A great open source option for your VM needs
Getting started with VirtualBox is easy. Installation and setup are quick and seamless. Once up and running, easily install any operating system on your first virtual machine, running alongside your current operating system. Diving into VirtualBox’s differentiators right away, the ability to access your files within any virtual machine you create is a huge plus. With other large virtualization providers, the process of accessing your hard drive files within each virtual machine you create is cumbersome. With VirtualBox, the process is seamless and integrated into your native environment. VirtualBox allows for a simple connection of USB devices, a feature that most other VM programs do not offer, although this feature has been found to have a low transfer speed. Other features include 3D graphics virtualization, seamless windows, guest multiprocessing capabilities, full ACPI support, multi-display resolutions, built-in iSCSI support, and PXE network reboot.
Take a virtual picture of the current state of your system with a ‘snapshot’. Snapshots can be created and deleted while the virtual machine is active, making this feature a great alternative for system backup or disaster recovery. Users can clone virtual machines through the VirtualBox wizard. This is useful when backing up a virtual machine, testing different levels of guest OS, and playing with different virtual machine configurations.
Control your virtual machines individually or in
groups
Groups of virtual machines can be sorted and organized, making switching back and forth and finding the desired virtual machine quick and easy. VirtualBox also allows remote VM access via VirtualBox Remote Desktop Extension (VRDE). VirtualBox’s privacy policy states that they collect, process, store and use your personal information to respond to customer requests, offer advanced functionality, manage subscriptions, market and tailor products, participate and process orders, and develop the performance and security of their websites, products and services. Users may opt out, object to, or restrict the use of personal information if they choose.
Easily contact VirtualBox via the “Contact” link at the bottom of their website. You will be redirected to Oracle’s VirtualBox website, where you can initiate an online chat, phone call, email, or social media interaction. Here you will also find extensive product information, technical specifications, demo videos and related content that may be of interest to you. Additional support can be found on the individual VirtualBox website. Access the VirtualBox community tab and discover the community forums where users chat and help each improve their experience with VirtualBox. Subscribe to their mailing list to get up-to-date system information, updates, and chat with them directly via email. You can also submit security queries or report issues through the VirtualBox Community. Early adopters will love the ability to participate in test builds, which helps VirtualBox’s testing efforts, time to market for new releases, and gives users a fun way to participate in product evolution.
Where can this program run?
VirtualBox can be installed on Windows (7, 8, 8.1, 10, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, Server 2012 R2, Server 2016, Server 2019), Mac OSX (10.12, 10.13, 10.14),
64-bit Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Oracle Linux, RHEL 6 and 7, Fedora 28 and 29, Gentoo Linux, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 and 15, openSUSE Leap 42.3 and 15.0), and Oracle Solaris 11 64-bit.
Is there a better alternative?
VirtualBox goes head-to-head with industry giant VMware in this comparison. The VMware product most comparable to VirtualBox is VMware Player. Both products are free, however, VMware Player is only free for non-commercial customers. Portability is another win for VirtualBox with its ability to activate multiple virtual machines in one environment but run them in another environment. The big area that VMware Player outshines VirtualBox is in overall reliability. As with my freeware offerings, VirtualBox can be buggy and sporadically slow. VMware claims its Player program has the same level of reliability and stability as its highest product offerings, making it a clear winner here. All in all, any industry professional would agree that both are great free options for someone new to virtualization or with low-maintenance VM needs.
