Table of Contents
This chapter provides detailed steps for configuring an Oracle VM VirtualBox virtual machine (VM). For an introduction to Oracle VM VirtualBox and steps to get your first virtual machine running, see Chapter 1, First Steps.
You have considerable latitude when deciding what virtual hardware to provide to the guest. Use virtual hardware to communicate with the host system or with other guests. For example, you can use virtual hardware in the following ways:
-
Have Oracle VM VirtualBox present an ISO CD-ROM image to a guest system as if it were a physical CD-ROM.
-
Provide a guest system access to the physical network through its virtual network card.
-
Provide the host system, other guests, and computers on the Internet access to the guest system.
Because Oracle VM VirtualBox is designed to provide a generic virtualization environment for x86 systems, it can run guest operating systems (OSes) of any kind.
The following guest OS platforms are supported:
-
Platforms With Full Support. These guest OS platforms qualify for Oracle Premier Support. See Table 3.1, "Guest Operating Systems With Full Support".
-
Platforms With Limited Support. These legacy guest OS platforms can be used with Oracle VM VirtualBox, but only qualify for best effort support. Therefore, resolution of customer issues is not guaranteed. See Table 3.2, "Legacy Guest Operating Systems With Limited Support".
Table 3.1. Guest Operating Systems With Full Support
|
Operating System |
Comments |
|---|---|
|
Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit) |
Insider preview builds are not supported |
|
Windows 8 and 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
Windows Server 2019 (64-bit) | |
|
Windows Server 2016 (64-bit) | |
|
Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2 (64-bit) | |
|
Solaris 11 (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
Solaris 10 8/11 Update 10 and later (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
Oracle Linux 8 (64-bit) |
Includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, CentOS 8 |
|
Oracle Linux 7 (64-bit) |
Includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, CentOS 7 |
|
Oracle Linux 6 (32-bit and 64-bit) |
Includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, CentOS 6 |
|
Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (Xenial Xerus) (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) (64-bit) | |
|
Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) (64-bit) | |
|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 (64-bit) | |
|
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 (64-bit) |
Table 3.2. Legacy Guest Operating Systems With Limited Support
|
Operating System |
Comments |
|---|---|
|
Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
Windows Vista SP2 and later (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
Windows XP (32-bit) | |
|
Windows Vista (32-bit) | |
|
Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
Windows Server 2003 (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
Oracle Linux 5 (32-bit and 64-bit) |
Includes Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, CentOS 5 |
|
Ubuntu 14.04.5 LTS (Trusty Tahr) (32-bit and 64-bit) | |
|
OS/2 Warp 4.5 |
Oracle VM VirtualBox enables you to install and execute unmodified versions of Mac OS X guests on supported host hardware. Note that this feature is experimental and thus unsupported.
Oracle VM VirtualBox is the first product to provide the modern PC architecture expected by OS X without requiring any of the modifications used by competing virtualization solutions. For example, some competing solutions perform modifications to the Mac OS X install DVDs, such as a different boot loader and replaced files.
Be aware of the following important issues before you attempt to install a Mac OS X guest:
-
Mac OS X is commercial, licensed software and contains both license and technical restrictions that limit its use to certain hardware and usage scenarios. You must understand and comply with these restrictions.
In particular, Apple prohibits the installation of most versions of Mac OS X on non-Apple hardware.
These license restrictions are also enforced on a technical level. Mac OS X verifies that it is running on Apple hardware. Most DVDs that accompany Apple hardware check for the exact model. These restrictions are not circumvented by Oracle VM VirtualBox and continue to apply.
-
Only CPUs that are known and tested by Apple are supported. As a result, if your Intel CPU is newer than the Mac OS X build, or if you have a non-Intel CPU, you will likely encounter a panic during bootup with an "Unsupported CPU" exception.
Ensure that you use the Mac OS X DVD that comes with your Apple hardware.
-
The Mac OS X installer expects the hard disk to be partitioned. So, the installer will not offer a partition selection to you. Before you can install the software successfully, start the Disk Utility from the Tools menu and partition the hard disk. Close the Disk Utility and proceed with the installation.
-
In addition, Mac OS X support in Oracle VM VirtualBox is an experimental feature. See Chapter 14, Known Limitations.
Warning
Be sure to enable I/O APIC for virtual machines that you intend to use in 64-bit mode. This is especially true for 64-bit Windows VMs. See Section 3.4.2, "Advanced Tab". For 64-bit Windows guests, ensure that the VM uses the Intel networking device because there is no 64-bit driver support for the AMD PCNet card. See Section 6.1, "Virtual Networking Hardware".
If you use the Create VM wizard of the VirtualBox Manager, Oracle VM VirtualBox automatically uses the correct settings for each selected 64-bit OS type. See Section 1.7, "Creating Your First Virtual Machine".