Virtualisation
Table of Contents
- Minimum Requirements…………………………………………………
- Installing & setting up a hypervisor……………………………………..
- Creating a windows ISO file …………………………………………….
- Installing & configuring a Windows client virtual machine …………….
- Verifying full functionality ………………………………………………
- Conclusion…………………………………………………………
In this report I will be discussing how to install and configure a windows client virtual machine using a type 2 hypervisor called Virtualbox. This will be a step-by-step report, taking us from installing the hypervisor all the way to verifying the virtual machine’s full functionality.
Minimum Requirements
The windows version I decided to use for this report was Windows 10 Professional. I chose windows 10 as it provides as you can use a free version even if you don’t have an activation key, whereas something like windows 7 requires a paid activation key to download. The professional was also chose over the home version as it comes out of the box with a full suite of diagnostic and monitoring tools which will come in handy when verifying the systems functionality later. You can find the minimum requirements on Microsoft’s Windows 10 Documentation Page.
Installing a hypervisor
To run a virtual machine, we must first install a hypervisor.Simply put, A hypervisor is a piece of software that creates and manages the virtual operating systems by borrowing pieces of your host PCs hardware to create the VM. I will be using a type 2 hypervisor called virtual box. A type 2 hypervisor sits between the guest OS and the host OS. Another alternative to virtual-box is Vmware. A type 1 hypervisor sits directly on the hardware of the host PC, and acts as an operating system itself, with its sole-purpose being to run virtual machines. Examples would be ES-XI and ProxMox. I am using a type 2 as it does not require me to overwrite my main operating system on my computer. Instead it installs like any other application.
- Download Virtual Box from their website and run the installer. Also download the extension package to install many extra feature such USB support and RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol.
- Leave all installation settings at default. After the installation is complete, We are now ready prep for the installation for windows 10.You may want to choose which path the Virtual machines will be installed in. You can do that here.
We are now ready to move on to creating an image file for Windows 10.
Creating a .iso file for Windows
Unlike other operating systems such as Windows Server and Linux where you would directly download the ISO file straight from their website, Windows 10 requires you to create this ISO file using their own proprietary software known as the Media Creation Tool. This allows you to create a bootable image or bootable media such as a USB flash drive.
- Go to Microsft.com and download the media creation tool
- Run the media creation tool to begin the process & accept the EULA
- Choose the create installation media option
- Choose to create an ISO image, this is the file extension that is also used for virtual machines. Once done, the file will be saved in the path you chose and can begin the installation process of the virtual machine itself.
Installing & configuring a Windows client virtual machine
The installation & configuration process of your virtual machine can depend on what hypervisor you are using. While a paid option like Vmware is known to be very easy to configure VM as the software will automatically detect the best configuration for your hardware, Virtual Box is a free and open source tool and like many other free and open source tools, there tends to be a little more of a learning curve. While virtual box will give you recommended settings, It is up to you to configure these properly to make sure everything is in working order. There are a few important settings you may want to change depending on what the virtual machine Is being used for.
- First thing to do is open virtual box and create a new machine
- Choose a name for the machine and where to store it. Here you also choose the type and version of your virtual machine. Mine is Windows 10 64-bit.
- Choose the amount of RAM you would like to allocate to the machine while it is on. This will not be used while the machine is off. I chose the recommended memory of 2048MB (2GB). At least 4GB is recommended for smooth experience on 64 bit windows 10 but this is a test so 2GB will do just fine
- Next is to choose storage. You can choose which type of virtual HDD you would like, however I use the default (VDI). Here you can also choose how things are stored.You can choose between Dynamically allocated or fixed.
- If you choose dynamic, this will create more space on the hard drive on the fly, as the machine needs it. This is great for testing and is what I am using, this method may save space but it can make the machine run slower as it is creating storage space in real time. Fixed storage is like a regular physical drive. You choose the size, and then thats it. This will maker the machine faster but requires pre allocated space on the host machine, therefore taking up unnecessary space.
- Next is to head to the settings of the machine to make sure everything is in order;
Display
You may want to max out your allocated video memory especially for windows 10 as it is quite a graphically intensive operating system. This will improve graphical performance.
System
here it is possible to adjust the Amount of RAM going to the system, as well as changing the amount of CPU cores that are allocated to the machine. Thus improving performance
Network
Depending on the situation you may want to change this setting. The default Nat setting will keep the network of the VM a completely separate entity to the host machine or even other guests. Another setting to note such as bridged adapter will allow the guest OS use the hosts NIC to connect to the internet. This is less secure and private but can be more perform-ant. Other settings such as NAT Network can allow the guest to connect to a network of other guests that may be on your machine that you made, allowing great potential for testing / practice.
- Now it is time to start the machine by returning to the main screen and double- clicking on the machine you want to start
- Now it is time boot from the ISO file I created earlier.Add the ISO file by selecting add and selecting the ISO that was made earlier in file explorer
- Once the right file is chosen click start to being installation of the OS. After this point, It will be like installing windows 10 on any other system
- We will then be greeted with the windows installation screen. Now all that is left to do is to go through the installation process and on to test and conform the system is running properly.
5 — Verifying the system works
In this section we will be verifying that the system is running correctly and the VM is running efficiently.
- In virtual box, the performance of a virtual machine can be measured by looking at this symbol. This ‘V’ symbol means that the machine is running the way it should be. If this symbol was a green turtle, this would mean the virtual machine is running slow and there may be a problem.
- Task Manager can also be a good place to go have a look to make sure you have allocated enough resources to the machine.
Conclusion
Overall, Installing a Windows installation on a hypervisor can require a few extra steps such as using the media creation tool instead of just downloading the ISO. However this not a major extra step and is well worth it rather than using something like windows 7, which does not allow you to download anything unless you pay for an activation code, whereas windows 10 is technically free (or at least has a free version). If you learn how use snapshots you can also leverage this never let your trial run out.
