Oracle's Latest VirtualBox Handles Heavier Workloads
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VirtualBox 4.0 supports several host operating systems and now features an easier-to-use interface and improved virtual appliance capabilities.
Oracle on Dec. 22 released a new version of its freely available virtual
machine distribution software that enables desktop or laptop computers to run
several operating systems simultaneously.
Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0, which supports several host operating systems-including
Windows, Mac OS X, most flavors of Linux (including Oracle Linux) and Oracle
Solaris-now features an easier-to-use interface and improved virtual appliance
capabilities, said Wim Coekaerts, senior vice president of Oracle Linux and
Virtualization Engineering.
VirtualBox 4.0 also supports IT's latest virtual hardware, such as chipsets
supporting PCI Express, Coekaerts said. All these improvements give VirtualBox
greater capacity to handle larger workloads, he said.
Coekaerts said that the continuing investment Oracle is making in its Sun
Microsystems-related open source-based products such as VirtualBox and
OpenOffice is quite apparent.
"Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0 is the third major product release in just over
a year," Coekaerts said. "This illustrates the importance that
Oracle places on providing a comprehensive desktop to our data center
virtualization solution.
"Customers will find Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0 provides a richer user
experience [than previous versions]."
Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0 for Windows (32- and 64-bit), Mac OS and Solaris is
available for free
download here (75MB file for Windows). It is also available for Oracle
Linux customers via the Unbreakable
Linux Network.
Chris Preimesberger was named Editor-in-Chief of Features & Analysis at eWEEK in November 2011. Previously he served eWEEK as Senior Writer, covering a range of IT sectors that include data center systems, cloud computing, storage, virtualization, green IT, e-discovery and IT governance. His blog, Storage Station, is considered a go-to information source. Chris won a national Folio Award for magazine writing in November 2011 for a cover story on Salesforce.com and CEO-founder Marc Benioff, and he has served as a judge for the SIIA Codie Awards since 2005. In previous IT journalism, Chris was a founding editor of both IT Manager's Journal and DevX.com and was managing editor of Software Development magazine. His diverse resume also includes: sportswriter for the Los Angeles Daily News, covering NCAA and NBA basketball, television critic for the Palo Alto Times Tribune, and Sports Information Director at Stanford University. He has served as a correspondent for The Associated Press, covering Stanford and NCAA tournament basketball, since 1983. He has covered a number of major events, including the 1984 Democratic National Convention, a Presidential press conference at the White House in 1993, the Emmy Awards (three times), two Rose Bowls, the Fiesta Bowl, several NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments, a Formula One Grand Prix auto race, a heavyweight boxing championship bout (Ali vs. Spinks, 1978), and the 1985 Super Bowl. A 1975 graduate of Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., Chris has won more than a dozen regional and national awards for his work. He and his wife, Rebecca, have four children and reside in Redwood City, Calif.Follow on Twitter: editingwhiz
