VirtualBox – actually quite nice
I actually learn of VirtualBox via Twitter.
That’s one of the things I realize from Twitter – people talk about things they like. One person says it… Then a couple of months later you hear another one that has something nice to say. Then you hear from a third guy.
Word of Mouth advertising. It works.
What is VirtualBox – why do I need this?
VirtualBox is Sun/Oracle’s virtualization host.
- It is free for personal use.
- It can host x64 (better than Virtual PC)
- It can understand both VMDK and VHD formats (beats Virtual PC or VMWare)
- It is faster than Virtual PC
- You can create new VM with VirtualBox (beats VMWare Player)
How does it compare with other offerings?
Here’s a totally unscientific chart based on my understanding:
| Free | x64 client OS | Create VM | Virtual HD | Neeed Speeed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual PC | Yes | No | Yes | VHD | Sluggish |
| Virtual Box | Yes | Yes | Yes | VHD VMDK | No |
| VMWare Workstation | No | Yes | Yes | VMDK | No |
| VMWare Player | Yes | Yes | No | VMDK | No |
| Hyper-V | No (Win Server x64) | Yes | Yes | VHD | No |
| Boot to VHD | Yes (Win7) | Yes | No | VHD | Fastest |
Anyway, VirtualBox and Boot to VHD are my two picks.
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