Can Parallels do this?

E

eyost

Bit poster
Hi all,

I am doing some research for one of our customers who uses an application that we publish. Our application is a Windows based program that uses a GUI front end that connects to several Access databases through an ODBC connection. In speaking with my customer, several questions came up regarding the capabilities of Parallels.

Is wireless access to a router limited only to the primary (Host) OS, or can you access the internet from within either OS. In other words, will they be able to use Safari or Mail within the Mac OS to browse the Internet and access mail and also use Internet Explorer or Outlook from within the Windows OS without having to reboot into the different operating system?
How difficult is it to set up wireless networking?
How is printing handled within the two OS'es? My customer has an HP Laser Printer that is currently being used with Windows. Can printing be achieved from within either OS?
Based upon the design of our software (Windows app that uses an ODBC connector for databases), is it better to boot into a specific OS to maintain compatibility?
Are there any considerations or limitations that are encountered by the use of Parallels, compared to a conventional boot of just one OS?
Are there any networking issues with networking machines with Parallels. The scenarios include:
Mac to Mac
Mac to Windows
Windows to Windows
Windows to Mac

Thanks for any information,

Ed
 
I can't see why any of the above would be a problem. The Windows Guest OS just hooks onto the network via the Mac network connection, so it ought to work OK with a wireless interface. I don't use Wireless, but I can run any network connection I want between the two OSs and from them out to the Internet via my Mac's ethernet interface. I use bridged networking, where each OS gets its own address on the LAN from my DHCP-serving router, so they behave like two separate machines as far as the LAN is concerned, and can "see" each other for file and print sharing etc.

It really isn't very difficult to install the trial version of Parallels, install Windows (I use XP) into it, and then try your application. My guess is that you'll find it "just works" in the best traditions of Mac software.
 
I am using a vm in parallels to do a lot of networking stuff. I am mostly using the network in bridge mode, and it is working for me as expected. I can even run a server program in the windows vm and access it from the host os.
I had a situation in a hotel recently where the internet provider was limiting internet access to one mac address, so I had to use NAT mode for the vm. That way, there were some restrictions, of course.

So - yes, I think that everything you want will work well with parallels provided you can use bridge mode. In that mode, a vm looks just like one more pc in your network.

But - why don't you just download the trial version an see for yourself???

BR
Peter
 
I actually have things set-up in a similar manner at our office.

Go get the trial, check it out.

Only caution would be to get a fresh install of a Stable. 1970 is very stable but does not have that many features. 3188 has mixed results, none of our computers have crashed in over two weeks now, but others have issues. Plus of 3188 is that you have a lot of features like Coherence.

Test and get things set-up prior to deployment. Also, if possible, install Parallels on a fresh OS X install (this shouldn't be an issue if you use Net Images and Network Accounts)
 
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