Virtualization is the process of creating a virtual server on a machine. The method needs a portion of your hardware to serve the virtual machine. Commonly, it is referred to as the way of running multiple operating systems on a computer at one time.
Trusted Mac Virtualization Software for Over 15 Years. Parallels Desktop for Mac. Optimized for Windows 10 and macOS Big Sur. Ready for macOS Monterey and Windows 11 (when available). Run Windows, Linux and macOS without rebooting. Validate web apps in any browser on any OS, all at the same time. Download prebuilt virtual machines (VMs) with. (A clause explicitly permitting virtualization on a Mac host first appears in the SLA of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion.) Many posts online detail these, but they’re out of date and no longer work. As I write this, 10.13 High Sierra is the newest version of macOS, and 10.12 Sierra is the next most recent. Check if VT-x is supported on macOS. To see if the CPU within your macOS computer (Macbook Pro, Mac Pro, or other Apple machines) support nested virtualization via the VT-x feature of the CPU, you will need to open the macOS Terminal and execute a command. Previous posts include setting up an Android emulator and iOS simulator on Mac OS X. Download and Install VirtualBox. There are many virtualization programs to choose from but if you’re looking for something free and open-sourced, VirtualBox is your best route. Visit their downloads page and select the VirtualBox 5.0.20 for OS X hosts option. VMWare won't let you use a 64bit os as a guest. More Less Mac Pro Dual Quad 3.0GHz 8GB - iMac 24' 2.4GHZ 4GB - Macbook Black 2.4GHz 4GB, Mac OS X (10.5.4).
Virtualization appears as you are running an operating system inside a software. However, the software will momentarily be acquiring a portion of your current RAM, processing capability, Memory uses, and CPU load. The File libraries and the other programs are quite independent of the host operating system.
Suppose you are having a Mac computer and you want to use some software that only has support for Windows. No Stupidity! There we require a virtual machine to fulfill our desire.
The straight thing is if you want to run Windows or any other operating system in your Mac OS. You can proceed along with either two ways.
- Dual Booting
Dual-booting is a method to boot two different operating systems on the same computer. The systems are installed in the same hard drive. While you boot up you get an option to select the operating system to be loaded.
- Virtualization
Virtualization is a method to create a virtual machine inside the host machine. The procedure will ask you to allocate some RAM and hard disk according to the size and load of your operating system. All these are done inside a Virtualization SoftwareFor Mac.
Why a Virtualization Software over Dual Booting?
Although Dual Booting seems an efficient and healthy option, there are certainly some drawbacks to it. Once you have dual booted your computer, to make the switch into the respective OS, you need to shut down and restart your computer. That is the point where Virtualization takes control.
Virtualization software doesn’t need the computer to restart, rather both the systems work together.
For a quick switch, certainly for the tasks that don’t put much load on the system CPU, you can download a virtualization software to run multiple operating systems at a time.
Best Virtualization Software for Mac
There are some limited options to choose a virtualization software for Mac. However, here are some of the best programs to virtualize other operating systems on a Macintosh.
1. Oracle VM Virtual Box [Top Virtualization Software for Mac]
Oracle VM VirtualBox is a free software to run Windows on Mac. The software also has support for Linux, Windows, OpenBSD, and Chrome OS as a host. To be precise, it’s an open-source software to virtualize your current environment.
In a package of not more than 70MB, the software lets you run more than hundreds of operating systems. The software packs some impressive features such as the Easy transfer of files between virtual and host operating systems.
Being open-source, the software includes some powerful features and commands that are not as easy as it looks. So, it is my recommendation that a beginner should start with some tutorial for a deep understanding of the subject.
Key Features of Oracle VM Virtual Box Virtualization Software:
- VirtualBox is a Type 2 hypervisor, which means that a virtual machine created on one host can be used on another.
- There is a group feature in VirtualBox that helps you organize the multiple virtual machines created.
- VM VirtualBox has multiple hardware support such as ACPI, USB devices, and PXE network boot.
- It’s an open-source software featuring easy download and installation, free of cost.
2. Parallels Desktop 15
The parallel is a leading virtual machine software of all time. Since its first launch in 1999, it packed all necessary tools to create a virtual environment. The software is supported in Windows and Mac OS. Both can be a host system.
The latest version of Parallel desktop has support for DirectX 11 in Windows, which lets you run graphics-intensive games. But, wait! It’s also not advisable to play games through a virtual environment. In most of the cases, it degrades the performance of your PC. This software is mostly used by Mac OS users to run Windows on their desktop.
Features of Parallels Desktop 15 Virtualization Software:
- It supports the latest build of Windows 10 and also the Mac OS High Sierra.
- There had been improvements in terms of display for Windows and performance.
- The software features 30+ bonus tools to simplify your daily task along with ram and disk cleanup.
- Support access to Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office applications.
3. VMWare Fusion
VMWare is extremely popular among IT professionals, developers, and businesses. The latest version of the software has support for the Mac operating system also. This software lets you create a virtual environment in which you would be able to run different operating systems.
The developers of this application have included the RESTful API in helpful while integrating some development tools such as Docker, Vagrant, and Ansible, etc. The latest version of VMWare Fusion has enhanced 3D hardware acceleration bases on Apple Metal graphics technology.
There’s also support for two view modes. The Unity view mode allows you to run Windows applications from the Mac interface. And the other mode allows us to run Windows in full-screen.
