In this simple and quick guide, I’ll introduce you to the powerful tool of machine virtualization using a free and easy tool, Oracle VirtualBox.
For anyone studying for their CompTIA A+ technical certification or just looking to setup a virtual lab environment, this guide will be an invaluable tool for you. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
*Important Note*
For this guide you’ll need access to a computer or laptop with internet access, at least 4GB of RAM, and at least 50GB of storage.
What is virtualization?
Virtualization is the process by which we as IT professionals and tech enthusiasts can use our physical hardware, like our laptops, PCs, and servers, to create software versions of the same technology. For example, we can “virtualize” a Windows 10 operating system environment by downloading a copy of the operating system online, and installing it into a “hypervisor”-a piece of software we run in order to create and operate virtual machines.
If any of that sounds even a bit confusing to you, don’t worry! Just know that virtualization is an extremely handy tool available to both working tech profesionals and students alike that allows them to create and run various machines-typically work or home based machines-without having to spend money on the physical hardware.
Why is virtualization important in IT?
Imagine you want to get a job as a desktop support specialist or something similar (I’d hope so!). As you look over the requirements for open positions, you notice that one of the overlapping preferences is for applicants to understand multiple operating systems.
You as a student may only have a single PC or laptop at your disposal and it may only be able to run the operating system it came with at purchase-let’s say windows 10 Home-Edition.
In the past, if you wanted to learn about different operating systems like MacOS or Linux, you’d need to spend large sums of cash to get the physical computers and take up extra space and electrical resources of your home.
But with virtualization, you can run as many virtual machines as your single system can handle!
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Install Oracle VirtualBox
This is our hypervisor, its a free software application that allows us to create, store, and run virtual machines.
Click here to access the downloads page from Oracle’s website, there, you will choose your host operating system link and click to install it.
Step 2: Installation
Once you successfully complete the installation of the file, if it doesn’t run on its own, double click on it and follow the instructions as normal.
There is no special configuration necessary at this point. Just click “accept” and “next” until the setup wizard is complete.
Once complete, you now have a successful install of VirtualBox on your computer!
Step 3: Download .ISO (operating system) file
What is an ISO (.ISO)?
An ISO (often referred to as an image or disc image) is an exact copy of a piece of software, usually an operating system, that can be ‘mounted’ or connected to a virtual machine.
Think of an ISO file as a digital version of a DVD, CD, or thumb drive containing an exact snapshot (image) of the software or operating system it was copied from.
Again, if you are confused, it’s fine. Just know that ISO files are what will be used when working with virtual machines.
In this guide, we’ll be creating a windows 10 Enterprise-Edition Virtual Machine.
Click Here to visit the Microsoft evaluation center website to install the ISO file.
It may take a while for the ISO file to download, just be patient and grab a cup of coffee or tea!
Once the file is installed, it’ll look similar to this:
Now we’re ready to get our virtual Windows machine up a running!
Step 4: Start up Virtual Box and create your first machine.
Now that we’ve got both virtual box and our Windows ISO file ready to go, we can get started.
Go ahead and click on the virtual box desktop icon or find it in your computer’s search bar. You’ll be greeted with this screen:
As you can see in the left pane, I have several virtual machines of my own already configured. We’ll be creating a new virtual machine though.
- click on the “machines” tab at the top of the screen and then click “new”.
- You’ll then see a setup wizard for your new virtual machine. in the name box, enter “Windows 10”.
- In the ISO box, click on the dropdown link and select “other”.
4. Your file explorer will open. Select the ISO file you downloaded earlier, then click “next”.
5. You’ll be taken to a page where you’ll have to create your machine’s profile information. This information is arbitrary and is up to you. But for this guide, we’ll use the following info:
Username: Your Name
Password: 1234
Host Name: Windows-10
6. Leave everything else as is and then click “next”.
7. You’ll then be shown a series of screens that will have you configure the resources allocated to the virtual machine we’re creating. Leave all of this information as is and continue to click “next”. VirtualBox will allocate the appropriate number of resources (RAM, Storage, CPU cores) depending on what’s available on your host system-the computer you’re using to create the virtual one.
8. You’ll be taken to a summary screen with all of your previously configured settings. Give it a once over and click ‘Finish’ if you’re ready to move on.
9. Once you click finish, your virtual machine will be created and will automatically power on!
Step 5: Begin Windows installation.
If you’ve made it thus far, congratulations! You’ve successfully installed and launched your first virtual machine!
Virtual Box now has an entire windows 10 machine stored and ready to go as if you owned the physical machine yourself.
The next part of this guide will include a lot of waiting. Your virtual machine will be performing a fresh install of Windows.
Step 6: Log off and relaunch virtual machine.
You’ve done it! your Windows 10 machine is up and running. Again, congratulations if you’ve stuck it through to this point in the guide!
You can now access this virtual machine and experiment with it to your heart’s content. Try running the command line and playing around with navigating file systems, create scripts in PowerShell, and explore the more detailed parts of Windows OS.
You can do all of this without fear of damaging your host system. Your virtual machine is completely isolated and stands alone separate from the device it’s running on.
Now let’s log off and back into our machine to ensure that our user configuration is correct.
- Log out of the machine like you would any Windows PC.
2. Log back in with your username and password (1234) from earlier.
Now you know that your user information is correct. Make sure you keep it handy for future use.
You can now close the virtual machine window if you are finished working with it. Go ahead and close the virtual machine window and click on the “power off this machine” option that pops up.
If you’d like to access the machine again. Just click on virtual box and either double click the virtual machine or single click it and click “start” in the right pane.
End of guide
Hopefully this guide has helped you gain a bit of comfortability with one tool for virtualization. Now that you know how to setup a basic virtual machine, try and create multiple. Find a Linux ISO and set that up. Or create a virtual Windows Server.
If you enjoyed the pacing and writing style of this guide, feel free to check out my other posts. I’ll be sure to add a more thorough lab scenario soon so that we can actually put a series of virtual machines to good use.
With that being said, thank you for reading and happy studying,
cheers!