Running the same VM from different OS hosts

[Calabrache]

Simple - and maybe stupid - question. Is it possible to have a VM machine stored on a NAS hard disk and run it either from a ubuntu host or a window 7 host. Not at the same time, but a single VM is ran through different OS. I guess my question would be is the VM related to the OS host which created it or not ? Thanks

[WoodyZ]

Yes it's doable, I do it on occasion with some old Virtual Machine's that I don't need to use that often.  That said, it is extremely important that you maintain proper backups anyway however a loss of connectivity to the NAS while the Virtual Machine is running has the potential to corrupt its files.  The Computers, NAS, Router and any other hardware that is apart of the LAN between the Computers and NA should be connected to a UPS.

Obviously performance will not be a robust as if the Virtual Machine was stored on the Computer themselves or external storage connected directly to the Computers,one at a time, that could be faster then the NAS.

Message was edited by: WoodyZ - Added performance comment.

[continuum]

Thats possible but there are a few caveats:

- always power off the VMs before switching to a different Host OS
- configure the VM so that you have no absolute paths in the vmx-file

obviously this will not work from a win-host:

scsi0:0.filename = "/home/name.vmdk"

same applies to CDrom or Floppy-drives

- if you work with snapshots - do not create snapshots when the VM is powered on