VirtualBox: Difference between revisions
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*The ability to access host USB drives. |
*The ability to access host USB drives. |
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You are able to also use features of the host operating system where applicable. Some features make using the guest OS easier. For example, "pointer integration" (which allows you to move the cursor between the host OS and certain guest OS's seamlessly). |
You are able to also use features of the host operating system where applicable. Some features make using the guest OS easier. For example, "pointer integration" (which allows you to move the cursor between the host OS and certain guest OS's seamlessly). |
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==Virtualized Hardware== |
==Virtualized Hardware== |
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*Intel PRO/1000 MT Server (82545EM) |
*Intel PRO/1000 MT Server (82545EM) |
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*Paravirtualized networking (through [[KVM|KVM's]] 'virtio' networking drivers) |
*Paravirtualized networking (through [[KVM|KVM's]] 'virtio' networking drivers) |
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==Guest Additions== |
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VirtualBox offers many features to integrate the user experience of the guest operating system more easily into the host operating system. These features include; |
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* Shared drag and drop capability. |
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* Mounting shared directories on the host in the client. |
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* Seamless mouse pointer integration. |
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* Seamless window blending. |
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* Shared clipboard. |
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* Detecting the size of the VirtualBox window. |
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* 2D and 3D acceleration. |
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All of the official VirtualBox documentation either targets end-users installing guest operating systems or people developing VirtualBox. Documentation for people developing for VirtualBox's virtual hardware is virtually non existent. |
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The best reference you have available is the source code for the guest additions for FreeBSD, Linux, OS2, Solaris, and Windows. The source code can be found on the VirtualBox SVN respository under [https://www.virtualbox.org/browser/vbox/trunk/src/VBox/Additions/ /vbox/trunk/src/VBox/Additions]. |
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The ability to enable certain guest features depends on the value of the "Guest OS" property. For example, the option to enable 3d acceleration doesn't become available unless the "Guest OS" property is set to Windows. Changing the "Guest OS" merely changes the recommended settings and what extended features are available; it does not change the behaviour of the virtual machine. |
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==See Also== |
==See Also== |
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Revision as of 14:58, 3 May 2012
| Emulators |
|---|
| PC Emulators |
| PC Virtual Machine Monitors |
| PowerPC Emulators |
VirtualBox is a virtual machine monitor produced by Oracle (previously Sun Microsystems). It is largely open-source (GPL) with a few feature packs that are closed source. It is very easy to use and has good support for many host and guest platforms.
Features
- It has very good documentation so it is very easy to use out of the box.
- VirtualBox supports booting from real media or images of floppies and CD/DVD-ROM's.
- It also supports debugging.
- The ability to access host USB drives.
You are able to also use features of the host operating system where applicable. Some features make using the guest OS easier. For example, "pointer integration" (which allows you to move the cursor between the host OS and certain guest OS's seamlessly).
Virtualized Hardware
VirtualBox supports the virtualization of the following hardware:
Audio
- Intel AC'97
- Intel HD Audio
- Creative Soundblaster 16
Networking
- AMD PCNet PCI II (AM79C970A)
- AMD PCNet FAST III (AM79C973)
- Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop (82540EM)
- Intel PRO/1000 T Server (82543GC)
- Intel PRO/1000 MT Server (82545EM)
- Paravirtualized networking (through KVM's 'virtio' networking drivers)
Guest Additions
VirtualBox offers many features to integrate the user experience of the guest operating system more easily into the host operating system. These features include;
- Shared drag and drop capability.
- Mounting shared directories on the host in the client.
- Seamless mouse pointer integration.
- Seamless window blending.
- Shared clipboard.
- Detecting the size of the VirtualBox window.
- 2D and 3D acceleration.
All of the official VirtualBox documentation either targets end-users installing guest operating systems or people developing VirtualBox. Documentation for people developing for VirtualBox's virtual hardware is virtually non existent. The best reference you have available is the source code for the guest additions for FreeBSD, Linux, OS2, Solaris, and Windows. The source code can be found on the VirtualBox SVN respository under /vbox/trunk/src/VBox/Additions.
The ability to enable certain guest features depends on the value of the "Guest OS" property. For example, the option to enable 3d acceleration doesn't become available unless the "Guest OS" property is set to Windows. Changing the "Guest OS" merely changes the recommended settings and what extended features are available; it does not change the behaviour of the virtual machine.