Fusion Pro 11.5 compatibility with Workstation Pro 15.5

[tri11]

I just got a new MacBook Pro 16" intel core i9 (8core) notebook and am purchasing Fusion Pro 11.5.

Does anybody know if Fusion Pro is compatible with Workstation 15.5 Pro VMs (virtual machines)?

I would like to copy a few existing VMs that I created in Linux and Windows on the VMware Workstation Pro 15.5 software to my new MacBook Pro, and open them with Fusion Pro 11.5.

Does Fusion Pro 11.5 read / open VMs created with Workstation Pro 15.5?

or

Do I need to create all new VMs inside Fusion Pro 11.5?

[a_p_]

You can basically copy the VMs over to your MacBook. Some minor adjustments may be required regarding the configuration (e.g. network selection).

Make sure that you properly shut down (not suspend) the VMs prior to copying them.

In case the VMs have snapshots, you may/will not be able to revert to them (at least not from the GUI) on the new system, so consider to consolidate/delete them prior to the migration.

André

[wila]

Hi,

They will just work.

I do this every now and then, you can just move the VMs from Workstation to Fusion and vice versa.

Both these products use the same virtualisation engine base and are completely compatible. The disk formats are the same too.

If there's an incompatible feature that you used on VMware Workstation then VMware Fusion will complain about that particular item, but still run your VM.

Things to think about are differences in file system, eg. a cdrom on windows points to "D:", whereas on macOS it is a mount point.

One thing to watch out for is to look at the hardware level, you can't import a VM into either product that is newer than the hardware level it supports.

As VMware Fusion 11.5 and VMware Workstation Pro 15.5 are on the same virtual hardware level, you are fine.

In regards to the snapshots, André is right (of course), it is best to delete those, in particular the ones where the VM was running.

If the VM was shutdown when the snapshot was taken then it is fine and you don't need to delete it.

--

Wil

[wila]

[edit: post I replied to was deleted by its author.]

Hi,

That's about a VM running the macOS operating system.

They do not work in VMware Workstation, that's indeed correct.

This was not what TS asked though.

--

Wil

[tri11]

Hello everyone,

Thank you for the great advice and support, I really appreciate it. 😃