host. Just
revert the infected VM to a previous snapshot prior to the infection. Or
wipe the VM and start clean, without having to touch your other VMs or the
Host.

If not, how do you apply the updates to the operating system?

I usually do, yes. At least that way I'm developing with the latest
patches. You could also create a snapshot after each update is installed,
and then revert back and forth if needed (such as when a particular update
breaks your apps and you are tracking down why).

(d) I'm slightly confused about the network connection settings:
bridged, NAT, host only, custom, etc. I have two network cards.
Normally I use the firts one to access the internet and the other one
to access various industrial devices connected to my physical machine
(for conducting a communication tests). Regarding the second network
card: There are either ethernet-enabled devices connected to this card
or there is ethernet-to-RS485 hardware converter connected that is
used to access a whole sub-network of RS-485 devices. I also have
Lantronix Redirector software installed on my system that comes with a
special driver that creates a virtual serial port in the system which
is then used for the communication between my apps and the RS-485
network. Could anyone give me an advice how to achieve this setup in a VM?

(e) How large the virtual disk should be?
Do you set it to preallocate the whole disk space or just let it grow?

Again, that is for you to decide when you configure each VM. I tend to
preallocate my VMs. I don't want them eating up my Host's hard drive space
that I use for other things, and I usually don't need more than 1-2GB per VM
anyway.


Gambit


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: VMS with BULL terminals
    ... Now I want to connect to a VMS ... | output of the host scrolls only in this single line. ... | One DEC VT510 in VT220 emulation mode, working as the system console, ... the DEC terminals, so incompatibility often is revealed by them. ...
    (comp.unix.misc)
  • Re: VMS with BULL terminals
    ... Now I want to connect to a VMS ... | output of the host scrolls only in this single line. ... | One DEC VT510 in VT220 emulation mode, working as the system console, ... the DEC terminals, so incompatibility often is revealed by them. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Pls Help with X over TCPIP
    ... Note that V1.3 and beyond will not install on versions of VMS older than ... In the case of older versions, you indeed have to run with just a host list ... Linux side with no xauth/magic cookies. ... > box, the problem is most likely either at the tcpip level (blocked port, ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: Need help with a PeeCee again.
    ... > That would require putting that Swiss-cheese security poor shitload excuse ... > of an OS on my network. ... It can't infect your VMS or MAC boxes. ...
    (comp.os.vms)
  • Re: VMware virtual networking question
    ... VMs on my laptop which need to communicate with each other and with the ... host OS. ... Everything works fine when I'm plugged into a network ...
    (comp.os.linux.misc)