Sep 04, 2015 2015 VM Benchmarks: Parallels 11 vs. VirtualBox 5. We’ve already looked at the recently updated offerings from Parallels and VMware, and now it’s time to compare them directly. As of March 2019, Parallels Desktop is ranked 7th in Virtual Desktop vs VMware Fusion which is ranked 9th in Virtual Desktop. Parallels Desktop is most compared with VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and VMware Player.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published at. Both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion deliver on the core goal of allowing Macintosh users to run Windows applications without needing to reboot their computers. The biggest difference between them right now is that is finished while VMware’s Fusion is still in beta testing. In fact, Parallels recently announced the availability of of the next release of its software, which includes support for upgrading a virtual Windows XP system to Windows Vista, among other features. The fact that is still in beta is rather evident.
Several configuration dialogs include the sentence, “This device will be editable in a future release,” and there are some minor stability problems. Performance is another major difference, and it is linked to the fact that Fusion is still in beta. Although the time it takes to install or boot Windows or to run most applications is similar between both Parallels and Fusion, some actions that involve redrawing the screen are slower in Fusion, sometimes resulting in a sluggish feel by comparison.
Running benchmark tests within similarly configured virtual machines under each application reveals dramatic differences in some processor and graphics functions. (Parallels’ scores for graphics performance are almost double those of Fusion.) The most likely cause for these differences is explained in a Fusion alert dialog that informs users that it is running in a debug mode that reduces performance and that can’t be disabled in the current release. The finished version of Fusion will tell a fuller tale on the performance front. Setup Both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion are easy to install. Both offer setup assistants that guide users through creating a virtual machine and offer configuration suggestions based on the operating system being installed and the hardware specifications of the Mac. Fusion takes advantage of the dual-core processors used in almost all Intel Macs by allowing you designate whether the virtual machine will be able to use one or both cores.
This is a nice feature because you can opt to retain the processing power of one core exclusively for Mac OS X and Mac applications, or you can throw all the processing power to the virtual machine. Parallels makes setup much easier than Fusion with its “Express Windows OS Installation Mode” that performs the entire install process of either Windows XP or Vista for you. All you need to do is enter your name and Windows activation key.
This is both extremely user-friendly and a great-time saving convenience. Both products offer a set of tools and specialized drivers for Windows to enhance its performance in a virtual environment. These tools offer things such as a shared folder that can be accessed from Windows and Mac OS X, the ability to respond to the cursor appropriately as you move into or out of the window containing the virtual machine, and enhanced hardware support. Both products also offer a tool for compressing the hard drive image file that serves as the virtual machine’s hard drive. The boot process for virtual machines created with either Parallels or Fusion is essentially the same as the boot process for an actual PC.
One difference is that Fusion provides you with a virtual BIOS configuration tool that can be used to change boot options such as the order in which the virtual machine searches for a bootable drive. For its part, Parallels manages these features through a virtual machine configuration dialog. Fusion also supports network boot from a Windows PXE server, which Parallels does not. Although Parallels boots consistently, Fusion is prone to the occasional unexplained Windows boot failure (generally resolved by simply rebooting the virtual machine). Ease of use Most users will find both Fusion and Parallels easy to use and will probably never even need to adjust the configuration settings from their defaults. With their respective tool sets installed under Windows, users can easily move between the Windows and Mac OS X environments.
The shared folders technique used in both applications is solid, though it took me a couple of reinstalls of the VMware Tools to get this to function properly in Fusion. VMware delivers another option to accessing files between operating systems with its support for drag and drop of files and folders between virtual machines and Mac OS X. This is actually a much easier method than setting up shared folders, and it can be used without having to configure anything.
But, as with the shared folders feature, I found that it did not always function properly. This is one of the few places where Fusion truly delivers something that every user will appreciate that Parallels does not, though this feature is slated for the next version of Parallels’ software, Desktop 2. Parallels also offers a couple of features that make it more user-friendly than Fusion. One of those is clipboard support, allowing you to copy and paste between Mac and Windows applications.
