Oracle VirtualBox is a virtual machine software developed by French InnoTek Software, and is currently being developed by Oracle Corporation. It is a part of Oracle's xVM virtualization technology platform. It allows users to virtualize other x86 operating systems on 32-bit or 64-bit Windows, Solaris, and Linux operating systems. Users can install and run Solaris, Windows, DOS, Linux, OS/2 Warp, OpenBSD, and FreeBSD as guest operating systems on VirtualBox. If you have previously used virtual machine software, you will find it easy to use VirtualBox. Even if you are a beginner, there is no need to worry. VirtualBox provides detailed text documentation to help you get started quickly.
Compared to similar software like VMware and Virtual PC, VirtualBox has unique features such as support for Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), iSCSI, and USB. VirtualBox can support USB 2.0 hardware devices on remote server operating systems. The simulated environment can install multiple guest operating systems, each of which can be independently started, paused, and stopped. The host operating system and guest operating systems can communicate with each other, and multiple operating systems can run simultaneously while sharing the internet.
Hardware Simulation: VirtualBox supports Intel VT-x and AMD-V hardware virtualization technologies. Hard drives are simulated in a unique container called Virtual Disk Images (VDI), which is compatible with other vm virtual machine platforms and is generally stored as a system file on the host operating system. VirtualBox can connect to iSCSI and run on virtual hard drives. It can also read and write VMware VMDK files and VirtualPC VHD files. ISO images can be initialized as CD/DVD devices, such as downloading Linux distribution DVD images and using them directly in VirtualBox without burning them to discs. It can also initialize physical CD/DVD drives directly on the virtual machine.
By default, VirtualBox provides a VESA-compatible virtual graphics card and additional drivers for Windows, Linux, Solaris, and OS/2 guest operating systems, offering better performance and functionality, such as dynamically adjusting screen resolution when resizing the virtual machine window. In terms of external sound cards, VirtualBox simulates an Intel ICH AC97 external sound card and a SoundBlaster 16 sound card. For network interface adapters, VirtualBox simulates multiple network cards: AMD PCnet PCI II, AMD PCnet-Fast III, Intel Pro/1000 MT Desktop, Intel Pro/1000 MT Server, and Intel Pro/1000 T Server.
Software Features
Support for 64-bit guest operating systems, even with a 32-bit CPU host
Support for SATA hard drives with NCQ technology
Virtual hard disk snapshot feature
Seamless window mode (requires guest driver installation)
Clipboard sharing between host and guest (requires guest driver installation)
Folder sharing between host and guest (requires guest driver installation)
Built-in remote desktop connection server
Support for VMware VMDK hard disk file format and Virtual PC VHD file format
Support for 3D virtualization technology, including OpenGL (supported from version 2.1) and Direct3D (supported from version 3.0)
Support for up to 32 virtual CPUs (supported from version 3.0)
Support for VT-x and AMD-V hardware virtualization technologies
Support for iSCSI, USB, and USB 2.0
How to Use
Download the VirtualBoxPortable version from the official website.
Extract the files and navigate to the \VirtualBoxPortable directory.
Double-click on "VirtualBoxPortable.exe" to start the application.
This portable version does not modify any system settings and leaves no trace of files or settings after the program is closed.