I have been studying for some time to obtain VMware VCP certification, and VMware Workstation helps me in the specific areas required for this exam.
Thanks to nested virtualisation, VMware Workstation Pro allows you to run a hypervisor (ESXi) within a virtual machine.
Since it is not possible to install vSphere features such as High Availability (HA) or vMotion on a normal Windows or Linux operating system, you can run three ESXi hosts as virtual machines, creating a cluster without purchasing physical server hardware.
Yesterday, during some tests I was conducting, I received a notification about the availability of version 25H2. I therefore decided to proceed with the update.
VMware Workstation Pro is the ideal tool for creating a mini Homelab thanks to the feature of Nested Virtualization.
With Workstation Pro is possible:
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Testing Environments: Create isolated networks to test complex configurations (e.g., firewalls, Active Directory servers, vulnerable operating systems for cybersecurity).
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Nested Virtualization: Run Type 1 Hypervisors like VMware ESXi or Proxmox inside a Workstation VM, allowing you to experiment on your desktop/laptop PC.
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Advanced Networking: Configure complex virtual networks with NAT adapters (for internet access), Host-Only (to communicate only with the host), or custom LAN segments to isolate specific subnets in your lab (e.g., one network for servers, one for clients, one for a virtual firewall like pfSense).
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Snapshots: Use Snapshots to save the state of an entire lab configuration and quickly revert to a working starting point in case of issues during testing.
Download the package
To download it, you need to log in to the Broadcom support website with your credentials
In My Download section clickon HERE link.
Check the executable file you need (for Windows, for example) then in release menu click on 25H2 link
Now you need to flag the “Terms and conditions” and click on download image
Before proceeding, further verification of your account may be required.
Click on Yes and complete all field.
Download starts
Upgrade
Ensure that the VMware Workstation Pro application and all Virtual Machines (VMs) are completely closed or shut down. Double-click the downloaded installation file
Before to start software need to install VC Redistributable and reboot the computer
After reboot re-run the installation file and VMware Workstation Pro setup starts. The installer will automatically detect the previous version installed on your system and initiate the upgrade process.
Click Next
Accept the license agreement and click Next
Click Next
Select the destination (usually the default setting is left unchanged) then click Next
Choose whether or not to enable diagnostic features and product updates (although the latter may no longer work).
Click Next
Click Next
Click Upgrade and wait the installation process starts
After a couple of minutes setup ends
Click Finish. Upon completion, you may need to restart your host system.
Launch the new version of VMware Workstation Pro and verify that all your existing virtual machines are present and functional in the dashboard you can check the latest version installed
What’s new
With recent versions of Workstation Pro, there have been significant changes, some of which involved the removal of less-used features.
Only a couple of new features are:
A command-line tool to examine and modify VMware configuration file called dictToolÂ
