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VirtualBox

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"Virtual box" redirects here. For virtual computers in general, see virtual machine.
VirtualBox
Original author(s)Innotek GmbH
Developer(s)Oracle Corporation
Initial release15 January 2007; 17 years ago (2007-01-15)
Stable release7.0.10 (17 July 2023; 16 months ago (2023-07-17)[1]) [±]
Repository
Written inC, C++, x86 Assembly
Operating systemWindows, OS X, Linux and Solaris[2]
Size86–115 MB depending on platform[3]
TypeHypervisor
LicenseBase Package (USB support only for USB 1.1): GNU General Public License version 2 (Optionally CDDL for most files of the source distribution), "Extension Pack" (including USB 2.0 support): PUEL
Websitewww.virtualbox.org

Oracle VM VirtualBox (formerly Sun VirtualBox, Sun xVM VirtualBox and Innotek VirtualBox) is a hypervisor for x86 computers from Oracle Corporation. Innotek GmbH first developed the product before a Sun Microsystems acquisition in 2008. Oracle has continued development since 2010.

VirtualBox may be installed on an existing host operating system; it can create and manage guest virtual machines, each with a guest operating system and its own virtual environment. Supported host operating systems include Linux, OS X, Windows XP and later, Solaris, and OpenSolaris; there are also ports to FreeBSD[4] and Genode.[5] Supported guest operating systems include versions and derivations of Windows, Linux, BSD, OS/2, Solaris, Haiku and others.[6] Since release 3.2.0, VirtualBox also allows limited virtualization of OS X guests on Apple hardware, though OSx86 can also be installed using VirtualBox.[7][8]

Guest Additions should be installed on the guest operating system in order to achieve the best possible experience.[9] It consist of device drivers and system applications that optimize the guest operating system for better performance and usability.[10] Since version 4.3 (released in October 2013[11]), Windows guests on supported hardware can take advantage of the WDDM driver included in the Guest Additions package; this allows Windows Aero to be enabled along with Direct3D support.

History

Logo of VirtualBox OSE, 2007-2010

VirtualBox was initially offered by Innotek GmbH from Weinstadt, Germany under a proprietary software license, making one version of the product available at no cost for personal or evaluation use, subject to the VirtualBox Personal Use and Evaluation License (PUEL).[12] In January 2007, based on counsel by LiSoG, Innotek GmbH released VirtualBox Open Source Edition (OSE) as free and open-source software, subject to the requirements of the GNU General Public License (GPL), version 2.[13]

Innotek GmbH also contributed to the development of OS/2 and Linux support in virtualization[14] and OS/2 ports[15] of products from Connectix which were later acquired by Microsoft. Specifically, Innotek developed the “additions” code in both Microsoft Virtual PC and Microsoft Virtual Server, which enables various host-guest OS interactions like shared clipboards or dynamic viewport resizing.

Sun Microsystems acquired Innotek in February 2008.[16][17][18]

Oracle Corporation acquired Sun in January 2010 and re-branded the product as "Oracle VM VirtualBox".[19][20][21]

Licensing

With version 4 of VirtualBox, released in December 2010, the core package is free software released under GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2). This is the fully featured package, excluding some proprietary components not available under GPLv2. These components provide support for USB 2.0 devices, Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) and Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) for Intel cards and are released as a separate "VirtualBox Oracle VM VirtualBox extension pack" under a proprietary Personal Use and Evaluation License (PUEL), which permits use of the software for personal use, educational use, or evaluation, free of charge.[22]

Oracle defines personal use as any situation in which one person installs the software, and only that individual, and their friends and family, use the software. Oracle does not care if that use is for commercial or non-commercial purposes.[23] Oracle would consider it non-personal use, for example, if a network administrator installed many copies of the software on many different machines, on behalf of many different end-users. That type of situation would require purchasing a special volume license.