This makes working between the two operating systems much more seamless. Overall, both Parallels and Fusion rate well in the ease-of-use category — or will once some of the reliability issues are worked out during Fusion’s development. Advanced configuration Parallels offers a much broader set of options for advanced configuration.
Fusion currently allows for configuration of shared folders, the use of a single hard drive image file, sound, CD-ROM access (read-only) and some basic network options. In contrast, Parallels provides the ability to specify more granular virtual hardware information as well as the use of a disk image to mimic the functionality of a floppy drive. Parallels also offers the ability to clone or re-create with a different maximum size the hard drive image of a virtual machine. (Both applications use dynamically expanding hard drive images, but both also require a maximum size be set for the image when it is created.) Parallels also supports the connection of multiple hard drive images and the use of multiple disk images or physical drives for use as CD/DVD-ROMs, as well as the creation of virtual serial and parallel ports. All of these features make it a more customizable than Fusion to a user or an application’s needs. Both Parallels and Fusion offer limited choices for how virtual machines handle networking.
Both products allow you to choose between using Network Address Translation to share your Mac’s network connection or choosing bridged access to a specific network adapter. Parallels also offers a host-only option that allows the virtual machine to connect to your Mac and any other virtual machines as though they were connected via a network. But it does not allow actual network access.
Neither product supports connection to multiple network cards or networks at this time, though Parallels Desktop 2 promises support for up to five network cards. USB device access Both Parallels and Fusion support access to USB devices connected to a computer, though Parallels currently only supports USB 1.1. Parallels gives you the option of having devices be automatically detected and used by the virtual machine or to manually choose the devices that will be used. It appears that this is the how Fusion will ultimately function, but that the capability has not yet been implemented. Fusion offers access to built-in iSight cameras, Apple’s Bluetooth adapter (built-in or USB) and built-in IR ports, which are treated as USB 2.0 devices and are not supported by Parallels. Overall impressions Both Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion are good products. However, it is clear that Fusion still needs some work in terms of its performance and to fully implement its feature set.
It also isn’t quite as stable and reliable as Parallels. All of that is to be expected from a product currently in beta testing, but it does mean that Parallels remains the better option for the time being despite the fact that Fusion offers some features that the commercial release of Parallels doesn’t, such as drag and drop, control over how many processor cores virtual machines can access and full USB 2.0 support.
It is also worth noting that the next release of Parallels is slated to offer at least two of those features — drag and drop and USB 2.0. It is also slated for several more advances including the ability to use a Boot Camp partition as a Windows boot disk instead of a hard drive image file, greatly enhanced network options and full support for CD/DVD drives (including burn capabilities and access to copy-protected discs). There will also be a new mode called “coherence” that will allow Windows applications to run alongside Mac applications without the need for a separate Windows interface (i.e. Windows applications display right on the Mac desktop and appear in the Dock). As a result, it seems that for the foreseeable future, VMware will remain a generation behind Parallels. Explainer: Virtualization Vs. Boot Camp Products that use virtualization are, of course, not the only option for running Windows on an Intel Mac.
The other option is Apple’s dual-boot system called Boot Camp. The primary advantage to virtualization is that a user doesn’t have to leave the Mac OS X environment or restart the computer to run Windows because it is in a virtual environment within Mac OS X. Virtualization also offers support for a much wider range of Windows versions as well as other operating systems. One major point in favor of Boot Camp is that the end-user license agreements for Windows Vista in virtualized environments. This means that users wishing to run Vista with either Parallels or Fusion will need to purchase the more expensive Business or Ultimate editions of Vista.
Even when using those, Microsoft forbids use of the digital rights management technologies that are built into Windows and recommends against the use of third-party DRM products as well. This means that users should consider carefully whether or not to purchase Vista for use with virtualization products.
The better option might be Boot Camp if Vista is being used for access to protected content from services not available for Mac OS X. Under the hood, there are some serious differences between dual-booting and virtualized solutions. When a Mac boots into Windows using Boot Camp, it essentially is a Windows PC.
