Book excerpt: ABOUT THE BOOK This book teaches you how to work with VMware Workstation Player, a free virtualization application from a company called VMware. The book is written for people with some experience in the world of computers and computer networking. Prior experience with virtualization technologies is not required. WHAT WILL YOU LEARN You will first find out what virtualization is and what features VMware Workstation Player has to offer. You will learn how to install Player on Windows and Linux, how to install a guest operating system in a VM, how to start, stop, or suspend a VM. You will later learn some cool features that Player brings, such as Drag-and-Drop and Copy features, how to transfer files between two VMs using shared folders, manage virtual disks... We will wrap up by explaining different types of networking configuration available in Player. TOPICS COVERED what virtualization is and what features VMware Workstation Player has to offer how to install Player on Windows and Linux how to install a guest operating system in a VM how to start, stop, or suspend a VM the Drag-and-Drop and Copy features how to transfer file between two VMs using shared folders adding virtual devices to VMs manage virtual disks different types of networking configuration available in Player managing virtual networks