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VMware is an incredibly popular virtual machine program for Linux, Windows, and macOS.
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GNOME Boxes is the simplest virtualization program for users looking to download test distros as quickly as possible.Ĭompared to some other solutions, GNOME Boxes may not feature all kinds of features but the essentials. Highly customizable and complex to setupĪ Hypervisor is software that creates and runs virtual machines (VMs) 4.To set it up, you can explore Ubuntu's official blog post on KVM installation. You can create guest/virtual machines of different operating systems with KVM. Considering KVM provides hardware-level virtualization with the help of a hypervisor, it needs more memory and other system resources comparatively. Unlike OpenVZ, KVM is highly customizable and baked into the Linux system without needing to install separately. KVM converts the Linux host to a hypervisor to run virtual machines with bear metal like performance. You can run VMs out of the box on Linux with KVM. Kernel-based Virtual Machine ( KVM) is built into Linux, which is its biggest advantage. Additionally, OpenVZ-powered VPS hosting is affordable compared to some others.
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OpenVZ is an excellent pick for new users learning to work with containers considering it is easy to configure and manage. The containers run on Linux only as OpenVZ is built and distributed as a Linux distribution. The containers have all the essential functionalities to help you manage them efficiently. You can create containers that behave like a stand-alone server. Want to create isolated Linux containers on servers? OpenVZ should help. Simple user interface and fast performance.It supports a wide range of guest operating systems.Even though it is primarily fit for desktop usage, you can try its headless mode to run a virtual machine as a remote desktop server by exploring its documentation. You can consider it as an all-in-one solution for most users.
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It is suitable for all kinds of users, whether you are just someone who wants to run Linux on a virtual machine, a professional who wants to create a VM for testing or an enterprise that needs a VM solution. VirtualBox is a top-rated open-source virtual machine program for Linux, Windows, and macOS. While I list all kinds of virtualization software, I mention who it is for. The benefits include isolation, security, and the freedom to test things to your heart's extent.ĭifferent types of virtualization software cater to desktop users, server administrators, and enterprises. Virtualization provides an abstract concept of computer hardware to help you create virtual machines (VMs), networks, storage, and more. You get to experiment, test, or run software that requires a specific OS version. Virtualization software is prevalent because of its use cases and benefits.
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