When virtualization is used, Windows does not have direct access to most of the Mac’s hardware. Virtualization uses a feature of Intel processors to essentially partition the processor into virtual processors and then gives the primary operating system and each guest operating system access to these processors. It also relies on a mix of genuine and virtual hardware to complete the creation of a virtual machine onto which Windows and applications are installed and run. Ryan Faas is a freelance writer and technology consultant specializing in Mac and multiplatform network issues. In addition to writing for Computerworld, he is a frequent contributor to InformIT.com.
Ryan is also the co-author of Essential Mac OS X Panther Server Administration (O’Reilly Media, 2005). You can find more information about Ryan, his consulting services and recently published work at www.ryanfaas.com, and you can e-mail him at [email protected]. This story, 'Mac virtualization: VMware vs. Parallels' was originally published.
As Mac users, it’s easy to turn our noses up at running Windows, but the truth is that it sometimes can’t be avoided. Be it for work or for playing video games, running Microsoft’s operating system on Apple hardware isn’t nearly as hard as it seems like it would be. There are two main ways to go about this: virtualization and Boot Camp. The former involves running a macOS application that allows you to run Windows within, while the latter equips you to reboot your Mac fully into Windows.
There are several factors involved in picking the correct path, including price, ease of use, and flexibility. It’s also important to consider what sorts of tasks you need to achieve with your Windows installation, as that may make the right decision more clear. If you need access to a couple of Windows apps while you’re running macOS, it’s best to virtualize. Running Windows in a virtual machine (dubbed a “VM”) also allows you to store it all on something like an external SSD, as Boot Camp requires a chunk of your boot drive.
For that trade, Boot Camp offers direct, native access to your Mac’s hardware. If you want to game in Windows on your Mac, it’s the way to go. Virtualization Apps There are three virtualization apps worth considering. And are very similar options. Neither are free, but they come with great customer support if you need help:. Parallels runs anywhere from $79.99/yr to $99.99/yr,. That subscription means your software is always up to date, ready for new versions of both macOS and Windows.
Fusion follows a more traditional model. For a new license, while an upgrade license will set you back just $49.99. The third option is, an open-source (and free) option. While there is a vibrant online community around this application, if you are virtualizing Windows for work, I think it’s more than worth the price of admission to pick up Parallels or Fusion. Parallels is the best way to run Windows on your Mac.
It offers lots of flexibility when it comes to which operating systems it can run and it offers a customizable experience to make it your own. Set-up & Settings Installing Windows 10 from an.iso downloaded directly from Microsoft’s store took just a few minutes. While most people will probably be installing Windows, Parallels can host all sorts of operating systems: You can install Windows from an ISO, as I did, or even download a trial of Windows from Microsoft within the application.
Additionally, Parallels can download a bunch of Linux distros and even download Modern.IE virtual machines, which are helpful when you need to test websites in old versions of Internet Explorer. Parallels can transfer information from an existing PC, including that computer’s operating system. You can boot your Boot Camp partition as if it were a VM. For my purposes, I installed the 64-bit version of Windows 10. After installation, I was prompted to create a Parallels account.
This ties the app to Parallels’ website, keeping your license keys and subscriptions updated. After logging in, I was greeted with my Windows 10 VM: There are a whole bunch of settings that can be tweaked. Things like how much RAM is allocated to the VM and what sort of network access it has can be adjusted. You can grant access to hardware like your Mac’s SD card slot, USB ports, and more as needed.
Parallels comes with a bunch of creature comforts too, though. It can automatically share the contents of your Mac with the VM and vice versa. This means if you create a text file and save it to your Desktop, it will appear on the desktop of your macOS virtual machine: It can open Mail.app on your Mac if you click an email link within the VM itself, and even automatically pause the VM when you aren’t using it, giving macOS more resources when possible. Parallels can even sync your clipboard across your Mac and its VMs and add your printer to your VM’s operating system automatically. For those of us with macOS shortcuts engrained into our hands and brains, Parallels can pass those to your VM so you don’t have to hit Ctrl + C to copy when you are used to Cmd + C.
If you want your VM to be completely isolated from its host Mac, you can enable that, too. Coherence Mode The integration between host is even visual with Parallels.
