System requirements for the virtual machine. Overview of the VirtualBox virtual machine. Overview of existing desktop virtualization platforms

Oracle VM VirtualBox - a powerful free virtualization system for x86 and AMD64/Intel64 architectures for creating isolated virtual machines with various operating systems for corporate and home users.

The program is absolutely free and entirely in Russian, which makes it very attractive for use on both home and work computers. The system was first made available in 2007 by InnoTek in two versions - open and closed source, both free for non-commercial use. In 2008, the platform was purchased by Sun Microsystems, which is currently developing it.

The platform is a virtualization system for host systems Windows, Linux and Mac OS and provides interaction with guest operating systems Windows (2000/XP/2003/ /Seven, etc.), Linux (Ubuntu/Debian/ OpenSUSE/ Mandriva, etc.) , OpenBSD, FreeBSD, OS/2 Warp.

Program description

Oracle VM VirtualBox is a feature-rich tool for creating isolated virtual machines, offers high performance, and is also the only professional solution that is freely available and open source under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL) v.2.

VirtualBox supports a large number of guest operating systems, including, but not limited to, Windows (NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Server 2003, Vista, Windows 7), DOS/Windows 3. x, Linux (2.4 and 2.6), Solaris and OpenSolaris, OS/2 and OpenBSD.

VirtualBox is actively developed with frequent updates and has an ever-growing list of features, supported guest operating systems and platforms it works with. VirtualBox is a team effort supported by dedicated companies: everyone is encouraged to contribute while Oracle ensures the product meets professional quality criteria.

Features of VirtualBox Extension Pack

The Extension Pack adds useful new features to the popular virtualization solution VirtualBox.

The set of add-ons includes a USB 2.0 controller (EHCI), which, for example, will allow you to improve the performance of your USB 2.0 devices.

You also get support for the VirtualBox Remote Desktop Protocol (VDRP). Essentially, this allows you to run a virtual machine on one computer while you view and manage it on another.

The Extension Pack also includes support for remote booting of the computer via Intel PXE boot ROM emulation with support for the E1000 network card.

All these features require a separate installation of a package with the "vbox-extpack" extension on top of VirtualBox (to download, go to the "Useful Links" section).

Close VirtualBox, download and run the VirtualBox Extension Pack installation file, and VirtualBox will launch the add-on and install it, updating any earlier versions that may have been installed.

VirtualBox: System Requirements

Supported systems

Windows hosts:

Windows Vista SP1 and higher (32-bit and 64-bit)
Windows Server 2008 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Windows 10 RTM build 10240 (32-bit and 64-bit)
Windows Server 2012 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)

Mac OS X hosts (64-bit):

10.9 (Mavericks)
10.10 (Yosemite)
10.11 (El Capitan)

Linux hosts (32-bit and 64-bit), including:

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS - 16.04
Debian GNU/Linux 7 ("Wheezy"), 8 ("Jessie") and 9 ("Stretch")
Oracle Enterprise Linux 5, Oracle Linux 6 and 7
Redhat Enterprise Linux 5, 6 and 7
Fedora Core / Fedora 6 to 24
Gentoo Linux
openSUSE 11.4 - 13.2

Download from the official website For a more detailed introduction to the Oracle VM VirtualBox platform, you can visit.

Spoiler: Screenshots of the program

Last edited: 01.28.2019

VirtualBox 4.3.10 offers full-screen support for OS X

VirtualBox 4.3.10. While the release primarily offers a series of bug fixes, the solution does include one new feature for OS X users.

VirtualBox is a free application for creating virtual computers. The program supports almost all modern operating systems; Windows, DOS/Windows 3.x, Linux, OpenBSD and others can be used as guest operating systems.

The new feature is experimental support for native full-screen mode, which was previously implemented in Mountain Lion and Mavericks. This new option comes with the removal of another: the minimize button in the toolbar.

Other notable improvements include:

Ensured correct installation of Linux add-ons in Ubuntu guest environments with the /usr/lib64 directory.
Additions for X11 resolve an issue where the VBoxClient process would not terminate correctly, resulting in significant CPU consumption.
Improved emulation of some MSR registers.
Fixed a bug that prevented the creation of compact snapshots under certain conditions.
HID LED synchronization between Windows and Mac hosts.
Issues in 3D hardware acceleration support have been resolved.

For questions regarding cooperation, please contact us or via correspondence. Free help with infections and technical problems is provided on the forum; you must create a new topic in the appropriate section.

Any point on the map can be the center of the world. He is neither bad nor good. He just is. There is no virtue or dishonor here. There is only you alone with your conscience. And so on until the race is over, until the end comes, until we turn into the ghosts we seemed to ourselves. (c) film "Legend"

You lose more from indecision than from a wrong decision. (c) Carmela Soprano

New version of VirtualBox 5.0.10

VirtualBox 5.0.10 for Windows hosts x86/amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.10 for OS X hosts amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.10 for Linux hosts

VirtualBox 5.0.10 for Solaris hosts amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.10 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack All supported platforms

Changelog VirtualBox 5.0.10 (released 2015-11-10)

