Tool Time: 175 Free Tools for the Taking

You probably know that the "Tool Time" column highlights free tools, but did you know that you can also find information about freebies in other articles on the Windows IT Pro network? In case you missed them, here are some of those articles. (If you want to see a list of the Tool Time columns we've featured so far, go to "The Reader to Reader 'Tool Time' Reference".)

29 Freebies for Virtualization
If you work with virtual machines (VMs), check out the following 29 tools:

"Virtualization on the Cheap"

1. Catbird Compliance Enforcer. Analyzes existing virtual infrastructures, then highlights rogue VMs, quarantines suspect VMs, and generates compliance and security reports.
2. Citrix XenServer. Is a virtualization platform.
3. ConfigCheck. Evaluates an ESX Server installation to see whether it's configured properly and in accordance with VMware's best practices, particularly with regard to security guidelines.
4. EasyVMX. Lets you create web-based VMs.
5. Hyper-V. Is a virtualization platform.
6. Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit. Searches out computers in a network, then generates a detailed inventory using Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI), SNMP, or Remote Registry Service.
7. Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. Is a virtualization platform.
8. OpsCheck. Troubleshoots configuration problems that might cause VMware VMotion to encounter problems.
9. PlateSpin Recon Inventory Edition. Profiles and analyzes data centers, then gathers information about traffic, workload, asset inventory, and application services.
10. Veeam Monitor Free Edition. Monitors VMware ESX and ESXi environments in real-time.
11. Virtual Iron Single Server Edition. Is a virtualization platform.
12. VirtualBox. Is a virtualization platform.
13. Vizioncore vOptimizer FreeWare. Squeezes Microsoft and VMware VMs into more manageable sizes.
14. VMware ESXi. Is a virtualization platform.
15. VMware Player. Loads and run VMs created by other virtualization products.
16. V-Scout. Aggregates and organizes information from up to two VMware VirtualCenter installations.

"More Free Virtualization Tools"

17. PHD Virtual.com website. Offers several free VMware utilities (e.g., VMNetBac, SnapHunter).
18. VM Explorer (VMX). Powers VMs on or off as well as backs up and restores VMs.
19. Xtravirt.com website. Offers several free virtualization utilities (e.g., GetVMwareDocs, Visio Action Pack).

"Free Virtualization Utilities"

20. ISO Recorder. Creates and burns ISO images.
21. Ultimate-P2V. Converts physical systems to VMs.
22. VHD Resizer. Expands and shrinks .vhd files.
23. VHDMount. Mounts a .vhd file as a local drive.
24. Virtual Floppy Drive. Mounts a virtual floppy drive from a VM.
25. Virtual Machine Remote Control Client Plus (VMRCplus). Manages, configures, and connects to Microsoft VMs.
26. VMDK to VHD Converter. Converts VMware images to Microsoft images.
27. VMmark. Benchmarks applications running in VMware VMs.
28. VMware Converter. Converts physical machines or Microsoft VMs to VMware VMs.
29. VMware Workstation 5.5 Disk Mount Utility. Mounts a VMware.vhd file on a Windows host.

Note that you can find more information about Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, and Citrix XenServer in "Free Hypervisors Extend Your IT Resources".