Running Windows apps can appear in your macOS dock, for example: By default, Parallels VMs are in their own windows, but in Coherence mode, the lines are blurred. Here’s Finder and File Explorer, side by side, for example: There’s no Windows background anymore. My Windows apps still look like Windows, but they operate like macOS apps. They appear in the Dock and even the Cmd + Tab switcher.
Task bar items are even added to the Mac’s menu bar: The clever features don’t end there. The Windows start menu can be opened via the VM’s Dock icon or the Parallels menu bar item when in Coherence mode. In this mode, Parallels truly blends the VM into the macOS experience.
If you need access to a single Windows app and don’t want the visual clutter of actually seeing Windows, this mode is for you. Personally, I like to think about VMs as being contained islands. I don’t mind some limited sharing, but I want there to be a clear separation. Performance & Utility It’s hard to measure the speed of virtual machines.
Your mileage will vary based on what computer you have, how much RAM it is equipped with, and more. In measurable aspects, like VM boot time, Parallels was faster than VMware Fusion across the board on my iMac Pro. Parallels comes with a bunch of virtual machine management tools. You can create snapshots of your VM to restore to at a later time if a software update goes poorly.
The application comes with a collection of utilities. I’m not sold on the value of these tools, but they come with a subscription to Parallels. VMware Fusion is the big competitor to Parallels, and while it does not require an annual subscription, it lacks some of the polish of its rival.
That said, comparing the two applications side by side, there is very little difference in terms of features. For some users, it may come down to price. Some users simply don’t want an annual subscription. I understand that, but I have more faith in Parallels’ future. VMware is a huge company, owned by Dell.
Fusion is just one product in their catalogue, and a few years ago, VMware denied the report, but I can’t shake the feeling that Parallels is a better long-term bet. Fusion includes a feature named Unity, which is very much like Parallels’ Coherence mode. The Windows backdrop goes away, and Windows apps show up directly in the macOS interface, including the Dock and App Switcher. However, not all of the resources used are Retina quality, leading to blurry icons in places. Worse, the entire system feels slower than Parallels.
Even on an iMac Pro, Unity mode will stutter and have to redraw windows instead of smoothly animating them. Boot Camp As virtualization — running Windows inside a macOS app — lets you use both macOS and Windows at the same time, it’s probably the best option for most people.
The convenience of having your one or two must-have Windows apps right next to the data and apps on your Mac is hard to beat. However, virtualization comes with a price: computational overhead. You’ll be sharing your Mac’s CPU, GPU, and RAM across what is effectively two computers. Most modern Macs have more than enough horsepower for this, but if you want to run Windows on your Mac for gaming, Boot Camp is your best bet. Is built into macOS, and supports Windows, Windows and Windows, depending on the age of the host Mac.
If you’re running a Mac built in 2012 or later, you should be set for Windows 10. Be sure to visit Apple’s support pages to verify which version of Windows your machine will support via Boot Camp before you run out and buy something. There’s a lot of fine print here. Installing Windows via Boot Camp is pretty straight forward. There’s an app in your Mac’s Utilities folder named Boot Camp Assistant. You’ll need it, as well as a disk image file (.iso) of the Windows installer.
If you purchase Windows online from Microsoft, you can download an ISO directly from the company’s store. Boot Camp Assistant will walk you through selecting how much disk space you want to allocate to Windows. This will become a new partition on your Mac’s SSD; the space will be removed from the free space you can access in macOS. Once the partition is created, you may be prompted to insert a USB drive for Boot Camp Assistant to download the necessary Windows drivers and the OS will install. Once everything is complete, you can select which OS you’d like to boot into via the Startup Disk preference pane in macOS or the Boot Camp system tray item in Windows. Boot Camp gives Windows direct access to your Mac’s hardware, meaning it’s a great option for things like gaming or heavy rendering, but for most users who may need access to one or two Windows-only apps, it’s simply too much trouble to reboot between operating systems.
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In Closing To wrap this up, Boot Camp is great if you need the full hardware capabilities of your Mac to be funneled into your virtual machine. If not, is an excellent choice. It’s fast, easy to use, and comes with a lot of features that make living in two operating systems easier than ever.
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