New Features and Support
VMware Workstation Pro, a well-regarded virtualization platform for both Windows and Linux, has recently transitioned to a free model for personal use. The latest update, version 17.6, brings with it a suite of enhancements, including the introduction of a new command-line tool designed to facilitate interaction with the hypervisor via Command Prompt or Terminal.
This update also expands official support for a range of guest and host operating systems, while implementing several adjustments throughout the application. Notably, legacy VMware Tools images are no longer included with VMware Workstation Pro, and a significant performance fix has been introduced for virtual machines that were experiencing sluggishness on non-admin Windows accounts.
The newly launched command-line tool, vmcli, empowers users to execute a variety of tasks directly through the Terminal on either Linux or Windows. This includes:
- Creating new virtual machines
- Generating VM templates
- Powering on VMs
- Modifying various VM settings
- Creating scripts to run multiple commands sequentially
Among the newly supported operating systems are:
- Guest Operating System:
- Windows Server 2025
- Windows 11 Version 23H2
- Ubuntu 24.04
- Fedora 40
- Host Operating System:
- Windows Server 2025
- Windows 11 Version 23H2
- Ubuntu 24.04
- Fedora 40
Fixed Issues
The 17.6 release also addresses several critical issues:
- VMware KVM crashes while running the 'vmware-kvm –preferences' command: Users experienced crashes when attempting to access the Preferences dialog through this command.
- Virtual machines run unusually slowly on Windows hosts: Running virtual machines on Windows hosts as a non-administrator user could lead to excessive CPU usage and degraded performance for guest systems.
- Workstation installation fails on Linux hosts with a compilation error: Users attempting to install Workstation on Linux hosts with kernel version 6.8 faced compilation errors.
Additional Changes
Other notable changes in this release include:
- Legacy VMTools ISOs are no longer included by default but remain available for download.
- Support for Bluetooth hub passthrough has reached its end of life and has been removed.
- Physical host parallel ports support has also been discontinued for Windows users.
- Unity mode has been removed from the application.
- The Enhanced Keyboard driver has reached its end of life and is no longer available for Windows.
For those interested, VMware Workstation Pro can be downloaded for free for personal use from the official website, although a free account is required. Existing users will receive a prompt to update upon their next launch. It’s important to note that commercial use still necessitates the purchase of a license.