VMM: improved support for certain Intel Atom CPUs (bug #14773)
VMM: system register emulation fix (5.0 regression; bug #14515)
GUI: fixed immediate screenshot issue (bug #14108)
GUI: fixed another 3D overlay window reparenting issue when the VM is switched to fullscreen mode on X11 hosts
GUI: fixed help index (bug #14722)
GUI: fixed state synchronization issue in the VM manager window when VM was paused from its runtime window
Audio: fixed suspending/resuming audio streams on VM pause/unpause (bug #14784)
Audio: properly reset AC97 audio streams, otherwise there is silence until a non-48 kHz stream is played
Audio: fixed a small emulation quirk of the AD1980 codec of the HDA device to make recent linux guests work (bug #14653)
USB: serveral fixes for the xHCI controller
USB: fixed a crash under certain conditions on hosts with Linux kernels older than version 3.3
USB: better identification of certain USB devices
NAT: support TCP in DNS proxy (bug #14736)
NAT Network: fixed sporadic crashes on Windows hosts (bug #13899)
API: when creating differencing images (e.g. as part of a snapshot or cloning a VM) use the same disk image variant as the parent image if possible, which means that e.g. a diff image for a VMDK image split into 2 GB files will also be split (bug #14764)
API: event queue handling fixes preventing loss of certain events at runtime (e.g. new webcam attached), particularly important on Mac OS X hosts
Webcam: passthrough fix for certain devices (Windows hosts only)
VBoxManage: don"t crash on snapshot restorecurrent / edit if the VM has no snapshots
VBoxManage: don't crash on controlvm addencpassword (bug #14729)
Mac OS X hosts: use the correct kernel on certain hosts
Windows hosts: fixed VRDP external authentication
Windows hosts: allow to use a shared folder path with extended-length path prefix (5.0 regression; bug #14651)
Windows hosts: fix a crash in the netfilter host driver under certain conditions (bug #14799)
Windows host installer: documented and fixed public properties which can be used to control the installation to some extent
Windows host installer: fixed not starting the actual installation when showing the version information or help dialogs
X11 Additions: added basic support for X.Org Server 1.18 (3D requires additional fixes)

New version of VirtualBox 5.0.12

VirtualBox 5.0.12 for Windows hosts x86/amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.12 for OS X hosts amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.12 for Linux hosts

VirtualBox 5.0.12 for Solaris hosts amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.12 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack All supported platforms

Changelog VirtualBox 5.0.12 (released 2015-12-18)

This is a maintenance release. The following items were fixed and/or added:

GUI: fixed wrong scrolling behavior in the VM selector window when a VM item is dragged out of the chooser-pane area
GUI: fixed the validation of IPv6 port-forwarding rules
GUI: suppress the first-run wizard if a CD/DVD medium is inserted using the selector UI
GUI: fixed the Ctrl+Break key sequence scan codes (bug )
GUI: improved handling of text selection mouse pointer (bug)
Host services: fixed a crash during VM shutdown under rare conditions (5.0.6 regression; bug )
Shared folders: fixed a sharing violation if a file is opened to check the attributes (Windows hosts only; bug )
Webcam: passthrough fix for certain devices (Mac OS X hosts only)
XHCI: fixed broken emulation if software virtualization is used
XHCI: several fixes
3D: fixed state handling under certain conditions (bug)
Audio: several fixes
BIOS: added LBA64 support for being able to boot from huge hard disks (bug)
EFI: fix for Windows 10 guests
ExtPack: before installing an Extension Pack check if there are VMs running to prevent file system locking issues
rdesktop-vrdp: source code tarball fixes
Windows hosts: fixed hang when using VBoxAuthSimple library for VRDP external authentication (bug)
Windows hosts: fixed a regression which prevented it to attach to a physical network adapter having TCP/IP disabled (bug)
Windows hosts: fixed a regression which caused multi-port adapters to be shown as a single adapter (bugs , )
Windows hosts: fixed a regression which caused created host-only adapters to not appear in the list (bug)
Windows hosts: fixed host-only adapter creation issues related to Windows 10 (bugs, )
Linux hosts: .desktop file compatibility issue (bug)
Linux hosts/guests: fixes for RHEL 7.2 (bug)
The command for recompiling the host kernel modules was changed again, to /sbin/rcvboxdrv setup (bug)
Linux hosts: some fixes for PCI passthrough (still highly experimental)
Linux/Mac OS X hosts: fixed a VM hang during startup under certain circumstances (bug)
Solaris hosts: added Python 2.7 bindings
Mac OS X hosts: fixed a possible crash when the default input or output audio device changes
Mac OS X hosts: fixed a panic under certain conditions
Linux Additions: prevent the compiler from doing dead-code elimination on vital code in guest / host communication (bug)
Linux Additions: when mounting a shared folder, explicitly pass the share name so that /proc/mounts contains this name instead of "none"
Linux Additions: workaround for a systemd problem in conjunction with SELinux which prevented to properly enable the "vboxadd" service during while upgrading the Additions

New version of VirtualBox 5.0.14

VirtualBox 5.0.14 for Windows hosts x86/amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.14 for OS X hosts amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.14 for Linux hosts

VirtualBox 5.0.14 for Solaris hosts amd64

VirtualBox 5.0.14 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack All supported platforms

VirtualBox 5.0.14 Software Developer Kit (SDK) All platforms

New in version 5.0.14

Interface: limiting the number of VCPU cores in accordance with the number of physical cores in Mac OS X;
Audio: Fixed a bug that prevented loading the saved state of saved guests with HDA emulation;
Audio: Fixed a crash when the post-processor compiler fails to initialize;
Audio: fixed problem with audio capture in Mac OS X;
Storage: fixed a possible crash when attaching the same ISO image to the same virtual machine multiple times;
BIOS: correct notification when connecting two floppy drives;
USB: Fixed an issue with filters that caused device capture to fail under some circumstances.
ExtPack: fixed an incompatibility issue where blacklist extension packages older than version 4.3.30 were not processed correctly;
Windows Host Systems: Fixed reverting to a previous state causing robocopy to fail;
Linux host systems: correct creation of symlink /sbin/rcvboxdrv;
Mac OS X host systems: several USB fixes in El Capitan;
Linux Add-ons: Fixes for Linux 4.5.

WHAT'S NEW

New in version 5.0.16

This is a maintenance version that fixes bugs and includes feature improvements.

