Fantastic and Free
Updated May 10, 2023
Fantastic and Free
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Oracle VM VirtualBox
We used Oracle VM VirtualBox as a quick and simple way to virtualize and consolidate multiple compute servers onto a single server. It is an easier way to provide a proof of concept for virtualization than using a bare metal hypervisor with an admin machine. Once the concept successfully shows the benefits of virtualization and the advantages of consolidating to a lower server footprint, it is easier to sell virtualization. In addition, snapshots, software defined networking, and ability to access/share host resources make it easier to roll back/deploy changes to development, test, and QA environments. On top of all that, it is free to use.
- Ability to easily share/access host resources; allows for development work on the host machine that can be easily transferred to the guest machines and vice versa.
- Advanced bootup/bios options allow for a custom deployment scenario, test platform.
- Full product and all options are free to use, unlimited.
- Very small installation footprint and memory use.
- Interface is clean, but could be more sleek.
- Guest systems need to be shutdown in order to make edit any resources. This can be a bit disruptive. Not ideal for Production environments.
- The add-on extensions can be a bit confusing and need to be updated separately. They should be bundled together with the main application to ease updates and keep current.
- Able to consolidate four low-risk servers onto a single host server, reduced our power footprint significantly, and set us on the path to virtualization.
- Quickly spin up multiple dev/test environment without looking for physical servers. This has saved us on many occasions.
- It is a free software, incredibly reliable, the ROI can only be positive.
- VMware Workstation Player (formerly VMware Player) and VMware Workstation Pro
VMWare Workstation required VMware Workstation Pro to create the system before we could use it. The license requirements for the latter was the issue as we needed this for dev/test environments as well as to show POC on virtualization without necessarily incurring a cost at the outset.
Do you think Oracle VM VirtualBox delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Oracle VM VirtualBox's feature set?
Yes
Did Oracle VM VirtualBox live up to sales and marketing promises?
No
Did implementation of Oracle VM VirtualBox go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Oracle VM VirtualBox again?
Yes
Oracle VM VirtualBox Feature Ratings
Using Oracle VM VirtualBox
1 - Development sandbox environment
Testing sandbox environment
Testing sandbox environment
1 - Basic infrastructure skills to correctly setup the software networking on the host computer.
- Sandbox environment for Dev and QA
- RDS endpoint for Mac users
- Test new applications in a vanilla environment
- Low priority Server workload
- DR test setup to replicate full environment
- Sandbox environment
Evaluating Oracle VM VirtualBox and Competitors
- Scalability
- Integration with Other Systems
- Ease of Use
The application is very easy to use.
We did not purchase Oracle VirtualBox as it is a free-ware and available for download.
We did not purchase Oracle VirtualBox as it is a free-ware and available for download.
I would not. The fact that this is a free software and allows us to easily virtualize our environment makes it a no-brainer. No licensing hassles and incessant vendor follow ups. It is also actively maintained and a very stable product.
Oracle VM VirtualBox Implementation
- Implemented in-house
Change management was minimal - Since this was provided as an IAAS to the users, they were not aware of the background setup.
- Reliability and management of host OS
Oracle VM VirtualBox Training
- No Training
Yes, it was very easy to learn. Between the forums, KB articles and knowledge of virtualization on other platforms, it is very easy to use.
Configuring Oracle VM VirtualBox
I use it for dev and test environments, also to conduct DR drills. The dependency on Host OS means I do not use it for production workloads.
No - we have not done any customization to the interface
No - we have not done any custom code
We have deployed some VMs and setup the whole thing to run unattended so when we restart the Host OS, the VMs will also power on.
Oracle VM VirtualBox Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Good followup Problems get solved No escalation required Support understands my problem Quick Initial Response | None |
No. It is free-ware. I do not know there is premium support. It is not required as we use it in non-production and/or sandbox development environments.
No I cannot, but the forums and KB articles are a great help and with a bit of reading, it is possible to resolve any issue that may arise.
Using Oracle VM VirtualBox
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Deploying VM is very simple
- Connecting to VM console is well integrated and works well
- Seamless integration with host hardware
- Reboot of VMs when new extensions or application update is installed
- Lots of updates
Oracle VM VirtualBox Reliability
Integrating Oracle VM VirtualBox
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows 11
- Ubuntu 22.04
We have deployed VMs with a host of OS(s). The extension addons allows better integration between Host and Guest OS.
- File import/export
- API (e.g. SOAP or REST)
Only enable when required to reduce the attack surface from a security perspective.
Relationship with Oracle
Upgrading Oracle VM VirtualBox
Yes - Yes, no issues. Obviously the guest VMs needed to be shutdown and restarted.
- Improved reliability
- Better addon integration