New Update VMware Workstation 17.0 Pro now live with Windows 11 guest OS and virtual TPM 2.0 support

[silversurfer]

Virtualization products like VMware Workstation are quite important to developers and enthusiasts who are trying to test their software on multiple operating systems or just want to fiddle around in the depths of an OS without risking their primary machine. Today, VMware Workstation 17.0 Pro has been released, and it brings lots of new features that will likely please many users.

The key highlight of this release is that VMware Workstation 17.0 Pro now supports virtual Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 which is a mandatory requirement for running Windows 11 through official means. The introduction of this feature means that the virtualization software now officially supports Windows 11 as a guest OS, along with many other new additions such as Windows Server 2022, RHEL 9, Debian 11.x, and Ubuntu 22.04.

There are several other useful features too, including auto start of local virtual machines when the host machine boots up, the ability to choose between Full or Fast encryption, support for OpenGL 4.3 (guest OS should be Windows 7 or higher, or Linux with Mesa 22.0.0, or Linux kernel 5.16.0), and Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) version 1.2. That said, you should know that it is no longer possible to mount a virtual machine to a drive on the host OS.

There are a couple of known issues to be aware of too. You might see the incorrect version number when you select an ISO image of a FreeBSD, but it does not impact the actual installation. You may also encounter a blank screen on the virtual machine console on host boot up if you have configured auto start. There are a couple of workarounds and lots of other minor fixes that you can check out here.

VMware Workstation 17.0 Pro now live with Windows 11 guest OS and virtual TPM 2.0 support

Organizations, enthusiasts, and developers might be pleased to know that VMware Workstation Pro now officially supports Windows 11 via a virtual TPM 2.0 device present in version 17.0 of the product.

www.neowin.net

 

[upnorth]

VMware has refreshed its desktop hypervisors, adding native support for Apple's Arm-based CPUs as well as Windows 11.

The virtualization giant offers three desktop hypervisors: Workstation and Player for x86 machines, plus Fusion for macOS. Workstation and Player have reached version 17, and Fusion is at version 13. The big addition to both is a virtual trusted platform module (TPM) – an essential requirement for running Windows 11 as a guest OS. VMware's product line manager for desktop hypervisors, Michael Roy, explained the TPM relies on a "fast encryption" option for VMs that "only encrypts the parts of the VM necessary to support the TPM device, making it performant while maintaining security."

Roy wrote that fast encryption uses the same encryption strength as a full-encrypted VM, but that the partial encryption means faster performance. "The encryption password is also stored in the Mac's Keychain so that you don't need to type it in every time you boot the VM," he added. "The VM can also auto-generate a password, or you can specify your own instead." VM Player – which can only play VMs rather than allow their creation, and is often deployed as a client to run software appliances – can also run the virtual TPM. On Apple Silicon, Fusion is of course restricted to running guest OSes written for Arm. While Windows for Arm is available to download, Microsoft does not license it to individuals.

VMware adds Apple silicon support to desktop hypervisor

Partial VM encryption enables the virtual TPMs Windows 11 guests can't live without

www.theregister.com