Prior to version 4, there were two different packages of the VirtualBox software. The full package was offered free under the PUEL, with licenses for other commercial deployment purchasable from Oracle. A second package called the VirtualBox Open Source Edition (OSE) was released under GPLv2. This removed the same proprietary components not available under GPLv2.[23][24]

Virtualbox requires the use of the Open Watcom compiler to build the BIOS since version 4.2.[25]

Although VirtualBox has experimental support for Mac OS X guests, the end user license agreement of Mac OS X does not permit the operating system to run on non-Apple hardware, enforced within the operating system by calls to the Apple System Management Controller (SMC) in all Apple machines, which verifies the authenticity of the hardware.[26]

Emulated environment

Running Ubuntu Live CD under VirtualBox on Ubuntu

Users of VirtualBox can load multiple guest OSs under a single host operating-system (host OS). Each guest can be started, paused and stopped independently within its own virtual machine (VM). The user can independently configure each VM and run it under a choice of software-based virtualization or hardware assisted virtualization if the underlying host hardware supports this. The host OS and guest OSs and applications can communicate with each other through a number of mechanisms including a common clipboard and a virtualized network facility. Guest VMs can also directly communicate with each other if configured to do so.[27]

Software-based virtualization

In the absence of hardware-assisted virtualization, VirtualBox adopts a standard software-based virtualization approach. This mode supports 32-bit guest OSs which run in rings 0 and 3 of the Intel ring architecture.

  • The system reconfigures the guest OS code, which would normally run in ring 0, to execute in ring 1 on the host hardware. Because this code contains many privileged instructions which cannot run natively in ring 1, VirtualBox employs a Code Scanning and Analysis Manager (CSAM) to scan the ring 0 code recursively before its first execution to identify problematic instructions and then calls the Patch Manager (PATM) to perform in-situ patching. This replaces the instruction with a jump to a VM-safe equivalent compiled code fragment in hypervisor memory.
  • The guest user-mode code, running in ring 3, generally runs directly on the host hardware in ring 3.

In both cases, VirtualBox uses CSAM and PATM to inspect and patch the offending instructions whenever a fault occurs. VirtualBox also contains a dynamic recompiler, based on QEMU to recompile any real mode or protected mode code entirely (e.g. BIOS code, a DOS guest, or any operating system startup).[28]

Using these techniques, VirtualBox can achieve a performance comparable to that of VMware.[29][30]

Hardware-assisted virtualization

VirtualBox supports both Intel's VT-x and AMD's AMD-V hardware-virtualization. Making use of these facilities, VirtualBox can run each guest VM in its own separate address-space; the guest OS ring 0 code runs on the host at ring 0 in VMX non-root mode rather than in ring 1.

VirtualBox supports some guests (including 64-bit guests, SMP guests and certain proprietary OSs) only on hosts with hardware-assisted virtualization.

Device virtualization

The system emulates hard disks in one of three disk image formats:

  1. VDI: This format is VirtualBox-specific and stores data in files bearing ".vdi" filename extension.
  2. VMDK: This open format is used by VMWare products such as VMWare Workstation and VMWare Player. It stores data in one or more files bearing ".vmdk" filename extensions. A single virtual hard disk may span several files.
  3. VHD: This format is the native virtual disk format of Microsoft operating system, starting with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Data in this format are stored in a single file bearing ".vhd" filename extension.

A VirtualBox virtual machine can, therefore, use disks previously created in VMware or Microsoft Virtual PC, as well as its own native format. VirtualBox can also connect to iSCSI targets and to raw partitions on the host, using either as virtual hard disks. VirtualBox emulates IDE (PIIX4 and ICH6 controllers), SCSI, SATA (ICH8M controller) and SAS controllers to which hard drives can be attached.

VirtualBox has supported Open Virtualization Format (OVF) since version 2.2.0 (April 2009).[31]

Both ISO images and host-connected physical devices can be mounted as CD/DVD drives. For example, the DVD image of a Linux distribution can be downloaded and used directly by VirtualBox.

