People live in an age where almost everything functions through an application in some way or form. From computers that run every industry to smartphones that are basically a person’s lifeline, practically everything runs on software.
The need to develop cutting-edge hardware came with the demand for more sophisticated software. Today, computers have incredible processing power, fast and inexpensive RAM, and often needlessly large storage capacity.
However, are you using these upgrades to computing power efficiently and to their full potential? Unfortunately, that is not the case. Many people waste energy through their underutilization of hardware and processing power.
Virtualization is the solution to the problem of underutilization of resources through the generation of virtual machines. Before delving into VirtualBox, you must first understand what virtualization is and what virtual machines are.
What is virtualization?
Virtualization is the standard mode of operations in IT enterprises today. It is also what drives the economics of cloud computing. Cloud providers use virtualization to serve their users, maximizing physical computing hardware resources. It is the reason cloud storage is affordable.
Virtualization uses software to generate abstraction layers on top of existing computer hardware. These layers enable the division of hardware elements from a single computer into multiple virtual computers. These virtual computers are commonly known as virtual machines.
Essentially, virtualization lets cloud users purchase computing resources according to their specific needs. It also allows these users to scale those resources with their growing workloads cost-effectively.
What is a virtual machine?
A virtual machine is a product of virtualization that emulates a computer system. That means it has the same architecture and functionality as a physical computer.
Imagine you have a computer running on the Windows operating system, or Windows OS for short. That computer will consist of hardware such as a central processing unit (CPU), random access memory (RAM), and storage.
The Windows OS installed into the hardware controls how the applications utilize these hardware resources. Lastly, the operating system has applications that communicate with Windows. So far, that covers the typical structure of a functioning computer, from hardware to software.
However, what if you also need to use the Linux operating system? It could be for learning a new operating system, running applications most compatible with Linux, or using it for work.
In that case, you would need a computer with adequate hardware resources and the Linux operating system installed. Without virtualization, you would need another physical computer to run your Linux operating system.
Virtualization eliminates the need to maintain multiple physical computers to run multiple operating systems concurrently. It achieves that through the creation of virtual machines within one computer. These virtual machines can run different operating systems on top of your current operating system.
In this example, you can run Linux OS on top of Windows and Windows on top of Linux OS. You can even use virtual machines to run different combinations not limited to the previous example. Below are the possible combinations you can use with virtualization.
- Mac OS on top of Windows OS
- Windows OS on top of Mac OS
- Mac OS on top of Linux OS
- Linux OS on top of Mac OS
- Another Windows OS on top of Windows OS
- Another Linux OS on top of Linux OS
- Another Mac OS on top of Mac OS
These virtual machines achieve that by using a hypervisor.
What is a hypervisor?
A hypervisor serves as a software layer that coordinates virtual machines. It separates the operating system and applications from the physical computing hardware. That ensures every virtual machine can access the hardware resources it needs to execute.
Hypervisors also prevent other virtual machines from interfering with each other by intruding on each other’s computer cycles or memory. They come in two types: type 1 and type 2.
Type 1 hypervisor
A type 1 or “bare-metal” hypervisor interacts directly with the underlying physical hardware resources, which replaces the typical operating system altogether. This type of hypervisor is the most efficient and common in virtual server scenarios.
Type 1 hypervisors also tend to be secure because they isolate virtual machines from the operating system. However, they require hardware acceleration software to work efficiently.
Type 2 hypervisor
Unlike type 1 hypervisors, a type 2 hypervisor or “hosted hypervisor” runs on top of an existing operating system. They do not require hardware acceleration software. Users typically use this hypervisor type on endpoint devices to run alternative operating systems.
Type 2 hypervisors hold a performance overhead, requiring more power and bandwidth to execute than type 1 hypervisors. They need the host operating system to coordinate with the underlying hardware.
VirtualBox is a perfect example of a type 2 hypervisor.
What is VirtualBox?
VirtualBox is a type 2 hypervisor developed by Oracle for the x86 computing architecture. It is arguably one of the most popular hypervisors available. Its popularity is due primarily to it being open-source, compatible with all operating systems, and easy to use.
VirtualBox functions as a hypervisor by generating a virtual machine that the user can use to run another operating system. The operating system running VirtualBox acts as the host operating system. The virtual machine within VirtualBox runs a separate operating system called the guest operating system.
VirtualBox is compatible with all operating systems and can accommodate as many virtual machines as your hardware can handle. It also supports many guest operating systems, including the following:
- Windows
- Linux
- Solaris
- Mac
- MS-DOS
- OpenBSD and FreeBSD.
- OS/2.
- ReactOS
- BeOS R5
- Haiku
- QNX
How To Set Up and Install VirtualBox
Now that you understand how VirtualBox works, it is time to set up and install it on your Windows machine. The installation process is easy, and you can use the same steps to install it on other operating systems.
Step 1: Enable CPU virtualization
The first thing you should do is enable CPU virtualization features on your central processing unit. Skipping this step could result in a “VT-x is not available” error when running 64-bit guest operating systems.
Step 2: Download VirtualBox
The next step is downloading the VirtualBox installer for the appropriate operating system. You can even choose which versions best suit your needs. After completing the download, click on the file and follow the installation prompts to the end.
Step 3: Use and Customize VirtualBox
After installing, you can define your installation options and customize your defaults. Your choices depend on how you intend to use the software and your general preferences.
Boost Efficiency with Virtual Machines
Running multiple operating systems without virtualization can be expensive regarding hardware resources and electricity. Creating virtual machines within one computer using VirtualBox can eliminate those issues. You may need to upgrade existing hardware to accommodate the requirements of other operating systems. However, it is more practical than buying a new computer.
