Oracle VM Virtualbox: what kind of program is it, who are the developers, resource intensity, functions performed, installation and configuration features

Virtualization is useful in learning about different operating systems, since using virtual machines (VMs) is more convenient than installing it directly on a computer. Previously, when users wanted to use two or more operating systems on their PCs, they performed a dual boot. A common example is running Linux and Windows on the same machine. Otherwise, when booting twice, it was necessary to break the hard drive. And also it was necessary to restart the computer each time in order to switch operating systems. In order to understand what kind of program Oracle VM VirtualBox is, and how to configure it, you need to consider how it works.

Hardware virtualization

VirtualBox works like a regular program, creating disk images that replace hard drives in virtual machines. You can take snapshots of the configurations of these machines. If you make changes to the guest operating system, you can return to its previous state.

What is this Oracle VM VirtualBox program for conventional processors? Hardware virtualization is the ability of a computer to create a simulation of its equipment, providing the ability to work on multiple computers simultaneously. She opens VMs that act as independent computers, complete with their own operating systems. Each OS in the virtual machine will see its copy of the computer, as if it had at its disposal the whole machine, including the processor and memory.

What is this Oracle VM VirtualBox program for conventional processors? Nowadays, most Intel and AMD processors come with virtualization technology with several new management instructions. With their help, software (VMM, Virtual Machine Monitor) can be simpler, which improves productivity compared to other solutions. When the processor supports virtualization technology, it is called hardware.

Both Vmware Workstation and Oracle VirtualBox take advantage of virtualization technology to improve performance, but for Intel-based processors, it is enabled through the BIOS. To find out if your computer supports it and how to enable virtualization technology in Windows, you can refer to the Microsoft help section. The relevant section provides a version of the Hypervisor or virtualization application called Hyper-V. You should also visit the official page to find a list of supported operating systems that can be installed in VirtualBox.

Many users are unfamiliar with Oracle VM VirtualBox, what kind of program it is, and what advantages and disadvantages it has. Each user can determine the advantages of VM individually for himself, adjusting the machine to his tasks. The disadvantage of such programs is that these machines do not work as fast as standard operating systems. If you need to run several operating systems or play a 3D game, it is better to work with dual boot or with one of the simple supervisors such as Xen.

Types of Using Hyper-V

Virtualization allows users to simultaneously run more than one operating system without disrupting their work. Microsoft does not make MS Word available for Linux systems, but you can run Oracle VM VirtualBox Windows and use Microsoft Office. The user may want to run an experimental operating system without starting the computer that they need for other work. Running such systems on a virtual machine allows the user to safely test them without damaging the machine.

An application that uses virtualization technology is called Hypervisor. Common examples of hypervisor programs are Oracle VM VirtualBox, VMware Workstation, Xen, and Microsoft Hyper-V. These programs run directly on top of the hardware. They are known as "invisible" hypervisors.

Oracle VM VirtualBox is a program that disguises the tracking of virtual machines behind the functions of the hypervisor. The VM operating system is known as the host, and virtual machines created by users are called guests. Because VM runs on top of an existing operating system, it is known as the installed hypervisor.

Oracle VirtualBox on Windows 10

To install VM in Windows 10, pre-load its image from the official site. It can be installed on Linux-based operating systems such as Ubuntu, centOS, MacOS, and Windows 10. The installer file for Windows is about 112 MB in size. Before installing Oracle VM VirtualBox, do the following:

1. The downloaded file has the format VirtualBox-VersionNumber-BuildNumber-Win.exe or something like this VirtualBox-5.1.22-115126-Win.exe.
2. Double-click the installer to launch the setup wizard.
3. Click “Next” to continue.
4. A user preferences dialog box appears, you can accept the default value and click Next.
5. If you need to change the installation directory, click the browse button and select a new directory and then OK. Usually this value is left by default, since the entire installation process does not take up much space on the hard drive.
6. In the dialog box, you can choose which functions to install, and then, at the discretion of the user, make the “Create shortcut in the quick launch panel” checkbox active.

