VMware Fusion 4 to VirtualBox

[ohla313]

Seeing as how VMware wants to charge $50 regardless of upgrade or new user, and I don't want to pay for that, I want to move to VirtualBox. How would I go about this process?

My VMware virtual image is on a Lion hard drive and I am trying to move it to a new 2012 MBA that I will instal VirtualBox on.

Is there anything I should be weary of before I install VirtualBox? Can I change how much RAM I give the VM later or is it set in stone?
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EDIT: If there is a way to get VMware Fusion 4 working on Mountain Lion, that would be helpful as well. I am just running a Windows 7 VM.

 

[Roman2K~]

There are two things representing a VM:

• Disk image file(s)
• Configuration (paths to disk images, network interfaces, resource allocation, like RAM and CPUs, etc...)

The disk image part is a piece of cake, as VirtualBox supports VMware's disk images: VMDK (open format). So you can use your .vmdk file(s) as-is.

Regarding the configuration part, you'll have to create a new VM from scratch in VirtualBox (pointing to the existing .vmdk files, of course), you're free to change any resource allocation.

Things to be wary about: the two hypervisors expose different brand/model virtual hardware devices to the guest. The guest OS may detect new devices, you will have to install the appropriate drivers.

 

[ohla313]

There are two things representing a VM:

• Disk image file(s)
• Configuration (paths to disk images, network interfaces, resource allocation, like RAM and CPUs, etc...)

The disk image part is a piece of cake, as VirtualBox supports VMware's disk images: VMDK (open format). So you can use your .vmdk file(s) as-is.

Regarding the configuration part, you'll have to create a new VM from scratch in VirtualBox (pointing to the existing .vmdk files, of course), you're free to change any resource allocation.

Things to be wary about: the two hypervisors expose different brand/model virtual hardware devices to the guest. The guest OS may detect new devices, you will have to install the appropriate drivers.

I am already happy with the format and configurations for my virtual image so can I just keep it at that and not need to tweak anything? Also what are hypervisors? Do I still need to adjust that? Is there a guide on how to setup and install VirtualBox and use my VMware image file?

 

[iShater]

What the poster above means is that this is similar to moving a hard drive between two different computers. The computer configuration (devices, etc) are going to be somewhat different, so the guest OS in the virtual machine might ask you to install drivers or will detect a change in the system.

You will be able to control and change all the system settings (RAM, CPU cores, etc) in VBox.

I am a big fan of VBox and have used it very extensively in the past couple of years. For the price (free for personal use), it is a great product.

 

[ohla313]

What the poster above means is that this is similar to moving a hard drive between two different computers. The computer configuration (devices, etc) are going to be somewhat different, so the guest OS in the virtual machine might ask you to install drivers or will detect a change in the system.

You will be able to control and change all the system settings (RAM, CPU cores, etc) in VBox.

I am a big fan of VBox and have used it very extensively in the past couple of years. For the price (free for personal use), it is a great product.

Ah, I see! Thanks for dumbing it down for me.
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EDIT: How do I have Virtual Box or VMware reassess the system settings since the VM is when it was on a 2010 MBP and I will be using it on a 2012 MBA?

 

[Roman2K~]

By "hypervisors", I meant Fusion and VirtualBox.

The computer configuration (devices, etc) are going to be somewhat different, so the guest OS in the virtual machine might ask you to install drivers or will detect a change in the system.

The reason why the guest OS will see different hardware is not because of the move to a new host computer, it's because of the different emulated hardware devices in VirtualBox compared to Fusion. Though I think both are originally forked from QEMU so chances are they're still roughly the same brand/models.