VMware player vs VirtualBox vs Windows 8 Hyper-V

davmac1

I just went through a painful upgrade of my personal Windows 7 PC to Windows 8 Pro.
(The in place upgrade appeared to work, but would never come up again, so I had to do a refresh which means I have to re-install all my programs.)
Now I am looking for good VM software.
I have used VirtualBox in the past (windows 7), but it stopped working for unknown reasons.
With Windows 8 Pro, I can use Microsoft's solution, VirtualBox, or VMware player.
While I feel very competent with NAV and SQL Server, I am very limited in my Windows Server knowledge, so I am looking for a solution that is simple to install and stays running.
My current employer does not supply MSDN subscriptions, which means I have to load evaluation software. I plan to stop fighting this battle and buy my own subscription.
I notice that VirtualBox is a favorite on this forum. Other forums favor VMware player.
Windows 8 supplies a better solution than Windows 7.
I plan to run NAV2013, NAV2009R2 RTC, and future versions as they come out.

Recommendations please?
VirtualBox?
VMware Player?
Windows 8 Hyper-V?

(Saturday night - yep - I don't have a life. )

kine

I am using Win8 hyper-v. But all depends on what more suits you. Because we are using Hyper-V for our servers, it is better for me to user hyper-v for my test machines too, because it is not problem to move them into live infrastructure. I am happy with the dynamic memory and all the things around. But I understand, that other solutions are good too.

David_Singleton

There are three reasons I use VirtualBox

1/ Its simple, you just create a machine, connect to a windows iso image and install.
2/ It works, network connects no problem, mouse works, seamless screen resizing.
3/ It is compatible with everything, and this is the main reason. You can run Linux on it or Windows or Mac. Linux means I can test web sites without needing a Linux machine. Also I can open VMWare or Windows Virtual drives directly in VirtualBox. And although I haven't tried it you should be able to create Windows or VMWare drives from VirtualBox. I can run windows 2008R2 server on my little Win7 Home computer. Not fast, but nice when I need it.

Oh and 4/ Per uses it, and he seems to know what works best with Navision.

I should also add that virtually every customer of mine uses VMWare for their production environment. On the Hyper-V side, every version seems to get closer, but there is always some limitation.

davmac1

Thanks for your answers.
I think I will try VirtualBox since I have used it before, though I do wonder why it stopped working for me on my Windows 7 PC. As I have time, I will play around with the others.
I did sign up with the partner Network and had to pass an assessment test in order to buy my own actionpak with all the development tools. However the required result still does not show when I go to buy the software, and there is no human being available on live chat until Monday.
The ActionPak will allow me to set up 10 virtual environments with registered licenses instead of having to use evaluation. I have been unable to get an evaluation edition of Office 2010 to download, and since the support in the US is from Digital River who makes money from supplying paid copies, the support is minimal ("it works for me" - ever heard that one?).

DenSter

davmac1 wrote:

"it works for me" - ever heard that one?

use that one all the time