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# VMware Workstation 17 Series Releases; Adds New Linux Guest OS
- URL: https://itsfoss.com/news/vmware-workstation-17-release/
- Published: 2022-11-21T11:59:41.000Z
- Updated: 2022-11-21T11:59:41.000Z
- Description: VMware Workstation 17 release adds new Linux guest OS additions. Find out more here!
- Author: Sourav Rudra
- Tags: Linux, News, #Import 2025-11-08 21:15

VMware Workstation is a popular virtual machine software available for Linux and Windows. 

**It isn't open-source** but works quite well.

Used by enterprises, individuals, and educational institutions alike, it offers a lot of utility with support for various Linux distros.

Sometimes, it might prove to be a better option than VirtualBox. However, that should be up for debate as per your use-cases.

In a recent [announcement](https://blogs.vmware.com/workstation/2022/11/announcing-vmware-workstation-17-pro-and-player.html?ref=itsfoss.com), VMWare launched Workstation 17 Player and Pro.

Let's take a closer look at the releases.

## VMware Workstation Player and Pro 17

![vmware workstation 17](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2022/11/VMware-Workstation-17.png)

VMware Workstation Player is the free version, whereas Pro is the commercial version that requires you to purchase a license.

With this update, a variety of improvements and features are being offered across both editions. Here are some of the key ones:

- **Fast Encryption**
- **Auto-Start VMs**
- **OpenGL 4.3**
- **New Linux OS Support**
- **Support for Windows 11**

Note that VMware Workstation Player now supports VM encryption features that were absent to allow you to run Windows 11

### Related Read 📖

[How to Install VMware Workstation Player in Ubuntu Linux - It’s FOSSComplete screenshot guide to show you how to install VMware Workstation Player in Ubuntu and Linux Mint.![](https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cropped-Logo-redsigned-without-name-270x270.png)It's FOSSAbhishek Prakash![](https://itsfoss.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/install-vmware-workstation-in-ubuntu-linux.jpg)](https://itsfoss.com/install-vmware-player-ubuntu-1310/)

### 🐧New Linux Guest OS Support

![vmware on linux](https://itsfoss.com/content/images/2022/11/vmwareworkstation.png)

Support for a bunch of Linux operating systems has been added to the VMware Workstation with this release; they include:

- RHEL 9
- Fedora 36 and Fedora 37
- Debian 11.5 and Debian 12
- Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu ,22.04 and Ubuntu 22.10

### Auto Start VMs

VMware Workstation can now automatically start a virtual machine on PC boot.

This should make it more intuitive for users who do not like to wait! 😃

### Windows 11 Host and Guest Support

You can boot up a Windows 11 virtual machine with VMware Workstation 17\. I haven't tried creating a Windows 11 VM instance using any program. 

Even though VirtualBox already supported it as a guest operating system, it is good to see it here.

So, you can try if you want a Windows virtual machine for a few tools.

### Fast Encryption

This new addition to VMware Workstation makes creating an encrypted virtual machine more straightforward and faster.

💡

It is meant for VMs that use a Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM).

You might want to compare different virtual machine programs to see if VMware proves to be faster.

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## 👇 Download VMware Workstation 17

VMware offers both paid and free versions to download on its [official website](https://www.vmware.com/?ref=itsfoss.com). 

For most, the non-commercial edition should suffice. If you are looking for more features, you may want to try the Workstation Pro edition.

[Download VMware Workstation 17 Player](https://customerconnect.vmware.com/en/downloads/info/slug/desktop%5Fend%5Fuser%5Fcomputing/vmware%5Fworkstation%5Fplayer/17%5F0?ref=itsfoss.com)