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About Parallels Workstation

Parallels® Workstation is the most powerful, easy-to-use, cost-effective desktop virtualization solution available today. It empowers any user, from experienced professional developers to sales executives and home users, with the ability to create completely networked, totally secure independent virtual machines on a single physical machine.

Parallels Workstation 2.2 is powered by a lightweight hypervisor, a thin layer of software that is between part of the host computer's hardware and the primary operating system. The lightweight hypervisor controls some of the host computer's hardware resources, resulting in dramatically more stable, more secure, and higher-performing virtual machines.

Parallels Workstation sophisticated virtualization engine enables each virtual machine to operate identically to a stand-alone computer. Each virtual machine works with its own processor, RAM, floppy, CD and DVD drives, I/O devices, and hard disk – everything a physical computer contains. See the Virtual Machine Equipment topic for the full list of Parallels Virtual Machine devices.

Intel virtualization technology (VT-x) is fully supported by Parallels Workstation. See Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) and AMD SVM Support.

Parallels Workstation has a set of special tools (utilities and drivers) that enhances the performance and functionality of your guest operating system (mouse synchronization tool, clipboard synchronization tool, etc.). See Parallels Tools Overview for the full list of tools and their descriptions.