VirtualBox is a powerful open-source full virtualization software that allows a user to run one or more “guest” operating systems simultaneously inside “virtual machines” on a single physical “host” machine. It supports a wide variety of host platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS, Solaris, etc.) and guest OSes, enabling, for example, running Linux on a Windows PC, running Windows Server on a Linux host, or even legacy OSes in a controlled environment. This flexibility makes VirtualBox ideal for developers, testers, sysadmins, or hobbyists who need different OS environments, want to test software across systems, or need isolation for development, sandboxing, or security experiments. VirtualBox offers both a user-friendly GUI as well as a command-line interface and headless mode, making it useful for desktop usage as well as server or automated environments.
Features
- Ability to run multiple guest operating systems (OSes) simultaneously on a single physical host
- Cross-platform host and guest OS support (Windows, Linux, macOS, Solaris, etc.)
- Snapshots and VM state save/revert — ability to take snapshots and roll back guest OS to previous states
- Guest Additions support: shared folders, shared clipboard, seamless mouse/keyboard integration, dynamic resizing, improved video/graphics support
- Virtual hardware emulation: virtual disks (VDI, VMDK, VHD, etc.), virtual network cards, USB passthrough, multiple CPUs, virtual controllers, making guest OS behave like on real hardware
- Multiple control interfaces: graphical UI, command-line interface, headless mode (for servers), and support for exporting/importing VM appliances (OVF/OVA) for portability across systems