Dave's new laptop - Virtual PC or Virtual Server?

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Well I'm running Vista, so my only options are Virtual PC 2007 or Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 (both of which are in beta - but also both very stable).  They both support 64-bit hosts, so they're even so far.

Virtual PC runs all its virtual/guest machines in the same single thread.  Virtual Server runs each guest in its own thread.  So on my dual-core laptop, Virtual Server wins.  Even though Virtual PC has some nice "easy of use" features, I have to go for the option that performs the best.

Virtual Server 2005 R2 offers me SCSI support and the ability to create clusters, both of which I will use.  I can't say I really understand why a virtual SCSI disk is any quicker than a virtual IDE disk - but it is (if anyone knows, please share).

Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 (beta 2) offers me some new features (some of which I will also use):

  • Hardware assisted virtualization
  • Host clustering whitepaper
  • Larger default size for dynamically expanding virtual hard disks
  • Support for greater than 64 virtual machines on x64-based hosts
  • Virtual SCSI fix for Linux guests
  • Interoperability with Volume Shadow Copy Service
  • VHD Mount command-line tool and APIs
  • Support for hardware-assisted virtualization
  • Service Publication using Active Directory Service Connection Points
  • VMRC ActiveX control and Internet Explorer Security Zones

Let me get installing, and I'll let you know how I get on...

Dave.