Virtual PC vs Virtual Server
One common question that arises is how do I choose between these 2 products
Here is a quick table that compares both the products.
Feature |
Virtual Server |
Virtual PC |
Need to run one or two VMs |
Can use* |
Good to use |
More than two VM's simultaneously |
Good to use |
Can use* |
More than 4 VM's |
Should use |
Maybe not |
Drag and Drop |
Not present |
Works Good |
Clipboard Integration |
Not present |
Works Good |
Shared Folder between host and guest |
Not present |
Good to share files |
Shared Networking between guest and host |
Not present, can be configured through ICS. |
Present and works well. |
Ease of use |
Not easy enough, VMRC Plus is a good option |
Very easy and simple |
Single VM mode |
Not present |
Present |
Networking between VM's |
Present |
Present |
Remote Administrations |
Present |
Not present |
COM API's |
Present, can configure everything |
Not present |
Remote viewing of VM's |
Present (VMRC client) |
Not present, can be configured through mstsc |
SCSI Support for the guest |
Present, recommended if present on host |
Not present |
Support for DHCP for guest on Internal Network |
Present |
Not Present |
Resource Allocation for Virtual Machines |
Present and very fine grained |
Present, but only very minimal options. |
* Evaluate other criteria's
The important thing the note is that VHD and VMC are compatible across Virtual Server and Virtual PC. So if you try one out and are not satisfied you can always move to the other one.
The table is a quick reference that I use, it is not intended to be complete. For technical completeness refer the official documentation from microsoft.com.