VirtualBox

"Virtual box" redirects here. For virtual computers in general, see virtual machine.
VirtualBox
Original author(s)InnoTek Systemberatung GmbH (2007–2008)
Sun Microsystems (2008–2010)
Developer(s)Oracle Corporation
Initial release17 January 2007; 17 years ago (2007-01-17)
Stable release
7.1.4[1] Edit this on Wikidata / 15 October 2024
Repository
Written inC, C++, x86 Assembly, Python
Operating systemWindows, macOS (only Intel-based Macs), Linux and Solaris[2]
Platformx86-64 only (version series 5.x and earlier work on IA-32)[3]
TypeHypervisor
License
Websitewww.virtualbox.org Edit this at Wikidata
VirtualBox logo from 2010-2024

Oracle VirtualBox (formerly Sun VirtualBox, Sun xVM VirtualBox and InnoTek VirtualBox) is a hosted hypervisor for x86 virtualization developed by Oracle Corporation. VirtualBox was originally created by InnoTek Systemberatung GmbH, which was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 2008, which was in turn acquired by Oracle in 2010.

VirtualBox may be installed on Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Solaris and OpenSolaris. There are also ports to FreeBSD[5] and Genode.[6] It supports the creation and management of guest virtual machines running Windows, Linux, BSD, OS/2, Solaris, Haiku, and OSx86,[7] as well as limited virtualization of macOS guests on Apple hardware.[8][9] For some guest operating systems, a "Guest Additions" package of device drivers and system applications is available,[10][11] which typically improves performance, especially that of graphics, and allows changing the resolution of the guest OS automatically when the window of the virtual machine on the host OS is resized.

Released under the terms of the GNU General Public License and, optionally, the CDDL for most files of the source distribution, VirtualBox is free and open-source software, though the Extension Pack is proprietary software, free of charge only to personal users. The License to VirtualBox was relicensed to GPLv3 with linking exceptions to the CDDL and other GPL-incompatible licenses.[12]

  1. ^ "VirtualBox 7.1.4 (released October 15 2024)". 15 October 2024. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference VBdownloads was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Download VirtualBox". VirtualBox.org. Oracle. Archived from the original on 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2012-02-02.
  4. ^ "COPYING in vbox/trunk – Oracle VM VirtualBox". www.virtualbox.org. Archived from the original on 2023-01-11. Retrieved 2022-07-11.
  5. ^ "VirtualBox". Wiki.FreeBSD.org. 2009-06-16. Archived from the original on 2009-07-08. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  6. ^ "Release Notes for the Genode OS Framework 14.02". Genode.org. Genode Labs. 28 February 2014. Archived from the original on 8 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Guest_OSes". VirtualBox.org. 2009-06-12. Archived from the original on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
  8. ^ "How to Install Mac OS X Snow Leopard in VirtualBox on Windows 7". 10 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  9. ^ Purdy, Kevin (4 May 2010). "VirtualBox 3.2 Beta Virtualizes Mac OS X (On Macs)". Lifehacker. Archived from the original on 7 May 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  10. ^ "Chapter 4: Guest Additions". VirtualBox. Archived from the original on 2018-06-26. Retrieved 2014-09-02.
  11. ^ "Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.3 Now Available" (Press release). Oracle Corporation. 2013-10-15. Archived from the original on 2014-10-12. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  12. ^ "COPYING in vbox/trunk – Oracle VM VirtualBox". 2022-09-17. Archived from the original on 2022-09-17. Retrieved 2022-09-17.