Parallels Desktop for Mac

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Parallels Desktop for Mac
Developer(s)Parallels, Inc.
Stable release
2.5 (Build 3188) / March 7, 2007
Operating systemMac OS X
PlatformApple-Intel architecture
TypeVirtual machine
LicenseProprietary
WebsiteParallels, Inc.

Parallels Desktop for Mac is a software product by Parallels, Inc., a developer of desktop and server virtualization software. It is the first software suite to bring virtualization mainstream on Macintosh computers with Intel processors.

Initially, the software was released as 'Parallels Workstation for Mac OS X', consistent with the Linux and Windows versions. This was not well received within the Mac community, where some felt that the name, particularly the term “workstation,” evoked the aesthetics of a Windows product. Parallels agreed: “Since we've got a great Mac product, we should make it look and sound like a Mac product...”, it was therefore renamed ‘Parallels Desktop for Mac’[1].

On January 10 2007, Parallels Desktop for Mac was awarded "Best in Show" at MacWorld 2007.[2]

Overview

File:ParallelsVT.png
Diagram of how Parallels utilises a hypervisor layer.

Parallels Desktop for Mac is a hardware emulation virtualization software, using hypervisor technology that works by mapping the host computer’s hardware resources directly to the virtual machine’s resources, allowing each virtual machine to operate identically to a standalone computer. Each virtual machine effectively has its own processor, RAM, floppy and CD drives, I/O devices, and hard disk—all the resources of a physical computer.[3] Parallels Desktop for Mac virtualizes all devices within the virtual environment, including the video adapter, network adapter, and hard disk adapters. It also provides pass-through drivers for parallel port and USB devices.

Because all guest virtual machines use the same hardware drivers irrespective of the actual hardware on the host computer, virtual machine instances are highly portable between computers. For example, a running virtual machine can be stopped, copied to another physical computer, and restarted.

Feature Overview

Parallels Desktop for Mac is able to virtualize a full set of standard PC hardware, including[4]

  • A virtualized processor of the Host computer.
  • A generic motherboard compatible with Intel i815 chipset.
  • Up to 1.5GB of RAM for 32-bit guest virtual machines.
  • This is higher on 64-bit iMacs and Mac Pro towers, with a possiblilty of up to 16GB total RAM allocation.
  • Up to 32MB of video RAM (VRAM).
  • VGA and SVGA video cards with VESA 3.0 support.
  • A 1.44 MB floppy drive, which can be mapped to a physical drive or to an image file.
  • Up to four IDE devices. This includes virtual hard drives that range in size from 20 MB to 128 GB each and CD/DVD-ROM drives. IDE devices can be mapped to physical drive or to an image file.
  • DVD/CD-ROM "pass-through" access.
  • Up to four serial ports that can be mapped to a real port, to a pipe or to an output file.
  • Up to three bi-directional parallel ports, each of which can be mapped to a real port, to a real printer or to an output file.
  • An Ethernet virtual network card compatible with Realtek RTL8029(AS), capable of up to five network interface connections.
  • Up to Eight USB 2.0 devices and two USB 1.1 devices.
  • An AC97 compatible sound card.
  • A 104-key Windows enhanced keyboard and a PS/2 wheel mouse.

Features new to 2.5[5]

Overview

Support for USB 2.0 devices has been added, expanding the number of USB devices supported at native speed, including support for built in iSight USB web-cams (starting with build 3170). Users can now adjust the amount of video RAM allocated to the guest OS, up to 32MB. Full featured CD/DVD drives have arrived, which allow the user to burn disks directly in the virtual environment, and play any copy-protected CD or DVD as one would in OS X. In addition, a shared clipboard and drag-drop support between OS X and the guest OS has been implemented. Parallels Desktop now allows users with a Windows XP installation to upgrade to Windows Vista from within the VM environment.

Coherence

File:Parallels coherence.png
Parallels Coherence

A new feature known as Coherence has been added, which basically removes Windows chrome, desktop, and the virtualization frame, creating a more seamless environment between Windows and OS X applications.

Boot Camp compatibility

Parallels Desktop can boot existing Boot Camp XP partitions, which eliminates the need to have multiple Windows XP installations on a Mac. Support for Vista is under development.[6]

Parallels Transporter

Parallels Transporter is now included which allows one to migrate their Windows PC, or existing VMware or Virtual PC VMs to Parallels Desktop for Mac.

Supported Operating Systems

Primary OS

Desktop requires Mac OS X “Tiger” 10.4.6 or higher running on an Intel-powered Mac. Parallels also claims full compatibility for the not yet released Mac OS X "Leopard" 10.5.

Guest OSes

Desktop supports running a wide variety of guest operating systems. It will run all but 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows, various Linux distributions, FreeBSD, eComStation, OS/2, Solaris and MS-DOS. There are likely to be others, so long as the OS will run on a virtualised Intel x-86 guest processor.

Windows Vista

Parallels Desktop for Mac supports virtualising 32-bit Windows Vista. However, it's unknown if Vista's 'Aero Glass' interface will ever be supported, though Parallels' public relations has stated that it will be included in the next version.[7]

Limitations

  • Can only run 32-bit guest OSes.
  • Inability to assign multiple CPUs to your virtual machine to gain additional performance for CPU-intensive workloads.
  • Parallels' feature that allows you to use your boot camp partition doesn't support Windows Vista.
  • Bluetooth is not supported.
  • Unable to draw Coherence Windows with enough speed to the desktop. This causes a side-effect where the background picture of the virtualised operating system is drawn on the OS X desktop when moving windows quickly.[citation needed] A workaround is to disable drawing of window contents while dragging, and some have had success by setting the background colour of the client desktop to the same as the host (changing texture/wallpaper does not work), so that the temporary display mismatch isn't visible.

Next version

The next version of Parallels Desktop for Mac, which will supersede the current version (2.5), is expected to support DirectX and OpenGL integration, which will allow Mac users to play Windows games under Mac OS X without the need to boot with Boot Camp.[8] Further, a Parallels representative stated at MacWorld 2007 that the next big beta program will bring "multi-core virtual machines/virtual SMP, some SCSI support, a more Mac-like feel, as well as a better coherence mode and support for Vista's Aero UI".[9]

See also

General articles

Articles on specific related products

External links

References

  1. ^ Ben (2006-05-18). "Parallels Workstation for Mac OS X is now Parallels Desktop for Mac—and the release candidate is ready for download!". The Official Parallels Virtualization Blog. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
  2. ^ "Parallels Desktop for Mac Update RC Wins MacWorld Expo 2007 "Best in Show"". Parallels, Inc. Retrieved 10 January 2007.
  3. ^ "Parallels Desktop for Mac Datasheet" (PDF). Parallels, Inc. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  4. ^ "Parallels Desktop for Mac". Parallels, Inc. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
  5. ^ "Desktop Release Features". Parallels Web. Retrieved 2007-02-28.
  6. ^ http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/faq/lu/#lu-2
  7. ^ "Vista Beta 2 in Parallels". Parallels Virtualisation Blog. Retrieved 2006-12-15.
  8. ^ Wang, Anthony (2006-12-11). "Inside Mac Games Interviews Parallels". Inside Mac Games. Retrieved 2006-12-21.
  9. ^ Chang, Jacqui (2007-01-11). "Ars at Macworld: Interview with Parallels". Arstechica.
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