Why use a virtual machine?

[Steve Lamb]

Steven Vollom wrote:
> Additionally, if you are required to purchase a copy of XP to install 
> into the virtual machine, what is the advantage of that over a dual boot 
> system that has XP as an alternate boot?  Before I will ever purchase 
> another Microsoft product, I will go without, rather than purchase from 
> them.  TIA

    As others have pointed out the advantage is not having to close down all
your currently running programs just to run something else in a different OS.
 As for what uses a virtual machine would have here are the uses I've put
several to in the past ~6 months.

    2 VirtualPCs running Windows Server 2003.  Each has a different version of
the software I support at work.  IE, the two major versions in use presently.
 When a customer calls in I ask them what version they're running and start up
the virtual machine that runs the version matching theirs.  That way I know I
am describing exactly what they need to see down to the proper words on the
menus and locations on the screen.

    Also they are complete test environments.  I archived the images prior to
messing with anything.  If a customer's install is broken in a unique way I
can replicate it on my VM then determine how to fix it.  If i fail to fix it I
just unpack the archived image and I'm back to a working install.

    I have 2 more WinXP VirtualPC virtual machines which run the clients for
the server hosted in the example above.  If their problem is client side I can
replicate the conditions on the server and the client locally using multiple VMs.

    I then have a Win2k VirtualPC which I use solely for remote VPN access.
Some sites have a bad habit of requiring all traffic go through their VPN
interface.  That kicks me off my email, my ticket tracking system, IM and
other work-required programs.  By using a VM to connect to the VPN none of
those are kicked off the net.

    On top of all that I have 2 KUbuntu images running in VirtualBox.  One is
my day-to-day image that I have open all the time to run apps in Linux and
have the power of Linux' shell available to me.  I cannot install Linux on my
work machine but I can install it in a VB VM and access the real machine's HD.
 The other machine is my attempt to replace the above mentioned Win2k
VirtualPC VM with a Linux based remote access solution.

    Finally, when Ibex was in beta I had a third KUbuntu VirtualBox machine
running the beta so I could test Ibex without blowing up my (then) Heron VM.

    So at work, on this Lenovo T61+, I have 7 virtual machines that I use on a
semi-regular basis.  Trying to septuple-boot would be a pain in the butt, not
to mention it would negate the benefits of keeping my work environment stable
while playing in different sandboxes as my work dictates.

    My home usage is not so robust.  I have a single VirtualBox VM which boots
the KUbuntu partition on my dual-boot machine.  When I'm playing games in
WinXP and need access to my Linux desktop I just run VM instead of shut
everything down, twiddle for a few minutes on the Linux desktop, then reboot
back into Windows and load up my games again.  Something tells me that the
reverse of this is what most people would be looking for out of VirtualBox and
WinXP.  ;)

-- 
         Steve C. Lamb         | But who can decide what they dream
       PGP Key: 1FC01004       |      and dream I do
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