Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

VMware Workstation VS Cfengine

Compare VMware Workstation VS Cfengine and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

VMware Workstation logo VMware Workstation

VMware Workstation is a multiple operating system handler to easily evaluate the any other type of new operating systems.

Cfengine logo Cfengine

CFEngine is a configuration management and automation framework that lets you securely manage your...
  • VMware Workstation Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-22
  • Cfengine Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-12

VMware Workstation features and specs

  • Cross-platform Compatibility
    VMware Workstation supports a wide range of operating systems, allowing users to run multiple OS environments on a single physical machine.
  • Snapshot and Cloning Features
    Users can take snapshots of virtual machines for easy backups, experimentation, or rolling back changes. Cloning allows for easy duplication of VMs.
  • Advanced Networking
    Offers robust networking capabilities including support for virtual networks, NAT, and bridged configurations, giving users significant flexibility in setting up network environments.
  • High Performance
    VMware Workstation is optimized for performance, offering high-speed processing and efficient use of hardware resources.
  • Seamless Integration
    Integrates well with other VMware products, easing the migration of virtual machines between systems and cloud environments.

Possible disadvantages of VMware Workstation

  • High Cost
    The software can be expensive, especially for the Pro version, which may not be cost-effective for individual users or small businesses.
  • Resource Intensive
    Requires substantial hardware resources, including significant CPU and memory usage, which can be a limitation for users with older or less powerful systems.
  • Learning Curve
    The advanced features and capabilities may demand a steep learning curve for new users, requiring time and effort to master.
  • Limited Mac OS Support
    While VMware has Fusion for Mac, VMware Workstation is primarily designed for Windows and Linux, which may not be ideal for Mac users.
  • Dependency on Physical Hardware
    Performance and capabilities are dependent on the underlying physical hardware, making it necessary to have high-spec machines for optimal performance.

Cfengine features and specs

  • Scalability
    Cfengine is designed to handle large-scale environments efficiently, making it suitable for managing a vast number of systems.
  • Lightweight Agent
    It employs a lightweight agent that consumes minimal system resources, reducing the overhead on managed systems.
  • Security
    Cfengine has a strong focus on security, using encrypted communication between the nodes and server, ensuring integrity and confidentiality.
  • Model-based Configuration
    The tool uses a model-based approach for configuration management, which makes it easy to understand and predict the outcomes of applied policies.
  • Mature and Stable
    With a long history dating back to the 1990s, Cfengine is mature and known for its stability and reliability in production environments.

Possible disadvantages of Cfengine

  • Steeper Learning Curve
    The learning curve can be relatively steep for new users due to its unique policy language and declarative syntax.
  • Complex Debugging
    Debugging configurations might be complex due to intricate policies and a lack of straightforward error messages.
  • Limited Community Support
    Compared to other configuration management tools, Cfengine has a smaller community, which can limit access to third-party modules and assistance.
  • Less Extensible
    While powerful, Cfengine may not offer as much extensibility as some competitors, potentially limiting custom integrations.
  • UI and Usability
    The user interface and overall usability could be less intuitive compared to other modern configuration management tools.

Analysis of VMware Workstation

Overall verdict

  • VMware Workstation is generally considered a good solution for users looking for a comprehensive and efficient virtualization tool. It is particularly appreciated for its stability, versatility, and extensive feature set, catering to both beginners and advanced users.

Why this product is good

  • VMware Workstation is widely regarded as a reliable and powerful virtualization tool. It allows users to run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single physical machine, making it ideal for testing, development, and running applications in various environments. It offers a wide range of features, including support for 3D graphics, multiple monitors, and seamless integration with cloud services and other VMware products. Its user-friendly interface and robust performance are consistently praised in user reviews.

Recommended for

    VMware Workstation is recommended for IT professionals, software developers, testers, and tech enthusiasts who require a reliable platform for running multiple operating systems, testing software, or developing applications in isolated environments. It's also suitable for users looking to experiment with different OS configurations without risking their primary system.

Analysis of Cfengine

Overall verdict

  • Cfengine is a good choice for organizations that require a stable, scalable, and efficient configuration management solution. Its long history and proven track record make it a reliable tool for managing diverse and complex IT environments. However, its learning curve can be steep, and it might not have as active a community or as many user-friendly features compared to some of its newer counterparts like Puppet or Ansible.

Why this product is good

  • Cfengine is a powerful configuration management tool that's been around for a long time, providing stability and maturity to its users. It excels in automating infrastructure management and is known for its scalability, efficiency, and security features. Its lightweight agent and fast execution make it suitable for managing a large number of nodes without a significant performance impact. Additionally, Cfengine has a policy-based approach which ensures that system configurations are enforced consistently, and its declarative language makes it easier to define desired system states.

