In most cases, virtual machines hit RAM limits long before they hit host processor limits. The same goes for processing power, but not to quite the extent of RAM. So, in addition to the host RAM needs, you need enough RAM to run VirtualBox as well as all of the virtual machines. Virtualization platforms tend to be pretty RAM hungry bear in mind that you’re going to be running multiple operating systems on one system. I outlined these in the previous section. VirtualBox can run on a variety of host operating systems. O This component adds support to VMs for USB 2.0 devices, adds VirtualBox RDP-based remote connectivity and PXE boot capabilities Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack (closed source VirtualBox components).See VirtualBox documentation for specifics. – A wide variety of Linux operating systems are supported. Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 Windows XP, Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 VirtualBox platform downloads (all open source).When you visit the VirtualBox download page, you’ll notice that there are a few download options available:

I’ll start this article by admitting that I’m a huge fan of VMware Workstation. I’ve used it for a number of years and have always been impressed with each new version that the company releases. That said, the product does carry a hefty list price of $189.00 which makes it a pretty expensive buy for some. For those wanting an introduction to VMware with the “gateway product” that can take them to ESX/ESXi, Workstation fits the bill nicely. For those that want a platform on which they can install and test other technologies, the platform probably doesn’t matter nearly as much and a free alternative can do the job.įor Mac users, Fusion is an extremely capable product, as is Parallels, but those products carry a list price of $79.99 each. When compare to free, VirtualBox looks pretty good! I’m not going to spend much time in this article attempting to compare/contrast the two products, but will instead provide you with a look at how VirtualBox does things. For the extremely cost-conscious, a free platform on which to test new products might be just what the doctor ordered. In a recent blog post, I wrote about Oracle’s release of the newest version of VirtualBox 4.0, a worthy, free competitor to VMware Workstation. If you would like to read the next part in this article series please go to An Introduction to Oracle VirtualBox 4 (Part 2).

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