(official website, English)

New in version 5.0

Support for paravirtualization mode for Windows and Linux guests: significant improvement in guest OS performance through the use of built-in virtualization support on Oracle Linux 7 and Microsoft Windows 7 and higher;
Optimized CPU usage: Execute a wide range of CPU instructions in the guest OS, allowing applications to apply the latest instructions to the hardware for maximum performance;
USB 3.0 device support: Guest OSes can now directly recognize USB 3.0 devices and run at full speed. The guest system can be configured to support USB 1.1, 2.0, 3.0 specifications;
Supports two-way drag and drop mode for sharing content between the guest OS and the host system. The drag and drop function allows you to transparently and conveniently copy or open files, folders, etc.;
Encrypting disk images: Data can be encrypted in a virtual disk image at runtime using the industry standard AES algorithm, which supports 256-bit encryption keys. The new feature guarantees the security of encrypted data both during periods of activity and when the virtual machine is idle.

You lose more from indecision than from a wrong decision. (c) Carmela Soprano

WHAT'S NEW

New in version 5.1

Release 5.1 supports the latest guest OS and host systems, including Mac OS X Yosemite, Windows 10, Oracle Linux, Oracle Solaris, other Linux OSes and genuine operating systems. Key features of VM VirtualBox 5.1:

Improved performance: Significantly improved performance for virtual machines with multiple processors and for network connections.
Error reporting tool: The new utility collects information and logs related to the host system and guest system for debugging or analysis.
Improved log window: New event logging capabilities will allow you to highlight and filter information related to guest virtual machines.
Improved multimedia support: Improved support for various USB devices and multi-channel audio.
Flash drive emulation: The new NVMHCI storage emulation controller allows you to emulate NVME devices - flash drives - in guest systems.
Improved Linux integration: automatic deployment of modules when updating the Linux kernel and improved integration of the latest Linux distributions.

(English, official website)

You lose more from indecision than from a wrong decision. (c) Carmela Soprano

Spoiler: Changelog

VirtualBox 5.1.24(released 2017-07-18)

This is a maintenance release. The following items were fixed and/or added:

VMM: mask the VME CPUID capability on AMD Ryzen processors for now to make certain guests works, for example Windows XP
VMM: emulate more SSE2 instructions
VMM: properly clear the TF and AC flags when dispatching real-mode interrupts
GUI: fixes to make the mini-toolbar work with recent versions of KDE / Plasma (bug)
GUI: fixed a potential crash when a VM with multiple screens is running in full screen / seamless mode and a host screen is removed, for example when connecting to the host via RDP
GUI: fixed initial size hints for guests which set intermediate sizes before responding (bug)
GUI: prevent stopped screen updates or black screen on reboot in a multi-screen setup under certain conditions
Audio: many improvements for Windows 10 guests (bugs , , , , , and others)
Storage: fixed possible crash when using Intels SPDK
API: use the correct file name of the VM machine state if the VM settings directory is renamed, for example during grouping / ungrouping a VM (bugs and )
API: return the correct error code if powering up a VM fails
API: video recording did not automatically start at VM start when enabled in the VM settings (bug)
API: when relocating a medium, check that the target path is fully qualified
EFI: fix for VMs with more than 3504MB RAM (bug)
Host-only adapter: correctly determine IPv4 netmasks on Windows hosts (bug)
NAT network: properly do the refcounting for starting / stopping the NAT / DHCP services if the NAT network is changed while the adapter network connection type is anything else but NAT network
VBoxManage: fixed controlvm videocapfile (bug)
Windows hosts: fixed crashes if driver verifier is enabled (bug , )
Linux hosts/guests: Linux 4.12 fixes (bugs, )
Linux hosts / guests: reduce the kernel stack consumption for Linux kernels with CONFIG_CPUMASK_OFFSTACK defined
Linux hosts/guests: fixes for kernel modules built with gcc-7 (bug)
Linux hosts/guests: Linux 4.13 fix (bug)
Linux hosts: don"t depend on net-tools on newer distributions as this package is deprecated in favor of iproute (bug)
Linux hosts: make 2D video acceleration available for older Linux distributions (5.1 regression; bug )
Linux Additions: fix for dynamic resizing with Oracle Linux 6 with UEK4
Linux Additions: make Fedora 25 and 26 Alpha work when 3D pass-through is enabled
Linux Additions: no longer recommend removing distribution- installed Additions if they are updated to our guidelines

Installing software on a computer, especially little-known software, is always associated with a certain risk. The program may contain errors that affect the stability of the system, built-in advertising or tracking modules, and other unwanted elements. In addition, any software leaves traces on the system that may not have the best effect on its operation. As for experiments with Windows, everything is even more risky here, because sometimes even a seemingly insignificant change in registry data or modification of system files can lead to the most unpleasant consequences.

Ask how to avoid them? It’s very simple, use virtualization systems, for example, the VirtualBox virtual machine - a special program that allows you to install, run and test different operating systems in an isolated environment. You can do anything with such virtual computers - install programs on them, configure them, modify system files, work with disks and partitions, in a word, perform any experiments. If the virtual OS is damaged, you can restore it from a snapshot or delete it altogether - this will not have any effect on the host system, that is, the main working system.

Installing VirtualBox for Windows

Perhaps all this may seem complicated to some, but in fact there is nothing in working with Virtualbox that a novice user cannot handle. So how to use VirtualBox? As usual, it all starts with installation. We go to the developer’s website www.oracle.com/virtualization/virtualbox/index.html and download the latest version of the program.

Installing VirtualBox on Windows 7/10 is almost no different from installing most other programs; you just need to follow the instructions of the wizard and do not change anything in its parameters. Upon completion of the procedure, you will receive a ready-made virtualization platform.

Creating and basic configuration of a virtual machine

Like installing VirtualBox, creating and configuring a virtual computer is not particularly difficult; the program automatically selects the best configuration depending on the operating system being installed. User control, however, will not hurt.

Let's create a virtual machine for Windows 10 32-bit as an example. Launch VirtualBox and click the “Create” button on the toolbar. In the window that opens, give the machine a name (can be arbitrary); in the drop-down lists, select the operating system and its version.