By default VirtualBox provides graphics support through a custom virtual graphics-card that is VESA compatible. The Guest Additions for Windows, Linux, Solaris, OpenSolaris, or OS/2 guests include a special video-driver that increases video performance and includes additional features, such as automatically adjusting the guest resolution when resizing the VM window[32] or desktop composition via virtualized WDDM drivers .

For an Ethernet network adapter, VirtualBox virtualizes these Network Interface Cards:[33]

  • AMD PCnet PCI II (Am79C970A)
  • AMD PCnet-Fast III (Am79C973)
  • Intel Pro/1000 MT Desktop (82540EM)
  • Intel Pro/1000 MT Server (82545EM)
  • Intel Pro/1000 T Server (82543GC)

The emulated network cards allow most guest OSs to run without the need to find and install drivers for networking hardware as they are shipped as part of the guest OS. A special paravirtualized network adapter is also available, which improves network performance by eliminating the need to match a specific hardware interface, but requires special driver support in the guest. (Many distributions of Linux ship with this driver included.) By default, VirtualBox uses NAT through which Internet software for end-users such as Firefox or ssh can operate. Bridged networking via a host network adapter or virtual networks between guests can also be configured. Up to 36 network adapters can be attached simultaneously, but only four are configurable through the graphical interface.

For a sound card, VirtualBox virtualizes Intel HD Audio, Intel ICH AC'97 and SoundBlaster 16 devices.[34]

A USB 1.1 controller is emulated so that any USB devices attached to the host can be seen in the guest. The proprietary extension pack adds a USB 2.0 controller and, if VirtualBox acts as an RDP server, it can also use USB devices on the remote RDP client as if they were connected to the host, although only if the client supports this VirtualBox-specific extension (Oracle provides clients for Solaris, Linux and Sun Ray thin clients that can do this, and have promised support for other platforms in future versions).[35]