Network Interface Setup

This means that Oracle VM VirtualBox in Russian will install network interfaces that will interact with the installed VM and host OS. This procedure will temporarily disconnect the user from the Internet. Procedure, after the ready to install dialog box appears:

1. Click “Install” to continue.
2. After clicking the install button, a dialog box for confirming user access control from Win OS appears. This is a security feature that awaits confirmation if the application is allowed to proceed with the installation process.
3. Click “Yes” to continue.
4. Wait for the installation to complete.
5. When the installation is complete, the process completion dialog box opens.
6. Verify the installation, VirtualBox will start automatically.

MAC Address Setting

Another step to be able to access the virtual machine and be able to access the Internet is to configure NAT networks. Before installing Oracle VM VirtualBox, do the following:

1. Click “File”, “Settings”, select “Network” and “+”, add a new NAT network on the “NAT Networks” tab.
2. Click “Edit Selected NAT Network”, make sure that “DHCP Support” is enabled, and then click OK.
3. Go to the tab “Networks for hosts only”, click “Edit the selected network for hosts only” and write down IPV4 Address.
4. Go to the “DHCP Server” tab, write down “Server Address”, “Lower Address Border” and “Upper Address Boundaries” and click OK on the “Host Only Network Information” and “Virtual Boxes” screens.
5. Configure Oracle VM VirtualBox, for which choose the machine that you created, click "Settings" and "Network".
6. On the “Adapter 1” tab, select Attached to NAT, click “Advanced” and write down “MAC Address”.
7. On the “Adapter 2” tab, turn on the network adapter, select “The adapter is for hosts only”, click “Advanced”, write down the “MAC address” and click OK.

VirtualBox on AMD64

To install Oracle VM VirtualBox, you need to enable Intel VT-x and AMD-V in the BIOS. However, many users will not need these steps. Procedure:

1. Download the 64-bit version of Oracle VM VirtualBox, that is, for the "AMD64 operating system."
2. Download the pre-configured CymeR.iso. This is a stripped-down version of LXLE with the additions of Docker, VirtualBox and the already installed CymeR-Workspace.
3. Launch VirtualBox.
4. When it boots up, go to the upper left corner and select “Create”.
5. Enter any name you want into the Oracle VM VirtualBox (i.e. it should not be CymeR).
6. In addition, install “Type” - Linux and “Version” - “Ubuntu (64 bit)” regardless of the operating system used.
7. Upon completion, click "Next."
8. Assign the RAM size for CymeR as needed, and click "Next".
9. Select "Create a virtual hard disk now."
10. Select “VDI (VirtualBox Disk Image)” and “Next.”
11. Select “Dynamically Highlighted” and “Next.”
12. Select the amount of disk space that CymeR needs to give, and click Create.
13. The size of CymeR is about 15 GB, so everything that the user chooses should be more than 15 GB, better than 25 GB. Now that the virtual machine is created, you need to change some settings.
14. Click “Settings” next to “Create” in the menu bar, or right-click on the virtual machine and select “Settings”.
15. First click “System”, and then select the “Processor” tab and you need to provide access to the virtual machine as many processors as possible, for example, we provide the virtual machine 6 of the available 12 processors.
16. If the user decides to install the Linux option in VirtualBox, and not use the provided iso, he will need to install guest add-ons on the installed Linux OS.

The following are the commands that apply:

1. sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get upgrade -y.
2. sudo apt-get install build-essential module-assistant -y.
3. sudo ma prepare -y sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-additions-iso -y.

Installation of version 10

Windows 10 is an officially available version, but it’s actually a pretty solid release. However, upgrading a machine immediately after a new OS version is usually not approved. For those who want to try all the new features without compromising PC performance, virtualization is the best option at the moment. Fortunately, setting up Windows 10 on a virtual machine is not particularly difficult. Install VirtualBox:

1. Download Windows 10 by choosing between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the OS.
2. Go to the site and download the latest version of the free, open source Oracle software.
3. Go through the installation process and run the application. Click the "Create" button and name the virtual machine.
4. Highlight RAM. The x86 version will require at least 1 GB of RAM. For x64 version you will need 2 GB. If too much RAM is allocated, then the user will get serious performance problems.
5. Then you need to create a virtual disk. Microsoft says 16 GB is the minimum space required for the 32-bit version, but the 64-bit version requires 20 GB.
6. The choice is made by making sure that there is enough space on the real hard disk to handle the size of the virtual disk.
7. Find the Windows 10 ISO that was downloaded earlier and go through the installation procedure.