At the next stage, you will be asked to specify the amount of RAM allocated to the virtual machine. There are no strict rules regarding the allocated RAM; for 32-bit Windows it is advisable to reserve at least 1 GB of memory, for 64-bit Windows - at least 1.8-2 GB.

At the third stage, a virtual hard disk is created, here we leave everything by default. Click “Create”, select the disk type VDI or VHD.

As for the storage format, it is better to select “Dynamic”, this way you will save time and space on the physical disk, although losing a little in performance.

We set the size of the virtual disk as desired, but not less than specified in the operating system requirements. Click “Create”.

The virtual machine has been created and now you can quickly go through its settings. First of all, however, go to the settings of the VirtualBox program itself and on the “General” tab change the path to the virtual machine storage directory. It is best to allocate a folder for them on drive D, where there is the most space.

Now go to the settings of the created VM and check the following parameters:

In the “General” section on the “Advanced” tab, change the path to the VM snapshot files if necessary (it is advisable to place them in the folder with the main VM container file). Here you can enable a shared clipboard for the host and virtual machines.
If you want to install the system in EFI/GPT mode, in the “System” section, be sure to check the “Enable EFI (special OS only)” checkbox.
To be able to run 3D applications on a virtual machine, in the “Display” section, check the “Enable 3D acceleration” checkbox.

Setting up the Internet and shared folders

If you plan to provide access to the VM to other users of the local physical network, you should select the “Network Bridge” connection type in the VirtualBox network settings. To ensure interaction between different virtual machines, the “Virtual Host Adapter” mode is used; to connect guest operating systems to a single internal network, the “Internal Network” mode is used. There is also a “Universal Driver” connection type, but it is used much less frequently.

Of particular interest are shared folders in VirtualBox, thanks to which the user can exchange any files between the host and virtual machines. You can connect such a directory in the “Shared Folders” section. To do this, click on the plus sign opposite the “Machine Folders” item, select a folder on your hard drive through the overview and connect it, not forgetting to check the “Auto-connect” checkbox.

Starting a VM and installing the operating system

Now you know how to configure VirtualBox and the created VM. Next, let's see how to install the operating system on it. The procedure for installing an OS on Virtualbox is practically no different from installing it on a physical computer, except that instead of a bootable flash drive or DVD, an ISO installation image is used here. Launch the created virtual machine and specify the path to the bootable ISO image with the system in the window that opens.

The standard installation procedure will begin, during which you will be asked to accept the license agreement, partition the disk, and after copying the system files, create a user account.

The guest operating system is installed, but some functions, in particular, shared folders and the clipboard, will not work until you install a special plugin - guest OS additions. In addition, without these add-ons you will not be able to adjust the screen resolution, connect flash drives to the virtual machine, etc. Fortunately, you don’t need to download anything; guest OS add-ons are included with VirtualBox. All you need to do is select the option in the virtual operating system menu Devices – Mount the Guest Additions disk image.

Go to the “This PC” section in the virtual OS, open the disk drive VirtualBox Guest Additions and, if the system does not offer to do this itself, run the executable file VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe.

Install the add-ons as a regular program, accepting the security agreement, and restart the virtual computer.

The guest system is ready for use, all that remains is to check the network operation. We will not dwell in detail on how to set up the Internet in VirtualBox. If you selected NAT, the VM will connect to the Internet automatically. With other types of connections, you will most likely have to tinker a little. Remember the main thing: if the IP address for your main computer is issued automatically by the router, the same settings must be set in the parameters of the virtual system network adapter. If settings are assigned manually, then they must also be assigned manually in the guest system network adapter settings.

Main problems when working with VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a stable and high-quality software product, and if users have to encounter problems during its operation, the causes of the latter are most often the errors of the users themselves. Thus, those who try to launch virtual machines on VirtualBox with Hyper-V active will encounter the error “Failed to open a session for the virtual machine” (code E_FAIL 0x80004005). The reason is the incompatibility of these virtualization platforms. If you are planning to use VirtualBox, please disable Hyper-V and vice versa.

However, the disabled virtualization function in the BIOS can lead to the same error. This will be indicated by the unavailability of hardware virtualization options in the virtual machine settings (VT-x/AMD-V and Nested Paging in the section System - Acceleration). By the way, these options must be enabled even with active virtualization in the BIOS, otherwise the VM will also not start.

A VM crashing into BSOD upon startup is a common problem caused by a lack of physical computer resources allocated to the guest operating system. When creating a virtual machine in VirtualBox, you need to ensure that the allocated resources meet the requirements of the operating system.

The Blue Screen of Death can also be caused by Hyper-V enabled on the host system and a controller type mismatch. If the virtual disk was previously connected to SATA, and then you connected it to IDE, the guest OS will fail with a critical error and crash into BSOD. The issue is resolved by creating a new compatible controller and connecting a container file with the guest system to it.

Accidental deletion of snapshot files by the user may result in the inability to start the VM. You need to delete snapshots correctly - through the “Snapshots” section, otherwise you will have to completely reinstall the guest system. If VirtualBox itself does not start or when you start it you get the error “Cannot access the kernel driver!”, most likely you will have to uninstall the program and then reinstall it.

VirtualBox 5.1.6

On September 13, 2016, Oracle announced the release of a corrective release of the VirtualBox 5.1.6 virtualization system.

The release includes 28 fixes to improve stability and eliminate regression changes.

Among the changes:

VirtualBox 5.1.4

Correction:

The installer for the Linux platform has fixed several bugs that caused installation failures on some Linux distributions;
Fixed a problem with the normal display of the mouse pointer when operating guest systems with Linux and Solaris in a Windows host environment;
Additions for Linux guest systems improve the operation of the video driver in 32-bit guest systems with large video memory;
The video driver included in the add-ons for Linux guest systems adds support for the Linux 4.7 kernel and provides a workaround for an error in the X server that causes screen updating to stop;
Crashes and freezes that occur during the operation of the audio subsystem and USB have been eliminated;
Improved stability on NVMe drives;
Fixed problems with incorrectly limiting storage access bandwidth when setting the limit values too small.

