Today, many people work with the Windows operating system. However, not many people know that there are other OSs. For example, the Linux operating system. This is a very popular OS among programmers, because the possibilities of this system are almost limitless. And, of course, like Windows, Linux has its own versions. They are called distributions. In this article, I would like to pay attention to the Ubuntu distribution and its installation on the VirtualBox virtual machine.
Why Ubuntu?
Before installing, you should understand why this particular distribution was chosen. Its main difference from the rest is simplicity and accessibility. If you decide to study the Linux operating system, then you should start with Ubuntu. Before starting the installation of Ubuntu on the VirtualBox virtual machine, I would like to note several advantages of this distribution:
- Popularity. Ubuntu is one of the most popular Linux distributions. In most places where they require knowledge of this operating system, they pay attention to the ability to work with Ubuntu.
- Easy to learn. Because of its popularity, there are many lessons to learn. There is also quite a lot of documentation. Yes, and in itself, “Ubuntu” is more welcoming to beginners. For example, when compared with Kali Linux, the difference is very noticeable. It can be easily compared. For example, Ubuntu says: “Wait a minute, don’t do this, it can lead to a bad outcome.” And Kali Linux: "Do what you want, but then do not regret it."
- Each distribution is created for some specific purpose. Ubuntu is ideal for learning, Kali is suitable for programmers who work with network testing, because the necessary scripts are already preinstalled there.
- Design. Ubuntu has a graphical shell. In general, before, Linux had just a console, and studying it was quite problematic. Then came distributions with a graphical shell, which greatly simplified the work and training.
- Easy to install drivers. The fact is that most device drivers are written only for the Windows operating system. If it is for Linux, then basically the installation takes a lot of time and is done through the console. In Ubuntu, this is all made easier, almost like in Windows.
Virtual machine or bootable flash drive?
So we examined all the main advantages of the Ubuntu distribution. We decided to start studying, but there is no desire to say goodbye to Windows? Then a virtual machine or bootable flash drive comes to the rescue. Briefly about them.
Boot flash drive
In principle, a USB flash drive acts as a hard drive on which you put the operating system to run from it. It is enough to download the distribution kit, a special program, and literally in an hour this operating system will be installed on your flash drive and you can start from it. However, the changes that you will make there will not be saved. Unless, of course, you select a special area on the drive. This is also done using a special program. In general, this is not very convenient, so people prefer installing Ubuntu on the VirtualBox extension pack.
Virtual machine
The virtual machine is installed on the Windows operating system and allows you to install other operating systems there, including Ubuntu. Installing Ubuntu on VirtualBox is much easier than installing on a bootable USB flash drive, and it’s more convenient to work with a virtual machine. After all, you can watch the lessons, open a virtual machine and immediately start trying. This article will walk you through the steps for installing Ubuntu 16.04 on VirtualBox. Of course, you can use a newer version, for example 18.04 - there isn’t much difference.
Install VirtualBox
Before installing Ubuntu on VirtualBox, you first need to download and install the virtual machine itself. In general, there are a lot of them, but VirtualBox is popular. Even on the official Ubuntu website, examples are presented on it. You can download this program on the official website, it weighs a little: 109 mb.
After VirtualBox is downloaded, open the installation file. It looks like this:
Click the Next button. After that we see the following:
It shows the set of installed applications and the place where the virtual machine will be installed. It’s better not to change anything except the installation location. You can choose any place, the main thing is that there is enough memory for the program itself and the operation of operating systems. Have you chosen? Click Next again.
Uncheck if you are against creating icons. Click "Next" again, and the installation of VirtualBox begins.
During installation, the program will ask you to give permission to install devices. It should be resolved so that there are no problems with the virtual machine. After successful installation, click on Finish. The program is installed! It looks like this:
Download the Ubuntu distribution
To install the Ubuntu server on VirtualBox, you need to download the distribution package itself, the so-called installation image. You can do this on the official Ubuntu website. You can download the latest version - 18.04. You may also notice that you can download two versions: Desktop and Server. They differ in that the Desktop version is usually put on an ongoing basis on computers, and Server is a bit simplified and ideal for virtual machines and boot disks. Therefore, you should download Ubuntu Server version 18.04 for installation on VirtualBox.
Installation start
Everything is ready to install Ubuntu on VirtualBox, let's get started. Open the virtual machine and click on the "Create" button.
Next we see the following window. Everything is very clear there.
In the field "Name" you can write absolutely any text. For convenience, you can write the name of the distribution, in our case - Ubuntu. In the "Type" field, select the type of operating system that we install. In the "Version" field, the distribution is selected. After filling, click "Next" and a new window opens:
Here you need to choose the amount of RAM that will be allocated for the operation of our operating system. For stable operation, it is better to allocate from 2 GB. Although it is possible and 1 GB. In general, you should expect that when the virtual machine is running, the computer itself can work stably. Since we install Ubuntu only to familiarize ourselves with the system, we will allocate 1 GB of RAM for it. Then we click "Next", and the following window appears in front of us.
Here you need to choose the hard drive that your operating system will use to save data. You can not create it at all, but in this case all your changes in the system will not be saved. You can also create a new virtual hard disk or use an existing one. We do not have ready, so we will create it. Select "Create a new virtual hard disk" and click "Create." After which we see:
Here you select the type of file that you want to use when creating a new virtual hard disk. It’s better not to change anything, just click “Next”.
Here you should choose whether your hard drive will be: dynamic or fixed. If you select a fixed one, then when you reach the maximum volume, it will no longer save, and if you use a dynamic one, it can expand if necessary. Who knows what will have to face, so choose "Dynamic" and move on.
We write the name of the virtual hard disk and designate its volume. Then click "Create." Setup is complete, it remains to proceed directly to the installation!
Choose an image
Click the "Run" button, thereby launching our future operating system. And we see the following:
Remember, we downloaded the Ubuntu installation image for installation on VirtualBox. So, now the program needs to provide it to start the installation. Click on the folder icon and select the image that you downloaded. Then click "Continue."
Install Ubuntu
After clicking the “Continue” button, we can notice that the installation of the distribution kit has begun.
Expect some time. Asks to choose a language - choose Russian. Well, or any other that you are most comfortable working with. Installing Ubuntu on VirtualBox will then continue. During the installation, many windows will appear, where it is better to just click "Finish". Also will ask you to enter a name, password. They should be remembered in order to gain access to the operating system in the future.
To summarize
Installation takes 15-30 minutes, after which the operating system itself is launched directly. As you can see, installing Ubuntu on a virtual machine is quite easy, and it takes a little time. Have fun learning!