Do you want to run VMware ESX for testing or familiarisation purposes but don’t want the overhead of having it run on a dedicated server?  If so, this could be the solution for you!

Though before we go any further – the intention of running VMware ESX under a VMware Workstation is for testing or lab purposes only.

David Davis has taken the time to put together a step-by-step how to video that covers the process of getting VMware ESX 3.5 or ESXi up and running on VMware Workstation.  Well worth a look – his article including the video can be found here.

I’ve seen this run on laptops before and it seems to work ok – apart from the slow disk speeds (eg: 4200/5400rpm) often found with this machine type. 

Also worth checking out is an informative posting by vinf.net that also covers the area of running ESX under VMWare Workstation. His article can be found here.

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