VirtualBox 5.1.2

Major changes

Implementation of APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller) and I/O APIC, notable for a significant increase in performance for certain types of load (when using network functions);
Migrating the interface to Qt5;
Enabling passive processing of API requests, which increased the performance and responsiveness of the VM GUI;
The Detach UI function has been moved to the virtual machine management menu;
Support for paravirtualized Hyper-V debugging for Windows guest environments;
Advanced MMIO (Memory-mapped I/O) emulation;
Audio output improvements: Added HDA (High Definition Audio) support for modern Linux guests. Improved performance when performing audio operations and reduced CPU load. The AC"97 emulator provides the ability to more accurately control volume;
Improved Python 3 support;
The session information window has been redesigned;
The new virtual machine setup wizard now allows you to select the location of the created VM;
When working with drives, the fallocate call was used to proactively reserve blocks, which made it possible to increase the speed of creating disk images of a fixed size;
Implemented an NVMHCI-compatible solid-state drive controller (NVM Express, Non-Volatile Memory Host Controller Interface);
Improved performance of the E1000 network driver;
Numerous improvements to EFI support, including USB boot capability;
Improved processing of images in OVF (Open Virtualization Format) format, certified with a digital signature;
DKMS is no longer used to build the Linux kernel module.

VirtualBox 5.0.16

Among the most notable fixes:

An issue leading to incorrect behavior of guest systems on computers with AMD CPUs has been fixed;
The problem with GUI crash, which occurs under rather rare circumstances, has been resolved;
For Linux, an experimental possibility of PC speaker forwarding has been introduced;
Fixed several problems with xHCI USB controllers (for example, webcam forwarding did not work);
Added support for cached authentication in Active Directory when a domain controller is unavailable to guest management tools;
Problems with the operation of the /sbin/rcvboxdrv script on Linux hosts have been resolved;
For Linux hosts, correct removal of Python scripts is ensured when performing the uninstall operation via the .run installer.

VirtualBox 5.1 Beta 1

The main upgraded features of Oracle VirtualBox 5.1 (the final version is expected no earlier than mid-August 2016):

The hypervisor will implement APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller) and I/O APIC; they will provide a performance boost under certain network conditions.
The hypervisor will support paravirtualized guest OSes with the Hyper-V role for debugging.
Improvements to working with MMIO, which gives a positive effect in terms of performance and reduces the overhead of virtualization.
The GUI has moved to Qt5.
The passive event listener API increases front-end performance and reduces response time during operations in the VirtualBox console.
Improved Python 3 support.
Many improvements in the GUI - for example, a redesigned session information window, a new virtual machine creation wizard and much more.
To quickly create pre-allocated virtual disks, use the fallocate function (if supported).
Improved EFI support (booting from USB stick is possible).
Improved handling of digitally signed OVF virtual module packets.
The Linux installer no longer uses DKMS to build modules.

VirtualBox 5.0.24

The product includes eight fixes aimed at improving stability and eliminating regression changes. The most noticeable change is the rollback of the code to the old I/O-APIC implementation due to the identification of a series of regressive changes in the new code. As a result, some guests may experience a drop in I/O performance before the 5.0.20 release. As a workaround, it is recommended to disable GRO support for Linux guests.

Other changes:

Addressing potential corruption of optimized VMDK images created in VMware products;
Implementation of support for dynamic reconnection of input devices on hosts running OS X;
Informing guest systems about changes in battery charge state through ACPI notifications;
Solving problems when using host systems with the Linux 4.6 kernel;
Resuming GUI functionality on Solaris 10 hosts.

2015

Beta testing of VirtualBox 5.0 has begun

The main change in it is the implementation of work in paravirtualization mode, which involves the use of a guest system modified for closer interaction with the hypervisor and using special drivers instead of hardware emulation. Working in paravirtualization mode makes it possible to significantly increase the performance of the guest system.

Screenshot of the paravirtualization manager window, 2015

Including changes:

New modular architecture of the audio subsystem, providing a higher level of abstraction relative to the audio backends of the host system;
Providing guest systems running using hardware virtualization mechanisms with the ability to use extended instruction sets, such as SSE 4.1, SSE4.2, AES-NI, POPCNT, RDRAND and RDSEED;
The xHCI virtual controller now supports USB 3 devices;
Support for drag"n"drop mode for Windows, Linux and Solaris guest systems;
Ability to encrypt disk images;
Added support for scaling guest screen output to the GUI, including when using 3D acceleration;
New configurator section for customizing the menu and status bar;
New tab for configuring disk image encryption settings;
Ultra High Definition Display (HiDPI) support
Possibility of hot plugging of SATA drives.

Oracle has released a release corrector for VirtualBox 4.3.28

Notable fixes

Improved means of forwarding web cameras from Linux hosts (V4L2). Added support for new web camera models;
Support for the upcoming Linux 4.1 kernel;
Solving problems when working on systems with the Linux kernel 3.19 with the SMAP protection mode activated;
Eliminate flickering when updating the mouse cursor when using add-ons for X11;
The use of VNIC templates with network configurations on the Crossbow platform in Solaris has been established;
Fixed crashes when shutting down Linux and restoring the X11 environment after hibernation when using 3D acceleration tools;
VRDP has achieved compatibility with rdesktop 1.8.3, rdesktop-vrdp has been moved to version 1.8.3;
Improved volume controls when emulating HD audio devices;
Ensures correct application of bandwidth limitation when using NAT.

