VMware yanks Mac OS X client virtualization ‘feature’

When Apple released Mac OS X 10.7, known as Lion, it became the first client version of Mac OS X that Apple gave express permission to run as a guest operating system within a virtual machine. Sure, it still needed to operate on top of Apple hardware, but users could finally virtualize a client OS without searching for answers in dark and seedy places online.

Virtualization products like VMware Fusion, Parallels Desktop for Mac, and VirtualBox jumped all over Apple’s announcement and added support for Lion installations. But last week VMware took things one step further. The virtualization giant released its 4.1 update to Fusion, which seemed to add support for nonserver versions of older Mac OS X operating systems like Leopard (10.5) and Snow Leopard (10.6) as guest operating systems.

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Prior to Fusion 4.1, users who attempted to install client versions of Leopard or Snow Leopard were immediately stopped during the installation process. With the 4.1 release, VMware seemed to open the door: Users trying to install either of those client operating systems were met with a new confirmation screen reminding them to “verify that the operating system is licensed to run in a virtual machine.” Beyond that, there were no other checks to make sure Apple’s EULA was being enforced. The onus of license compliance seemed to have shifted back to users, rather than VMware as the virtualization provider.

Apple’s policy on virtualization allows properly licensed copies of Mac OS X Lion (client or server), Leopard Server, and Snow Leopard Server to be virtualized on Apple-branded hardware. But Fusion 4.1 seemed to “allow” client versions of Leopard and Snow Leopard to be virtualized as well — assuming legally licensed copies of the OS were being used and Apple-branded hardware was in play, of course.

It didn’t take long for Mac users to hear the latest news, giving the company one more thing to say thanks for at the dinner table during the holidays. But VMware giveth and VMware taketh away!

VMware, either for internal or external (read: Apple lawyers) reasons, has reversed course on this new “feature” — or perhaps better stated this unintended capability. According to the company, the confirmation screen was the new feature and the ability to install previously unsupported client OS versions was not.

On the VMware Fusion company blog, VMware quickly posted a new announcement:

VMware Fusion 4.1 was released late last week and includes many great improvements. One change was the introduction of a new license verification step for users to verify they are in compliance with the OS licensing terms.

When the license verification step was added in VMware Fusion 4.1 the server edition check was omitted. We are preparing an update.

Running Mac OS X client in a virtual machine continues to require Lion (purchased from the Mac App Store or a USB thumb drive). Users should always ensure they remain in compliance with any applicable software license agreements.

The expanded guest operating system feature or capability was actually more like a “bug,” and while VMware has released an “update,” it’s really more of a “fix.”

Mac users who had a chance to enjoy this bug in VMware Fusion 4.1 — and who plan to continue to take advantage of it — are probably fine as long as they never have to upgrade to a newer release. However, be warned that legality questions still remain. Apple does not currently allow you to operate these other client operating systems in a virtual machine. You do so at your own risk.

So far, the response to VMware’s blog post can be summed up as disappointment and frustration. Users expressed the need for virtualizing these older client operating systems in order to run PowerPC applications that aren’t compatible with Lion. Others expressed concern over the loss of Rosetta. Developers chimed in, commenting on the fact that virtualizing older clients would help them test and maintain applications across the three most recent versions of OS X for compatibility reasons. And some VMware community members, like DMK, have gone a step further and emailed Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging him to change Apple’s current stance on Mac OS X virtualization. In a letter to Cook, DMK writes:

I would like to urge Apple to permit Fusion users to install a virtual Snow Leopard. I don’t see a downside to Apple here. Not only will it make my life and the life of other users of Rosetta legacy software easier, but it also makes it possible for me to upgrade to a new Mac that will not run Snow Leopard natively. I have held back from getting a new MacBook Air because I knew I wouldn’t be able to boot into Snow Leopard.

VMware has since released Fusion version 4.1.1, which reinstates the Mac OS X version-checking routines. After upgrading, users will no longer be able to create a virtualized instance of a Leopard or Snow Leopard client; additionally, any virtual machines that were created with version 4.1 and contain either of these client-based operating systems as a guest OS will cease to function and no longer boot after upgrading.

VMware has instructions on the company website that detail how to update these already created virtual machines to OS X Lion so that they continue to work. However, this doesn’t solve the problems expressed by the many Fusion users and wannabe users. Unfortunately, VMware’s corporate hands are tied because of Apple’s restrictive EULA. The virtualization giant opened Pandora’s box with this simple mistake and provided users with the taste of the good life — if only for a few days. We’ll see where this mistake takes us next.

Will you take a chance and continue to run Fusion 4.1 without future updates? If this is that important to you, will you follow DMK’s lead and write Tim Cook, asking Apple to change its position on virtualization?

This article, “VMware yanks Mac OS X client virtualization ‘feature’,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in virtualization at InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.