Key Features of VMWare Fusion Virtualization Software:
- VMWare Fusion has support for DirectX 10.1 AND OpenGL engine for Windows and Linux.
- You don’t need to install reinstall the OS if you already have an existing Bootcamp OS.
- You can share folder and files through drag and drop.
- Available in two editions, the standard is good for Home, while pro edition suits the big business.
4. Cloudalize
Cloudalize is not a virtualization software that can be installed on your PC, rather it provides the Windows operating system over the cloud. You don’t need to install it on your localhost. Just create an account and login to use Windows.
All you need is a fast internet connection. You are not required to set it up, make install or maintain the software. The best part is the Windows 10 operating system hosted there is a licensed one. You can install any software of your need but take care of CPU and GPU load as it will increase your charge. Cloudalize, however, only supports Windows OS.
Features of Cloudalize:
- Preactivated Windows to full functions.
- Support for heavy applications like Adobe and Autodesk.
- No need for software maintenance.
- Can be accessed straightforward, just register and log in.
5. QEMU
QEMU is open-source software for virtualization. It also serves as an emulator when needed. The native support of this application is only for Windows and Linux but it can be installed on Mac also. The method will require another tool to be installed on your system, which is Homebrew. You can install Homebrew from here and proceed to the next step that is running a command in the terminal.
$ brew install qemu
To be able to run QEMU, you will need an SH4 architecture Debian image
Visit this GitHub link for further procedure.
Key Features of QEMU Virtualization Software:
- It supports full-screen emulation, which is great in terms of ease of use.
- You can run KVM and Xen virtual machines.
- QEMU is free to download, being an open-source application.
- It saves and restores the current state of virtual machines without touching a running program.
6. Anka Hypervisor
This application also lets you virtualize your Mac computer. But, if you just want to get a taste of other operating systems, I may not suggest you use this software. Although, it takes very little space and RAM, it is a highly advanced program. This software is made for developers. The software features instant start technology to start the virtual machine in less than a second. Support for virtual drivers increases its efficiency to the next level.
Features of Anka Hypervisor Virtualization Software:
- REST APIs to integrate with other CI systems.
- Native scheduling and power management for Mac OS.
- Connect iOS devices to Mac OS VM through USB.
- It’s a lightweight application, seems to be a native Mac OS software.
Conclusion:
You are free to choose any of these virtualization software for Mac. However, in my opinion, Oracle VM Virtual Box is the best one to choose. Make sure to share this article with others too.
Many Developers and other IT Professionals use macOS (via a Macbook Pro or other Apple computer) and do need to run Windows on their machine under virtualization using Parallels or VMWare. Doing this allows you to run both macOS and Windows, or even Linux, operating systems and software on a single computer at the same time. When running Windows on top of macOS through virtualization you can use developer tools like Visual Studio, Windows Terminal, and others on macOS! However, using Windows Hyper-V to be able to run Windows VMs within your Windows VM requires the Intel VT-x virtualization support of the Intel CPU in the macOS computer to be enabled. This feature may not always enabled by default on macOS.
Let’s take a look at checking for status of Virtualization (VT-x) support, and enabling it so you can use Hyper-V and other virtualization within your Windows VMs running on macOS. This is something that may be necessary for running things like the Windows Subsystem for Linux 2 (WSL2) successfully within your Windows VM on top of macOS.
Check if VT-x is supported on macOS
To see if the CPU within your macOS computer (Macbook Pro, Mac Pro, or other Apple machines) support nested virtualization via the VT-x feature of the CPU, you will need to open the macOS Terminal and execute a command.
Run the following command:
This command will output the instruction sets supported by your machines CPU. When running this command, look for the VMX feature in the list. If this is listed, then your CPU does in fact support VT-x virtualization.
You can run the following command to check for hardware virtualization support on macOS as well:
The command output will look as follows when turned on showing the kern.hv_support value returning 1:
Just because the VMX feature of the CPU is listed, doesn’t mean it’s enabled within macOS, so let’s look at that next.
Enable VT-x Virtualization on macOS
All macOS computers that have an Intel i7 or i9 cpu should have VT-x virtualization support enabled by default. It is possible that if it’s not turned on for your computer, then you will need to update your computer to the latest software / firmware. This can be done through the Software Update feature of macOS, or by downloading Apple’s Firmware Update utilities.
It is also possible that for some reason it was disabled, and to re-enable the VT-x virtualization support, you will need to Reset the NVRAM or PRAM on your Mac. This can be done with the Option + Command + P + R keyboard combination at startup of your Mac.
Unfortunately, if you still don’t have the VT-x virtualization support enabled, even though your CPU does support it, then you may need to wait for a new update from Apple to enable it if the above methods do not work. There’s no BIOS update setting you can access on Mac computers like other traditional desktop computer hardware.
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FYI, If you are using Parallels Desktop for Mac Home Edition, this edition of Parallels does not support Nested Virtualization. To get Nested Virtualization support you will need to upgrade to the Parallels Desktop for Mac Pro edition to get this feature.
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Happy running Windows or Linux in virtualization on macOS!
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Chris is the Founder of Build5Nines.com and a Microsoft MVP in Azure & IoT with 20 years of experience designing and building Cloud & Enterprise systems. He is also a Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect, developer, Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), and Cloud Advocate. He has a passion for technology and sharing what he learns with others to help enable them to learn faster and be more productive.