Oracle announced VirtualBox 5.0 Release Candidate 1

Screenshot of the application window, 2015

Among the most significant changes:

improved support for high resolution monitors (HiDPI)
more efficient use of video memory, this expands the range of device support and optimizes performance
Improved console interface, added smoother switching of elements
support for localization interface languages (NLS)
the encryption process is displayed correctly
support for hot adding USB controllers, now the controller type is visible in the VM settings
hot plugging of SATA optical drives
many Guest Additions bug fixes
improved Drag&Drop mechanism
rdesktop-vrdp version 1.8.3
fixed AHCI processing errors
the Guest Additions heartbeat service is documented
improved overall system stability

Oracle VM VirtualBox 5.0 released

On August 4, 2015, Oracle Corporation announced the availability for download of Oracle VM VirtualBox 5.0, an open (Open Source) cross-platform virtualization software.

Oracle VM VirtualBox runs on desktop and mobile PCs with x86 processors. Oracle VM VirtualBox allows the creation of multi-platform virtual machine environments for application development and testing, for virtualizing the operating system for universal purposes with the additional capability of dynamic encryption. Developers can create applications for cloud platforms like Docker and OpenStack directly in the Oracle VM VirtualBox virtual machine environment on their computers running Windows, Mac OS, Linux or Oracle Solaris, making it easier to develop multi-tier applications on a regular laptop.

Screenshot of the application window, 2014

Oracle VM VirtualBox helps you create and update virtual machines locally on your computers, including the operating system and applications, and then package them into a standard file format for distribution and deployment in the cloud with Oracle VM Server or other server virtualization solutions. In addition, Oracle VM VirtualBox helps you run almost any x86 platform operating system to run applications that are not natively available to run on host systems.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 5.0 version supports the latest guest or host operating systems, including Mac OS X Yosemite, Windows 10, Oracle Solaris, Oracle Linux and other Linux distributions, as well as legacy operating systems.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 5.0 Additions:

Paravirtualization support for Windows and Linux guest operating systems - Paravirtualization (the ability to run a modified guest OS without hardware virtualization) improves the performance of the guest operating system by using the built-in virtualization support in operating systems such as Oracle Linux 7 and Microsoft Windows 7 (and later versions).

Optimized CPU Usage - The guest operating system is provided with an enhanced processor instruction set, allowing applications to leverage the latest hardware instruction sets for maximum performance.

Support for USB 3.0 devices - Guest operating systems can directly recognize USB 3.0 devices and run them at the appropriate maximum speeds. The guest OS can be configured to support USB 1.1, 2.0 and 3.0.

Support for bidirectional Drag and Drop for Windows - On all host platforms, Windows, Linux and Oracle Solaris guest operating systems now support Drag and Drop operations between the host and guest OS. The drag-and-drop feature allows you to transparently copy, open files, directories, etc.

Disk image encryption - Data can be encrypted on virtual hard disk images in the background while programs are running; it uses the AES algorithm with 256-bit encryption keys (DEK). This helps ensure that data is securely protected and allows encryption to occur at any time, regardless of the virtual machine's inactivity or activity on the development machine or server.

VirtualBox 5.0.2 released

Among the most notable:

Built-in support for systemd has been added to installation scripts for host and guest environments. Scripts for building kernel modules are now located in /sbin/rcvboxdrv (for the host) and /sbin/rcvboxadd (additions for guest systems);
added support for OS X 10.11 "El Capitan";
solved problems with compilation when using pre-releases of the Linux 4.3 kernel;
Fixed problems in the installer that appeared in Linux From Scratch and systems with the “vanilla” Linux kernel;
in additions for Linux guest systems, the correct saving of the VBoxService process identifier in the PID file has been adjusted;
Problems with the operation of Guest Control tools when using add-ons for Linux guest systems have been resolved;
a large portion of fixes specific to Windows and OS X guest systems, as well as when running VirtualBox in host mode on the Windows platform.

VirtualBox 5.0.10

The release includes 32 fixes aimed at improving stability and eliminating regressive changes. Among them:

Compatibility with RHEL 7.2 is ensured;
The problem with compatibility with .desktop files on Linux host systems has been resolved (the /usr/share/applications/virtualbox.desktop file was supplied incorrectly);
the organization of recompilation of the kernel module has been changed (the launch of “/sbin/rcvboxdrv setup” has been ensured instead of /sbin/vboxconfig, which led to problems with activating the module on some systems);
PCI device forwarding process has been improved on Linux hosts;
Fixed a rare problem that, under certain circumstances, caused the virtual machine to freeze on Linux and OS X platforms;
Bindings for Python 2.7 have been added for hosts on the Solaris platform;
Linux fixed an issue with connecting a second monitor caused by the compiler removing code it thought was unused, which was not the case;
in additions for guest systems with Linux, the names of directories mounted for sharing are transferred to /proc/mounts (previously "none" was displayed);
in additions for guest systems with Linux, a workaround has been implemented to solve the problem with enabling the systemd service "vboxadd", which occurs when using SELinux;
in the GUI, problems with scrolling when dragging elements outside the selection area have been resolved and cursor handling has been improved when selecting text with the mouse;
Problems with XHCI controller emulation in software virtualization mode have been resolved;
LBA64 support has been added to the BIOS implementation, making it possible to boot from very large hard drives.

2013

Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.3

Among the significant features of the new version is support for the 'scaling' mode, which allows you to proportionally reduce the size of the guest operating system window. The VirtualBox management interface has also been redesigned, which in the new version is called VirtualBox Manager. The new interface, in addition to service information, now contains screenshots reflecting the recent state of the guest operating system. The storage locations for program files have been changed, the amount of supported memory on 32-bit guest systems has been increased, and new virtual components have been added: Intel ICH9 chipset and Intel HD Audio. OVF support has also been improved, work with VDI and VHD images has been improved, support for multiple virtual screens has been added on Linux and Solaris guest systems, and bugs have been fixed.

In the fourth version, the program architecture has been redesigned: it now consists of a base package and sets of extensions. The main package is distributed under the GPLv2 license.

