VM, RDP or Parallels

[circatee]

Curious, looking to see what everyone's take is on this.
I work in I.T. and from time to time, I'm sure I'll need to connect to a Windows Server, or merely RDP to a Windows computer.

For those of you that are 'into' this, do you:
- merely RDP into the computer of choice
- dual boot your Mac, for Windows and Mac OS
- use the likes of Parallels, and use a VM or sorts

Looking forward to your replies.

 

[droo]

I just use the MS RDP client and RDP to what I need to.

Sometime I run VM's with VMWare Fusion.

Drop

 

[ajay96]

I usually use a dual boot, but if i'm running low on space I switch back to a VM in Parallels.

 

[circatee]

Ay other opinions...?

 

[argentum47]

I use both RDP and VM regularly. Nothing stops you from using both

 

[sarthak]

Ay other opinions...?

It depends on what your priorities are.

For development:
I run Windows Server 2008 R2 Web inside of VMWare Fusion on OS X. The "performance per watt" is excellent as the machine runs quite silent compared to running Windows 7 and far more so than Windows 10.

Development in BootCamp:
Running Windows natively inside of Boot Camp is inherently restrictive as you can't run any OS X software. I have not found any significant benefit over using a VM unless you need to run 3D applications.

For testing:
Use Microsoft Remote Desktop for Mac to connect to another machine running Windows Server. I would not use this for much more than testing/deployment as there is lag over the network, except iff you're hard wire a bridge directly to the machine. I don't think remotely connecting to a Windows system via Windows in Boot Camp will make a difference and if you try it via VM, the performance will be even worse.

 

[maflynn]

OS X has a nice RDP client - CoRD

If I'm going to be spending a lot of time accessing servers, though I typically boot into Windows via bootcamp. I find the experience that much better over Vmware. In fact, I've hardly used Vmware at this point.

 

[Freyqq]

Bootcamp: If I need to run something that requires a lot of power
Virtualbox: If I just need MS Office or something simple
RDP: I use to use this before I set up virtualbox. Drains less battery, but you can't use it as easily outside your LAN.

 

[andeify]

I use the app Screens from the app store, its quite expensive but its very nice to use. It allows me to connect remotely to Windows' and Mac's.

I also use VMware Fusion from time to time, I find it just as fast as parallels but again nicer to use.

 

[mmomega]

to remote in to all workstations I use Splashtop Business. I have this installed on my laptop, phone, desktop and works great for me.
If I'm running my own Windows I use VMWare Fusion 8 Pro. My wife uses Parallels but will probably switch to VMWare at some point. I usually only ever need to run Windows for a short amount of time and not interrupt anyone else by remoting in. Or test out new software to check if it should run reliably in our setup.

 

[CatBookPro]

Curious, looking to see what everyone's take is on this.
I work in I.T. and from time to time, I'm sure I'll need to connect to a Windows Server, or merely RDP to a Windows computer.

For those of you that are 'into' this, do you:
- merely RDP into the computer of choice
- dual boot your Mac, for Windows and Mac OS
- use the likes of Parallels, and use a VM or sorts

Looking forward to your replies.

If all you need is to RDP into work servers, then I'd just use the MS RDP for the Mac...

For me? I RDP into the work servers, but I also do stuff locally in Windows 10. As far as VM vs. Bootcamp? If you have enough RAM to run a VM and do everything you need to... then a VM of Windows on the Mac OS should do the trick. For me? I have an rMB with only 8GB of RAM - And... I need to run a couple of Windows OS's virtualized. So, I chose to do a Bootcamp / Window 10 (to get what I needed for the core Windows junk), and anything else (testing VMs, etc.) - I run under a VM.

I guess it depends on your needs though...

 

[MacDawg]

I remote into a lot of servers/desktops for work
On the Mac I prefer to use Royal TSX
I have found it to be the fastest experience, much faster than Windows alternatives

 

[CatBookPro]

I remote into a lot of servers/desktops for work
On the Mac I prefer to use Royal TSX
I have found it to be the fastest experience, much faster than Windows alternatives

Just checked it out - totally awesome! I've been so busy, I haven't kept tabs on the best RDP clients for the Mac...