Let’s explore what virtual machines offer and the reasons you might find them useful.
What Is a Virtual Machine?
A virtual machine is an emulated computer system.
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As an example,VirtualBoxis a popular free hypervisor.
Now, what’s the purpose of virtual machines for everyday people?
Here are some practical uses for virtual machines anyone can take advantage of.
Ourguide to installing Ubuntu in VirtualBoxis a great beginner walkthrough.
Don’t worry about running into problems, since the virtual machine acts as a sandbox.
There’s no worry of crashing your setup just because you tried an unfamiliar OS.
Virtual machines provide a great environment for running software that’s not compatible with your current machine.
Plus, running outdated software this way is much safer because it’s sandboxed inside the virtual machine.
If you use VirtualBox for this purpose,ensure you implement the VirtualBox Guest Additions.
For example, say you’re developing a game that works on both desktop and mobile platforms.
you could use emulation to test the various versions right on your system.
Virtualization also lets you compile to other executable types.
Instead of dual-booting for every build, virtualization simplifies the process.
Sometimes there’s no substitute for running apps on real hardware, as emulation isn’t perfect.
This means you’re able to take security risks in the VM that you would normally avoid.
Less practically, maybe you’re bored and want to see what a virus does to an operating system.
You could even test theories that will break your setup, like deletingWindows system folders you should never touch.
While the risk is low, you shouldn’t be reckless.
Maybe you want to learn somefile manipulation commands in Linuxwithout fear of accidentally screwing something up.
In a VM, it’s much easier to recover from a mistake than on a live system.
What’s more, snapshots are saved as single files.
A virtual server in a VM you control is a great option for this.