The new version of VirtualBox adds the ability to connect additional functional modules, including those distributed under proprietary licenses. So far, the Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack plug-in has been announced, which will provide high speed when working with USB 2.0, remote desktop access and network boot services. It is likely that in the future Oracle will develop other plug-ins that can be distributed for a fee.

VirtualBox is a virtualization software product for Microsoft Windows, DOS, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X and SUN Solaris/OpenSolaris operating systems. The program was created by Innotek using the Qemu source code. The first publicly available version of VirtualBox appeared on January 15, 2007. There are two versions - free (OSE, English OpenSourceEdition), released under the GNU GPL, and proprietary (PUEL), differing in functionality; a fully functional proprietary version for personal use is distributed free of charge. If the product will be used in a production environment, licenses must be purchased, the terms of which can be obtained from InnoTek.

VirtualBox has the ability to select the interface language (Russian-language interface is also supported).

In February 2008, Innotek was acquired by SunMicrosystems, but the VirtualBox distribution model remained unchanged.

In the following narrative, the VirtualBox virtual machine will be discussed in more detail.

general characteristics

Each virtual machine created with VirtualBox is a standalone computer with its own hardware resources, some of which are emulated in software and some of which are borrowed from the host computer, as is the case with the VMwareServer and MicrosoftVirtualPC virtual machines.

VirtualBox has a large list of supported operating systems, comparable in variety to VMware.

This list includes operating systems of the Windows, Linux, Unix, NovellNetWare and others.

VirtualBox's capabilities for working with virtual hard disks include:

Connecting multiple hard drives to each VM.

Supports fixed and dynamic disk sizes.

The VirtualBox platform executes guest code natively (directly transferring instructions to the host processor). This approach works well for code running in the third guest ring; guest code running in ring zero that requires privileged instructions needs to be intercepted by the virtualization platform. For this purpose, VirtualBox uses an original approach: code executed in the zero ring of the guest system is executed in the first ring of the host system, which is not used in the Intel architecture.

VirtualBOX's capabilities in terms of peripheral support include:

Emulation of the video adapter as a standard VESA with 8 MB of video memory, while installing Guest VM Additions (for Windows and Linux hosts only) allows you to increase the performance of the virtual video adapter and dynamically change the size of the virtual machine window

Audio controller based on Intel ICH AC"97

The closed-source edition also emulates USB controllers, with USB devices inserted into the host connectors being automatically picked up by the guest system. Also, if the virtual machine acts as an RDP (RemoteDesktopProtocol) server, then USB devices will also be visible in the client.

The network adapter is emulated as an AMD PCNet interface

Network communication between virtual machines in VirtualBox can be of three types:

NAT - A virtual machine “hides” behind the host’s NAT server and can initiate connections to a network external to it, but a connection to such a virtual machine cannot be initiated from an external network.

HostInterfaceNetworking - in this case, the virtual machine shares the resources of the physical adapter with the host operating system and is accessible from the external network as an independent computer.

InternalNetworking is a type of network interaction for building a virtual network within the host, when there is no need to exit the virtual machine to an external network and access it from the outside.

In addition to the standard functions inherent in most desktop virtualization systems, the VirtualBox platform also has a set of unique features unique to it:

Pronounced modularity of the system.

The VirtualBox platform has a modular architecture with well-described components and provides convenient interfaces for accessing virtual machines that allow you to control guest systems both through the GUI and through the command line and remotely. In addition, InnoTek provides an excellent SoftwareDevelopmentKit, and since the platform is open source, no additional effort is required to write an extension to the system.

The virtual machine can act as an RDP server.

Unlike other virtualization platforms, VirtualBox can act as an RDP server and be managed by any client that supports the RDP protocol. The USB over RDP function is also supported.

The iSCSIinitiator component is one of the closed parts of the VirtualBox platform. It allows you to use external iSCSI devices as virtual disks in the guest system without additional support from the guest OS.

System requirements

Processor clocked at 3000 MHz or faster.

RAM 1024 MB or more.

A video card with at least 64 MB of video memory or more powerful.

Free hard disk space from 140 MB.

Optical drive for burning DVD/CD discs.

32-bit or 64-bit architecture (x86 or x64).

Operating system Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.

In order not to expose the OS installed on the computer to risk, but to be able to explore both various software and the functionality of any other OS, there is a special type of program on the software market for creating virtual computers. Such programs create a virtual environment emulating a hardware computer. And you can install the same virtual OS on this emulator. The most famous such program is VirtualBox from the American developer Oracle.

1. Features of the program

Free, functionality, cross-platform, Russification, intuitive interface, simplicity and clarity of software processes and settings, step-by-step instructions for creating virtual computers - these are the main advantages of VirtualBox, thanks to which it seriously beats its competitors.

Thus, one of the main competitors - the VMware Workstation program - is a paid commercial software. You can only use VMware Player for free - this is a greatly reduced functionality version of the Workstation program. While VirtualBox provides full functionality for free. Plus, VirtualBox exists in versions for installation not only on Windows and Linux OS, like VMware Workstation, but the former can also be installed on Mac OS X and Solaris.

And VMware Workstation does not have the ability to adjust video memory, like VirtualBox.

Both of these programs also have a common competitor from Microsoft - Hyper-V, which is included in some versions of Windows. And, naturally, you can only work with it as part of studying the ubiquitous Windows OS. The program does not support either Linux or Mac OS X.

VirtualBox has the widest selection of systems that can be installed as a virtual OS - most versions of Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Solaris, including both 32-bit and 64-bit. Some even manage to create an Android emulator using VirtualBox.

As you can see, if you are determined to take the path of experimenting with a virtual computer environment, VirtualBox is the ideal tool for this.

2. Minimum system requirements

As for installing VirtualBox not in active virtual computer mode, the program is not demanding on hardware resources - the bare minimum is required to install the program:
— 512 MB of RAM,
— 200 MB of hard disk space for installation,
- a processor with a frequency according to the requirements of the OS itself, for example in the case of Windows XP it is a Pentium of at least 300 MHz or its analogue from AMD.