Feature set

  • 64-bit guests (hardware virtualization support is required)
  • Snapshots
  • Seamless mode - the ability to run virtualized applications side by side with your normal desktop applications
  • Shared clipboard
  • Shared folders
  • Special drivers and utilities to facilitate switching between systems
  • Command line interaction (in addition to the GUI)
  • Public API (Java, Python, SOAP, XPCOM) to control VM configuration and execution[36]
  • Nested paging for AMD-V and Intel VT (only for processors supporting SLAT and with SLAT enabled)
  • Limited support for 3D graphics acceleration (including OpenGL up to (but not including) 3.0 and Direct3D 9.0c via Wine's Direct3D to OpenGL translation)
  • SMP support (up to 32 virtual CPUs per virtual machine), since version 3.0
  • Teleportation (aka Live Migration)
  • 2D video output acceleration (not to be mistaken with video decoding acceleration), since version 3.1
Storage emulation features
  • NCQ support for SATA, SCSI and SAS raw disks and partitions
  • SATA disks hotplugging
  • Pass-through mode for solid-state drives
  • Pass-through mode for CD/DVD/BD disks - allows to play audio CDs, burn optical disks, play encrypted DVD disks
  • Can disable host OS I/O cache
  • Allows to limit IO bandwidth
  • PATA, SATA, SCSI, SAS, iSCSI, floppy disk controllers
Storage support
  • Raw hard disk access – allows physical hard disk partitions on the host system to appear in the guest system
  • VMware Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) format support – allows VirtualBox to exchange disk images with VMware
  • Microsoft VHD support
  • QEMU qed and qcow disks
  • HDD format disks (only version 2; version 3 and 4 are not supported) used by Parallels virtualization products
  • VM disk encryption using AES128/AES256
Since version 3.2
  • Mac OS X Server guest support – experimental
  • Memory ballooning (not available on Solaris hosts)
  • RAM deduplication (Page Fusion) for Windows guests on 64-bit hosts
  • CPU hot-plugging for Linux (hot-add and hot-remove) and certain Windows guests (hot-add only)
  • Deleting snapshots while the VM is running
  • Multi-monitor guest setups in the GUI, for Windows guests
  • LSI Logic SAS controller emulation
  • Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) video acceleration
  • Run and control guest applications from the host – for automated software deployments
Since version 4.0
  • The PUEL/OSE separation was given up in favor of an open source base product and a closed source extension pack that can be installed on top of the base product. As part of this change, additional components of VirtualBox were made open source (installers, documentation, device drivers)
  • Intel HD audio codec emulation
  • Intel ICH9 chipset emulation
  • A new VM storage scheme where all VM data is stored in one single folder to improve VM portability
  • Several UI enhancements including a new look with VM preview and scale mode
  • On 32-bit hosts, VMs can each use more than 1.5 GB of RAM
  • In addition to OVF, the single file OVA format is supported
  • CPU use and I/O bandwidth can be limited per VM
  • Support for Apple DMG images (DVD)
  • Multi-monitor guest setups for Linux/Solaris guests (previously Windows only)
  • Resizing of disk image formats from Oracle, VDI (VirtualBox disk image), and Microsoft, VHD (Virtual PC hard disk)
Since version 4.1
  • Windows Aero support (experimental)
  • Virtual machine cloning
Since version 4.2
  • Virtual machine groups - allows you to manage a group of virtual machines as a single unit (power them on or off, snapshot them, etc.)
  • Some VM settings can be altered during a VM execution
  • Support up to 36 NICs in case of the ICH9 chipset
  • Support for limiting network IO bandwidth
  • Can automatically run VMs on a host system startup (except on Windows host)
Since version 4.3
  • VM video capturing support
  • Host touch devices support (GUI passes host touch-events to guest)/USB virtualization of such devices
Since version 5.0[37]
  • Paravirtualization support for Windows and Linux guests to improve time-keeping accuracy and performance
  • USB3 controller
  • Bidirectional drag and drop support for Windows, Linux and Solaris guests
  • VM disk image encryption
  • VM output scaling and HiDPI displays support
  • Hotplugging of SATA disks
  • USB traffic capturing
  • VMs can be disconnected from a GUI session and run in background[38]

Limitations

  • VirtualBox has a very low transfer rate from and to USB2.0 devices.[39][40]
  • Even though VirtualBox is an open source product some of its features are supplied only in a binary form under a commercial license (see The extension pack below).

The extension pack

Some features require the installation of the closed-source "VirtualBox Extension Pack":[2]

  • Support for a virtual USB 2.0/3.0 controller (EHCI/xHCI)
  • VirtualBox RDP: support for proprietary remote connection protocol developed by Microsoft and Citrix.
  • PXE boot for Intel cards
  • VM encryption

Third-party tools

VirtualBox is included on Live Raizo, a Debian-based live CD designed specifically for networking and system administration experiments through simulation.[41]

