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Having downloaded and installed VirtualBox on a host computer, the next step is to create and run virtual machines within the VirtualBox environment. Virtual machines are may be created and managed using on of a number of different tools included with the VirtualBox installation. For the the purposes of this chapter, the ''VirtualBox'' tool will be used.
== Launching the VirtualBox Tool ==
The mechanism for launching ''VirtualBox'' differs depending on the host operating system as follows:
* '''Linux Host''' - With some desktop environments, VirtualBox will be available from the ''System Tools'' menu. The executable is also located in ''/usr/bin'' and may be launched from by entering ''VirtualBox'' at a terminal window prompt. if If ''/usr/bin'' is not currently in the user's $PATH environment variable, the entire path to the executable (''/usr/bin/VirtualBox'') will need to be entered.
* '''Windows Host''' - On Windows hosts, VirtualBox can be launched by selecting ''Start->All Programs->Sun xVM VirtualBox->VirtualBox''. Alternatively, the tool can be launched from the command prompt by changing directory to the VirtualBox installation folder (C:\Program Files\Sun\xVM VirtualBox'' by default) and executing ''VirtualBox''.
* '''Solaris Host''' - With some desktop environments, VirtualBox will be available from the ''System Tools'' menu. The executable is also located in ''/usr/bin'' and may be launched from by entering ''VirtualBox'' at a terminal window prompt. if If ''/usr/bin'' is not currently in the user's $PATH environment variable, the entire path to (''/usr/bin/VirtualBox'') will need to be entered.
* '''Mac OS X Host''' - VirtualBox can be launched by double clicking on ''VirtualBox'' in the Applications folder of the Finder.
== Creating a New VirtualBox Virtual Machine ==
New virtual machines are created using the ''Create New Virtual Machine'' wizard. This wizrd can be wizard is launched by clicking on the ''New'' button in the toolbar or selecting the ''Machine->New'' menu option. After the ''Welcome'' screen has displayed, clicking ''Next'' displays the ''VM Name and OS Type'' screen illustrated below:
Enter a name which will descriptively and uniquely identify the virtual machine and then select the type of operating system to be installed as the guest in the virtual machine. If the exact operating system is not listed it may not be officially supported (see [[VirtualBox Supported Host and Guest Operating Systems]] for a list of supported guest operating systems). Even if the guest operating system is not list listed it may still run inside a VirtualBox virtual machine. In this case, select the operating system which most closely resembles your chosen operating system.
== Specifying Virtual Machine Memory ==
The next wizard screen allows the amount of memory to be allocated to the virtual machine to be defined. This is essentially the amount of physical memory installed in the host computer system which is to be made available to the virtual machine. The amount of memeory memory allocated on this screen will depend on a number of factors:
* The total amount of physical memory installed in the host computer
* The number of other virtual machines running on the host concurrently with the new virtual machine and the memory requirements of those virtual machines
Memory allocation is configured using the sliding scalecontrol, the maximum value of which is equal to the amount of physical memory installed in the host:
== Configuring a Virtual Hard Disk ==
Once the memory for the virtual machine has been defined, the next task is to configure disk storage. VirtualBox provides a number of options for providing disk space for the a virtual machine. A detailed overview of virtual disks is provide in the [[Understanding and Configuring VirtualBox Virtual Hard Disks]] chapter.
The most straightforward method for providing a virtual machine with disk storage is to either create or use an existing virtual disk image file. A virtual disk image file is essentially a file which resides on , or is accessible to, the file system of the host operating system and acts as a virtual disk drive for the virtual machine. VirtualBox supports existing ''.vmdk'', ''.vdi'' and ''.vhd'' image files. An existing disk image file may be attached to the virtual machine by clicking on the ''Existing...''' button. Alternatively, a new virtual disk drive can be created using the ''Create New Virtual Disk'' wizard by clicking on ''New...''.:
The ''Hard Disk Storage Type'' screen illustrated above defines the type of the virtual disk drive. The two options available are as follows:
* '''Dynamically Expanding Storage''' - The disk image file is created at a minimal size and then grows automatically as more space is needed by the guest operating system (up to a specified maximum). This has the advantage that disk space on the host is not used until it is needed , but can result in slower performance if the disk needs to be enlarged frequently.
* '''Fixed-size Storage''' - The disk image file is created to the specified size. This uses pre-allocates all the allocated requested disk space, regardless of whether it is immediately needed, but results in improved disk write performance.
Once the storage type has been defined, clicking ''Next'' displays the ''Virtual Disk Location and Size'' screen:
[[Image:virtualbox_virtual_disk_location_and_size.jpg|Specifying the size and location of a virtualbox virtual hard disk]]
By default, the disk image file will be located in the same folder as the other files relating to the new virtual machine. TYhe disk size is specified using the slider control (up to a maximum size of 2TB). Click ''Next'' followed by ''Finish'' to create the virtual disk and return to the new virtual machine New Virtual Machine wizard.
Clicking ''Next'' in the wizard displays the Summary screen. Assuming that the information is correct, click ''Finish'' to create the new virtual machine. Once the creation process is complete, the new virtual machine will appear in the list pane on left hand side of the VirtualBox window, together with details of the configuration in the ''Details'' pane:
Before the guest operating system can be installed, it is likely that a CD/DVD drive will need to be configured into the virtual machine. Details on these and other settings relating to VirtualBox virtual machines are covered in the next chapter - [[Configuring VirtualBox Virtual Machine Settings]].