Virtualization Technology: Oracle VirtualBox 4.0 Expands VM Support

Oracle VirtualBox 4.0 Expands VM Support

by Cameron Sturdevant

Preview

The redesigned and newly renamed VirtualBox Manager now shows a guest windows preview as seen in this side-by-side screenshot.

File Layout

Without changing compatibility for users of the previous version of VirtualBox, Version 4 puts all files associated with a VM into one directory.

Base Memory

32-bit hosts can now support more than the 2GB limit.

Export Wizard

VirtualBox 4 now supports OVA (Open Virtualization Appliance), which is basically an OVF in a single, compressed file.

Appliance Import

Using an OVA file, VirtualBox 4 was able to import virtual machines that were already configured with suggested settings.

OVA

I used VirtualBox 4 to create virtual appliances that were exported in the OVA format.

Appliance Export

I used VirtualBox 4 to change virtual machine configuration values and that were used during the appliance export process.

Import Settings

I was able to configure virtual machine settings including hardware and disk image location.