Video options and guest add-ons

Before you go and start the installation of Windows 10, go to the "Screen" tab. You can configure as much video memory in a virtual machine as the green pointer allows. You can also switch to 3D and 2D acceleration for better performance, but the VirtualBox user guide lists them as experimental, so it’s possible that the user may encounter some quirks in tuning Oracle VM VirtualBox.

After completing the settings, you must click the "Start" button in VirtualBox and begin the installation process of Windows 10. The user must follow the instructions on the screen where he will be asked to enter credentials. In the VirtualBox interface, go to "Devices", and then select "Insert the image of the CD with guest add-ons." Go to the image on the disk in Windows Explorer and run the installer. When the Windows 10 desktop opens, you will need to install all the Oracle VM VirtualBox plugins. After the whole process is completed, the user will only have to restart the VM.

Virtual linux

Windows users who want to use Linux for the first time will find it useful to try it on the VM. There are a large number of similar software on the market. Professional benefits for installing Linux on a VM include:

1. The ability to try the Linux version without affecting the Windows host machine.
2. Virtual Linux OS will work the same as when installed on a physical hard drive.
3. The software installed on the VM remains intact and can be used even after a reboot.
4. VMs can be backed up and restored easily so if it gets corrupted it will not be a problem.

Preboot Ubuntu (32 or 64-bit depending on the device) and Virtualbox.

Installation process:

1. Go to the download folder on the computer and double-click the installer.
2. The first is the welcome screen.
3. Click “Next” to continue.
4. Explorer will ask you what components to install. It is recommended that you keep the default selections.
5. Click “Next” to go to the “Customization” screen.
6. Select the folder in which you want to include VirtualBox using the Windows menu structure.
7. Click "Next". At this point, you can choose whether to create a shortcut on the desktop or not.
8. Click “Next” and go to the “Network Warning” screen.
9. Click “Install” to start the installation. At this time, you may need permission to install the application from the antivirus and firewall software.
10. Launch VirtualBox.
11. Click Finish to complete the installation.

Ubuntu Disk Partitioning

On the “Installation Type” screen, the user will find out how to split the hard drive. When installed on a real hard drive, this step causes concern among people. In this case, fears are in vain, since it affects only the virtual hard disk and does not affect Windows. Procedure:

1. Select Erase disk and install Ubuntu.
2. Click "Install Now." Installation begins, and the files are copied to the virtual hard disk.
3. Choosing a place, setting the time zone for Ubuntu ensures that all important watches show the correct value.
4. Click on the map to select your location.
5. Click Continue.
6. Choose your keyboard layout, layout and create a user.
7. Select a language for the keyboard. Click Continue.
8. Select a name for the virtual machine, username and password, and retype the password.
9. Select automatic login.
10. Choose whether to encrypt the home folder.
11. Click Continue.

When the process is completed, the installer will ask you to restart the computer.

Recommendations experienced

Oracle VirtualBox has many installation options, it is worth exploring all these issues and reading the user manual, but it’s easier to take expert advice. Tips experienced:

1. The first thing to do is determine the type of virtual machine that you want to create.
2. Select a 32-bit version of the OS if the host computer is a 32-bit machine.
3. Assigning memory to a virtual machine. You can not choose below the specified minimum, and also be sure that enough memory is left for the Windows host operating system. Therefore, 512 MB will work poorly if the PC has enough memory, it is recommended to increase the bar to 2048 MB.
4. If you want to run Ubuntu as an image, the user does not need to create a hard drive, but you will need it to install Ubuntu.
5. The default VDI file type is the one that is native to VirtualBox, so choose VDI.
6. You can choose a hard drive with a fixed size or a hard drive with a dynamic size. Do not fall below the minimum set, create enough disk space to make it useful and at least 15 GB.

Oracle VirtualBox is a virtualization software that allows you to run multiple operating systems on the host operating system without the need to double-boot the computer. It supports both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of operating systems, and installing and configuring it for computers with built-in virtualization is not difficult.