Although VirtualBox is not a portable app, a portable version may be obtained from third-parties, including vbox.me[42] or LinuxLive USB Creator.[43]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Changelog". Oracle VM Virtualbox. Oracle. 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-17.
  2. ^ a b "Downloads – Oracle VM VirtualBox".
  3. ^ "VirtualBox downloads".
  4. ^ "VirtualBox – FreeBSD Wiki". Wiki.freebsd.org. 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  5. ^ "Release notes for the Genode OS Framework 14.02". http://genode.org/. February 28, 2014. Retrieved March 19, 2014. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Guest_OSes". VirtualBox. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  7. ^ "How to Install Mac OS X Snow Leopard in VirtualBox on Windows 7".
  8. ^ Kevin Purdy (May 4, 2010). "VirtualBox 3.2 Beta Virtualizes Mac OS X (On Macs)". Lifehacker.
  9. ^ "Run Ubuntu Linux Within Windows Using VirtualBox". linux.about.com.
  10. ^ "Chapter 4 Guest Additions". VirtualBox.
  11. ^ "Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.3 Now Available" (Press release). Oracle Corporation. 2013-10-15. Retrieved 2014-10-15. Generally available today, Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.3 delivers the latest enhancements to the world's most popular, free and open source, cross-platform virtualization software.
  12. ^ "VirtualBox_PUEL – VirtualBox". VirtualBox. 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  13. ^ "GPL". VirtualBox. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  14. ^ Ronny Ong   View profile    More options. "Additions Version History – microsoft.public.virtualpc | Google Groups". Groups.google.com. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  15. ^ "Connectix Announces First Virtual Computing Solution for OS/2 Users; Virtual PC Lets Enterprises Run OS/2 and Windows Concurrently on a Single PC | Business Wire | Find Articles at BNET". Findarticles.com. 2002-07-01. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  16. ^ "Sun Microsystems Announces Agreement to Acquire Innotek, Expanding Sun xVM Reach to the Developer Desktop" (Press release). Sun Microsystems. February 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
  17. ^ "E-Commerce News: Business: Sun Gets Desktop Virtualization Chops With Innotek Buy". Ecommercetimes.com. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  18. ^ "Sun Welcomes Innotek". Sun Microsystems, Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-26. On February 20 Sun completed the acquisition of Innotek
  19. ^ "Oracle and Virtualization". Oracle Corporation. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  20. ^ "VirtualBox Joins Oracle's Enterprise Virtualization Portfolio". systemnews. February 25, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010.[dead link‍]
  21. ^ Hawley, Adam (February 26, 2010). "The Oracle VM Product Line Welcomes Sun!". Oracle Virtualization Blog. Oracle Corporation. Archived from the original on 2010-04-07. Retrieved March 6, 2011.
  22. ^ "VirtualBox_PUEL". VirtualBox. 2010-04-19. Retrieved 2011-04-20.
  23. ^ a b "Licensing: Frequently Asked Questions". VirtualBox. Retrieved 2013-09-24.
  24. ^ "Editions". VirtualBox. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  25. ^ "Copyright file of Virtualbox 4.2 in Wheezy-backports". Debian.
  26. ^ "Interview with Andy Hall, Product Manager for Oracle VM VirtualBox".
  27. ^ "Internal Networking". VirtualBox. Retrieved 2013-07-31.
  28. ^ "VirtualBox Manual, Section 10.4 Details about software virtualization". VirtualBox. Retrieved 2011-04-25.
  29. ^ Dr. Oliver Diedrich (2007-01-15). "heise open – 15.01.07 – VirtualBox". Heise.de. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  30. ^ Jason Perlow (2010-05-21). "Virtualization Smackdown 2: Oracle VM VirtualBox 3.2 vs. VMware Workstation 7.1". ZDNET. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
  31. ^ "VirtualBox changelog". Retrieved 2010-02-18.
  32. ^ "Chapter 4. Guest Additions". VirtualBox. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  33. ^ "Chapter 6. Virtual networking". VirtualBox. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  34. ^ "Chapter 3. Configuring Virtual Machines". VirtualBox. Retrieved 2011-01-17.
  35. ^ "VirtualBox 4.1.4 Manual – Chapter 7 Remote Virtual Machines". Oracle. 2011-10-03. Retrieved 2011-11-19.
  36. ^ "Python API to the VirtualBox VM". Sun Microsystems. 2008-09-05. Archived from the original on 2008-09-10. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
  37. ^ https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=66904
  38. ^ https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=66935
  39. ^ "#2973 (USB extremely slow with USB-2.0 (very similar to #464)) – Oracle VM VirtualBox". Oracle. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  40. ^ "#4261 (Slow transfer speeds from USB disk) – Oracle VM VirtualBox". Oracle. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
  41. ^ "Live Raizo - Linux Distro for Networks". SourceForge. 7 March 2015.
  42. ^ "Portable-VirtualBox". vbox.me. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
  43. ^ "Other versions". LinuxLive USB Creator. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
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