Oracle breathes new life into VirtualBox

The VirtualBox hypervisor is not dead. Oracle is planning an update and has only launched the first beta.

Oracle VirtualBox isn’t exactly the most up-to-date software right now. Oracle launched VirtualBox 7.0 in October 2022 and hasn’t given the desktop hypervisor a major update since then. That’s changing now with the launch of the first beta for VirtualBox 7.1. If Oracle follows its regular pattern of beta releases, a final release is planned within a few weeks.

Oracle itself calls VirtualBox 7.1 a major update. This is evident thanks to a modern user interface that allows you to switch between a simple or an expertly tailored user interface.

OCI and ARM

The hypervisor has additional integration with OCI and allows you to clone compute instances. Other notable improvements include a new NAT engine with IPv6 support and the further adoption of ARM for macOS hosts. Those who own a Mac with M1 or higher can run Linux VMs, among other things.

VirtualBox is free and has to compete with Hyper-V in Windows and, somewhat surprisingly, with Fusion from VMware. While Broadcom has drastically increased the price of almost all VMware licenses, the desktop hypervisor has become free for once.

Source: IT Daily

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