3

I work alone in some iOS projects in a local environment.

I have been thinking in a way to be able to share my development environment between my Mac Mini and my MacBook. I mostly work at home in the Mini but sometimes I need to do a demo or work outside and I would like to have the development environment mirrored in both.

I have think in using a virtual machine (via VirtualBox) with just my development tools installed. Then I could synchronize that VM with some software between both computers so I will always have the exact environment no matter what computer I use.

Is there any good reason not do do this way? I have not used virtualization too much so I have no background on the subject.

¿What about licenses?¿Is there need to have duplicated licenses in both VMs?

This are my requirements:

-Don't need to setup two environments. Just setup one and have the job done in the other(installing or updating apps, change settings, etc).

-Don't depend on having a connection when working away from my home.

My basic setup will be:

  • Mac Mini: i7 dual Core, 8Gb. OSX Mountain Lion Host OS:
  • MacBook: 2.4 Core 2 Duo. 4Gb. OSX Lion Host OS.
  • Virtual Box with Mountain Lion guest OS in both machines.
  • XCode5, Simulator, Texwrangler, MAMP, etc.
|improve this question
2

If you have enough licences, there is NO need to setup a Virtual machine and development environment in both machines. What you would need is a cloud repository like Git where you would sync your work. Btw, you may also set a private free repo with bitbucket.org.

However, if you have only one licence for development environment tools then you definitely need to set up your Virtual machine (btw, VirtualBox is a good choice), and use it in both machines that you have in mind. What will be left is just network configuration of Virtual machines, in order to get a connectivity to your cloud repository.

|improve this answer
  • I know I can use repositories, but I want to go further so I don't have to worry about any change in the environment (new apps, updates, settings, etc.). I have to look carefully at the license conditions when installing an App in different VMs. – David Casillas Oct 11 '12 at 6:56
  • Actually, using one license on two computers (by sharing the VM) is probably not allowed either. This will depend on the license and jurisdiction, of course. – sleske Oct 7 '13 at 11:36
2

You don't need to virtualize anything. Just use Screen Sharing. It's built in.

Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion) has an excellent screen sharing app built right into the operating system. The screen sharing app enable you to access and control the screen of another computer on your network. I like using in on my MacBook Air when I want to quickly access our family iMac. It’s perfect for troubleshooting the computer outside of the room or doing a function that’s not available on my notebook computer...

|improve this answer
  • This will depend on having a connection when working with my MacBook and will feel slow since working remotely. – David Casillas Oct 11 '12 at 6:52

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.