MRC/Tutorials/Introduction to Virual Machine

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Overview

A Virtual Machine (VM) is a software-based emulation of a physical computer. It allows users to run multiple operating systems on a single physical machine, avoiding the need of having to change all setups on your current laptop and follow this course with ease.

What is a Virtual Machine?

A Virtual Machine acts as an independent environment that runs on top of a physical host system. It has its own allocated CPU, memory, storage, and network interfaces, all of which are managed by virtualization software known as a hypervisor.

Key Components of a Virtual Machine

  • Hypervisor: Software that manages VMs, such as VirtualBox
  • Guest OS: The operating system running inside the VM, in this case Ubuntu
  • Virtual Hardware: Emulated CPU, RAM, disk storage, and network devices.

Benefits of Using Virtual Machines

  • Isolation: Each VM operates independently, reducing security risks.
  • Flexibility: Run multiple operating systems on the same hardware.
  • Testing & Development: Safely experiment with new software without affecting the host system

Use in this Course

  • Running Ubuntu on a Windows or macOS machine.

Conclusion

Virtual Machines are powerful tools that enables you students to experiment with different operating systems and applications without having to modify your primary system.