Installing VirtualBox

To set the foundation for our lab, we will be using VirtualBox as a virtual hardware platform to host our images. This recipe will outline the steps necessary to do so. In the event that you wish to use an alternate virtualization platform, the same general principles will apply.

When it comes to learning a new set of skills or sharpening the ones you already have, the importance of a testing environment cannot be overstated. It is imperative that you have the means to test against systems in a known state so that you can validate the results of your tests.

One method of saving resources, both physical hardware and computing resources, is to utilize a virtual environment where your testing devices reside. One very popular example of a virtualization platform is Oracle's VirtualBox—a purpose build virtualization environment designed for use with x86 platforms that can host many virtual machines on one physical computer. This allows for the sharing of resources such as disk, RAM, CPU, and so on. Additionally, because VirtualBox supports importing and exporting virtual appliances, resources can be easily moved, shared, and so on.