Recommended for

  • Large enterprises managing thousands of servers
  • Organizations needing a lightweight and fast performance solution
  • IT teams with a focus on security and consistent policy enforcement
  • Users comfortable with a steeper learning curve in exchange for stability and scalability benefits

VMware Workstation videos

VirtualBox vs VMware Player - In-Depth Comparison on Ubuntu 18.04

More videos:

  • Review - Parallels Desktop vs VMware Fusion Review | Best Mac Apps
  • Review - VMware Workstation 10 Program Review
  • Review - Intro VMware Workstation Player
  • Review - Is VMware Workstation Player for Linux a Virtualbox Replacement?
  • Review - Vmware Player VS Vmware Pro VS Virtualbox
  • Review - VMWare Fusion 11 Performance
  • Review - Parallels Desktop vs VMWare Fusion - PERFORMANCE Comparison! Who WON?

Cfengine videos

Webinar: Presenting the new CFEngine Community 3.4.0

More videos:

  • Review - WEBINAR - Infrastructure Automation with CFEngine at LinkedIn
  • Review - Webinar - Unveiling CFEngine Enterprise 3.0

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VMware Workstation and Cfengine)
Cloud Computing
100 100%
0% 0
DevOps Tools
0 0%
100% 100
Virtualization
100 100%
0% 0
Product Deployment
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare VMware Workstation and Cfengine

VMware Workstation Reviews

Best Alternatives of VirtualBox for Windows
Workstation Player is also capable of running restricted virtual machines, that is, machines created with VMware Workstation Pro. This makes it the ideal solution to deploy in an educational environment without incurring exorbitant hardware and software expenses. Workstation Player virtual machines are portable too, so you can transfer the entire VM file to a flash drive or...
10 Best VMware Alternatives and Similar Software
VMware’s services include virtualization, networking and security management tools, and storage, to name a few. VMware vSphere is a server virtualization tool for deploying and managing large-scale virtual machine infrastructures. VMware vSphere, often known as a virtualized data center system, allows IT departments to deploy workloads on the most cost-effective...
Best Free Virtual Machine Software in 2022 – Start Your New Career
Both these applications have similar features and user-friendliness, but the configurations are developed for their respective Operating Systems. VMware player is a free product if you are looking to use this program personally. But it lacks some of the important features to use as a complete virtual machine software compared to VirtualBox or VMware workstation. If you are...
12 Best FREE Virtual Machine (VM) Software in 2020
VMware Fusion for Mac is Virtual Machine software. This tool is known for cloud computing and virtualization software. It allows you to use multiple applications on different OS at the same time.
Source: www.guru99.com
7 VirtualBox Alternatives You Can Consider
This virtualization software gives tough competition to big names like VMware Fusion and VMware Workstation pro when it comes to simultaneously running two OS. It is advertised for running Windows on Mac because for years it was only available for Mac users. But now a Windows version is also available with support for Linux and Chrome OS as a guest operating system. It works...

Cfengine Reviews

Best 8 Ansible Alternatives & equivalent in 2022
CFEngine is a DevOps tool for IT automation. It is an ideal tool for configuration management. It is one of the best Ansible competitors that helps teams to automate large-scale complex infrastructure.
Source: www.guru99.com
35+ Of The Best CI/CD Tools: Organized By Category
CFEngine is the most cut and dry configuration management software on this list. It was originally released in 1993 and has managed to keep up with software development trends. CFEngine features full CI/CD integration. You can automate infrastructure configurations and manage your patches. It also features compliance reporting and infrastructure hardening.

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Cfengine seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 5 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

VMware Workstation mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of VMware Workstation yet. Tracking of VMware Workstation recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Cfengine mentions (5)

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VMware Workstation and Cfengine, you can also consider the following products

VirtualBox - VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as...

Ansible - Radically simple configuration-management, application deployment, task-execution, and multi-node orchestration engine

QEMU - QEMU (short for "Quick EMUlator") is a free and open-source hosted hypervisor that...

Rudder - Rudder is an easy to use, web-driven, role-based solution for Continuous Automation and Compliance.

Proxmox VE - Proxmox is an open-source server virtualization management solution that offers the ability to manage virtual server technology with the Linux OpenVZ and KVM technology.

Chef - Automation for all of your technology. Overcome the complexity and rapidly ship your infrastructure and apps anywhere with automation.