as I had mentioned in my previous post.in this we will talk about what is needed to have a virtual machine, the types of virtual machines and the disadvantages of emulating an operating system.why not everything is rosy
then ..... let's continue
WHAT DO I NEED TO USE A VIRTUAL MACHINE?
Currently the virtualization of an operating system or server can be implemented by Software or Hardware.As in this post I focus on software virtualization, the only thing we need to be able to use a virtual machine is a moderately current computer and install and configure the virtual machine software.
The more powerful and current the computer that we have, the better experience we will get working with virtualized operating systems.Some of the important points to obtain optimal performance of the virtualized operating system are the following:
- Have a fast processor and have hardware virtualization capacity (Intel VTx / AMD-v). The higher the processor capacity the better virtualization experience we will get. Any current computer has a suitable processor to virtualize operating systems.
- Have enough space on the hard drive. It is also interesting to have a hard disk with a good reading and writing speed such as an SSD disk.
- We need sufficient and adequate RAM.The more RAM memory and the faster it is, the better virtualization results we will get.Therefore, it is better to have 4GB of RAM than 2GB, and in the same way it is better to have a RAM of the DDR4 type than DDR3.The amount of ideal RAM will depend on the operating system that we want to virtualize and the number of operating systems that we want to virtualize simultaneously.If we only want to virtualize an operating system with 2 or 3 GB of RAM it should be enough.
- Without a doubt, the fact of having a good GPU will also help to have a better virtualization experience. Therefore it is advisable to have a good graphic card with graphic acceleration.
DISADVANTAGES OF VIRTUALIZING AN OPERATIONAL SYSTEM
Some of the disadvantages that can have the use of a virtual machine, or virtualized operating system are the following
- To use a virtual machine in conditions we need a powerful computer. We have to bear in mind that if we use 2 operating systems simultaneously we are using twice as many resources. However, any moderately modern home computer has enough resources to use a virtual machine.
- Operating systems and programs will run slower in virtual machines. This is because the virtual machines can not get an ideal performance of the hardware that we have in our team. The more powerful our computer is, the less the loss of performance will be noticed.
- If we have a problem in the computer that hosts the host operating system, the service may fall in the entire virtual machine. Therefore the computer that runs the virtual machine is a critical part.
Despite the drawbacks cited in this section, from my point of view, virtualization and virtual machines provide advantages and flexibility that clearly compensate for the aforementioned drawbacks.
WHAT VIRTUAL MACHINES CAN WE INSTALL IN OUR COMPUTER?
Today we have several virtual machines at our disposal. Some of the virtual machines that we can try are the following:
Virtualbox: Software developed by Oracle. It is a multiplatform software capable of virtually virtualizing all operating systems with x86 / amd64 architecture. It is the virtual machine that I have always used and it has always allowed me to do what I wanted to do in an easy way. The base of this software has a GPL2 license, while the pack of extensions that add features are under private license. Virtualbox is free .
Vmware Workstation Player: Privative multiplatform software developed by EMC corporation and widely used in the professional environment in the areas of cloud computing among many others. Like Virtualbox, this virtual machine allows us to virtualize many operating systems. Vmware has many virtualization solutions and practically all are paid, however Vmware Workstation Player is completely free for non-commercial use.
Windows Virtual PC: Free and proprietary software owned by Microsoft that can be used in both Windows and Mac OS. Virtual PC is only intended to Virtualize Windows operating systems.
Qemu: Free multiplatform software that has a GPL 2 license. Qemu allows virtualizing a large number of operating systems and also supports several types of architecture such as X86, x86-64, MIPS, Arm, PowerPC, etc. The performance offered by Qemu is equal to or greater than the options we have seen before, but its installation and use is also slightly more complicated and in case of problems it is more difficult to obtain support. As a big advantage Qemu allows you to use a virtual machine without the need to have root privileges.
Note: All the software proposed in this section is based on virtual machines that work from an operating system.Of all the virtual machines cited in my case, I use Virtualbox. The reasons for using Virtualbox to the detriment of others in my case are the following:
1- It is a free software and multiplatform. Therefore we can use this tool both in Linux, in Mac OS and in Windows.
2- It is not a dead project. Behind Virtualbox is Oracle and every day they strive to get new updates and improve the program.
3- In case of having problems it is easy to find help since there is a large community willing to help people.
4- It is an easy to use and versatile tool. It allows practically anything you have in mind and also allows virtualizing a large number of operating systems.
5- There are several web pages to download preconfigured virtual machines. In this way, if necessary, we can save the fact of having to install and configure the virtualized operating system