| Feature | VirtualBox | Parallels Workstation / Desktop | VMware Server / Workstation
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| Supported host operating systems | Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, 2008 Server, Windows 7, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris 10U5+, OpenSolaris, FreeBSD (under development) | Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, Linux, OS X | Windows 2000, XP, 2003, Vista, Linux (32bit and 64bit), Mac OS X
|
| Supported guest operating systems | DOS, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003/2008, Linux, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, OS/2, Solaris, OpenSolaris, others | DOS, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux, OS/2 | DOS, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris
|
| 64bit host OS support | yes | no | yes
|
| 64bit guest OS support | yes | yes | yes
|
| Intel VT-x support (CPU virtualization extensions) | yes | yes | limited
|
| AMD-V support (CPU virtualization extensions) | yes | yes | limited
|
| Virtual network cards | up to 8 | up to 5 | up to 4
|
| Virtual Disk Controller | IDE or SATA (up to 32 disks in a guest) or SCSI | IDE (up to 4) | IDE or SCSI
|
| USB support | yes | yes | yes
|
| iSCSI support (VMs can directly access storage servers over iSCSI) | yes | no | no
|
| Serial ports | up to 4 | up to 4 | yes
|
| Parallel ports | no | up to 3 | yes
|
| CD/DVD writing | yes | no | no
|
| 3D acceleration | yes (OpenGL 1.5) | no | limited
|
| Support of VMware images | yes | no | n/a
|
| Headless operation | yes | no | yes
|
| Remote VM access | Integrated RDP server | no | limited
|
| Remote USB support | Yes, arbitrary devices | no | no
|
| Seamless Windows | yes | yes | yes
|
| Shared Folders | yes | yes | yes
|
| Guest power status reporting | yes | no | yes
|
| API | Full API, 100% scriptable | no | yes
|
| Open source | yes (dual licensed, some enterprise features are closed source) | no | no
|
| Customizations | yes, upon request | no | no
|
| License costs | Free | Workstation for Windows/Linux - $49.99, Desktop for Mac OS X - $79.99 | Workstation for Windows/Linux around $189, Fusion for Mac - $79.99, Server free for end users, not redistributable
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