Please detail me with the difference between guests and host operating system in a VMware system and factors that need to be considered in choosing them.
Hi Ronda_Pitt,
Let me differentiate the difference about Guest and Host Operating System. When we say Guest Operating System, its an operating system with in the operating system. VMware is one of the software will allow us to run multiple operating systems on a single computer. It will create a virtual computer inside the Host OS.
 One common example for this is Mac and VMware with Windows Operating system installed, this will allow you to create a virtual PC environment for all your Windows applications. In this scenario, Mac is the Host OS and Windows installed in a virtual PC is the guest Operating system
While the Host operating system (OS) which could be any operating system, this is original OS installed on a computer.
In a virtual machine, both guest and host operating systems are literally operating systems. They only differ in the names they are called because it depends on how they are installed or how they are used. The operating system that boots the computer or the operating system that literally starts the machine is the host operating system.
It is the operating system that is originally installed on the computer and starts the machine. This is the base operating system that powers up the virtual machine or where the virtual machine fires up and where the virtual machine software is installed. The operating system that you install in the virtual machine software is the guest operating system.
This is the second operating system that runs and operates inside or within the virtual machine environment. It can be any operating system like Microsoft Windows or Linux Ubuntu or even Mac OS X. You cannot use the guest operating system without starting the virtual machine software first and then launching it from there.
The guest operating system is just like an ordinary program that you start whenever you want to use it. When you are done with it, just close it, power down the virtual machine, and then go back to your original operating system.
