Overview And Basis Of Presentation (Details) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Jun. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011
Class A Common Stock [Member]
Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	127,264	123,610
Class B Common Stock [Member]
Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	300,000	300,000
EMC [Member]
Outstanding ownership percentage of VMware	79.30%
EMC [Member] | Class A Common Stock [Member]
Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	38,700
EMC [Member] | Class B Common Stock [Member]
Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	300,000