But, we repeat, these are system requirements purely for installing VirtualBox on a physical (main) OS. The active virtual computer mode will require much more system resources, and the specific requirements will already be determined by that very virtual (guest) OS.

VirtualBox creates a virtual computer based on the hardware characteristics of a physical PC, some of which are automatically emulated into the virtual computer - for example, a processor, video card, CD/DVD drive, USB ports. And part - RAM and occupied disk space - are emulated according to the settings that you set during the process of creating a virtual computer with the program. Some hardware characteristics of the virtual computer can later be changed by setting them to smaller boundary parameters that VirtualBox has the right to use. After all, a virtual computer in a working state will borrow the power of the processor, video card, and RAM from the physical PC.

How much of the RAM and disk space can be given to a virtual computer when it is created by VirtualBox?

It is recommended to allocate no more than half of the available RAM on a physical PC to the virtual OS. But for the virtual OS to work, a minimum of 512 MB to 1 GB of RAM may be required. For example, for more or less normal functioning of virtual Windows XP or Linux, a minimum of 512 MB of RAM will be required.

And to install Windows 7 or 8 (8.1) on a virtual computer, the minimum RAM will be 1 GB.

The virtual OS will permanently occupy space on the computer’s hard drive in the form of a program file. And if many people will probably have an extra 4-5 GB minimum for Windows XP or Linux without any problems, then about 20-25 GB for full operation of Windows 7 or 8 (8.1) OS, for example, owners of old PC builds with a hard drive of some 160 GB will have to be taken care of in advance, saying goodbye to file junk that has not been used for a long time.

3. How to download the program for free

On the official website of the developer, the VirtualBox program installer in the current version 4.3.8 can be downloaded absolutely free.

4. How to install the program

To install the program, just run the downloaded installer from the browser downloads. VirtualBox is installed as standard, although in English. Don’t worry if this language is not familiar to you: all you need to do is press “ Next" - i.e. " Further».

Moreover, all the active components with which VirtualBox is installed will be needed for its full operation.

The only thing is that during the installation of the program the connection to the local network will be lost for a couple of minutes. This is required to install network drivers so that the Internet can work on the virtual computer. However, VirtualBox will issue a corresponding notification about this, albeit in English.

No need to worry about this, you can safely press the installation command - “ Install».

Windows 7 and 8 (8.1) are initially distrustful of third-party software, so they constantly ask for administrator rights, permission to trust some developer, or give them permission to install individual components. Therefore, if during installation you additionally need to confirm the installation of the VirtualBox components - USB Support (USB port support) or VirtualBox Networking (network support), such confirmation, of course, must be given.

After this, the program will complete the installation process, and if you do not uncheck the automatic launch box, immediately after clicking the finish button - “ Finish“—VirtualBox will appear before you in all its glory, and with a Russian-language interface.

That's it - the installation process of the program itself is completed. But what lies ahead is creating a virtual computer and installing the virtual OS of your choice on it.

5. Create a virtual computer

There is no mistake when creating a virtual computer using VirtualBox: after installation, the only active button will be visible in the main program window - “ Create", in fact, where you need to click. In the window that appears, you need to give the virtual computer a name, select the OS and its specific version.

Click " Next».

In the next VirtualBox settings window, you need to set the value of RAM that you give for temporary use to the virtual computer when it is active - in fact, what was mentioned above. Use the slider to set the desired value or enter the exact number of RAM in the field next to it.

Do not go to the red line - this will transfer half the hardware power of a real computer to a virtual computer, and in cases with low-power machines there may not be enough performance to run the main OS, not to mention virtual environments. The minimum recommendations of VirtualBox itself are too small for full-fledged work, therefore, as mentioned above, you should not allocate less than 512 MB of RAM for running less resource-intensive operating systems, and less than 1 GB of RAM for more resource-intensive ones.

Click " Next».

« Select your hard drive" - this is exactly what you need to do in the next VirtualBox setup window. And here for most it would be advisable to leave the default item – “ Create a new virtual hard disk».

Click " Create».

The following window will appear with several virtual hard disk storage file formats that VirtualBox can work with. You must leave the default option – “ VDI».

Click " Next».

With the type of virtual hard disk - the next VirtualBox settings window - it is better to do the same as above - leave the option as default.

A fixed hard drive of a virtual computer will be more efficient in operation.

Click " Next».

In the next window, VirtualBox will prompt you to name your virtual hard disk. This is not so important, so you can leave the default name, taken from the name of the virtual computer itself. It is much more important to designate a folder to store the virtual hard disk file and correctly determine its size.

The minimum size of a virtual hard disk was discussed above; we only note that here we need to proceed purely from the available space on the physical hard disk. Plus, you need to take into account that in addition to installing the virtual OS itself, a certain place will be occupied by various service environments and, in fact, the programs being tested.

By default, the storage folder for the virtual hard disk file is registered on the system disk of the physical PC, where many may not have room for the “heavy” Windows 7 and 8 (8.1). And why clutter the system disk? It is better to choose a storage location on a non-system drive. Click the folder icon and select a storage location.

Click " Create».

Wait while VirtualBox creates the virtual computer. After this, its name will appear on the left side of the main program window with the note “ Switched off", and on the right side of the window you can see the main hardware parameters.

6. Installing the operating system on a virtual computer

It is necessary to prepare in advance an image of the installation disk with the selected operating system or insert a boot disk into the CD/DVD drive of a physical PC.

In the main VirtualBox window, launch the created virtual computer using the button Launch" Then, in the automatically appearing window for selecting removable media for booting, select either the installation disk image with the OS, or designate the boot disk located in the CD/DVD drive. To do this, click the browse icon that looks like a folder.

When installing a previously unfamiliar OS for the first time, simply follow the installer's instructions.

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