Possible to use virtualbox as a server?

[vm_guy]

Hello!

I have been using virtual box for almost 1 year now and i love it!
My main OS is Ubuntu, and i installed virtualbox on it, and i am using it to run Windows, I like this setup, since i don't like using windows as my main OS.

anyways, my friend was telling me about vsphere esxi, how it works is, you install the software on a server, and then you access it via your network from a browser,
and then you can install different operating systems, you can manage all the operating system via another computer on the web browser,

currently i have 2 servers, which i have windows and linux, i have 2 websites on each server, this is mostly a hobby to gain experience and learn both operating systems

My friend has a usb drive with esxi, that he said he can lend to me, or i can download it online, but i think the basic features is free, and if i want i have to pay for it,

anyways, i will give it a try soon,


but since i have been using virtual box for almost a year,

is it possible to install oracle virtual box on a server? and manage it via a web browser? the same as esxi?

or is virtual box only to be used within a main OS





i like the fact that i can get rid of both servers, and just use 1 server and run both OS's from 1 server,
this way i can save on electricity, there's really no point of me running 2 servers especially since it's just for learning,
i don't want to get rid of one server since it's helping me learn, but if i can manage multiple servers from 1 server, that is perfect

can virtual box do this ?
if not, any free alternatives? or should i stick with esxi




thanks!

[BillG]

There is no basic difference between a server OS and a client OS. You can run a client OS as a server if you like, or you can install a server OS on a vm under VirtualBox. What you cannot do with VirtualBox is run it on a virtual machine. You cannot have is what is called nested virtualization, which is running virtualization software on a virtual machine. VirtualBox needs to run on a physical machine.

There is no reason why you could not run one server as the host and one as a guest on the same physical machine.

[scottgus1]

I'm not familiar with "vsphere esxi", but based on how you describe it:

you install the software on a server, and then you access it via your network from a browser, and then you can install different operating systems

It appears that "esxi" is a type-1 hypervisor that is installed directly on the physical hardware's drive, then you install guest operating systems in the type-1 hypervisor.

Virtualbox is a type-2 hypervisor (see the above link). You need to install a Virtualbox-compatible operating system of your choice on the hardware first. (Best choice is the one whose command language you know best - you'll be running VBoxManage.exe in the command line or batch files a lot if you really get going.)You then install Virtualbox as a program on the hardware's "host" operating system. Then you install guest operating systems inside Virtualbox.

Note that (based on what I've read, you may read something else) even though you install type-1 hypervisors on the hardware first, you still need to install an operating system to designate as the "host" for the physical hardware. So the resource load of type-1 vs type-2 will be about the same.

Both types of hypervisors can be remoted into for administration. Type-1 you remote into directly through its web interface. Type-2 you remote into the host operating system and administer the hypervisor program running on the host OS.

Virtualbox doesn't come with a built-in web interface that I know of. Others have come up with add-on web interfaces that you can try.

Virtualbox is designed to run in the local user space of the logged-on user. Full control of the guests is possible and easy when running as a logged-on user. You would lock the host OS but not log off when leaving the computer running guests. You can remote in to the logged-on user's desktop to administer Virtualbox from off-site (if you're not using third-party web extensions). There are ways to get Virtualbox guests to run without a user being logged on, but administering these guests is more difficult, though not impossible.

I run our office file-email-domain server, as well as an antispam filter and a database server, as three Virtualbox guests on a Windows 7 Professional host OS running server-class hardware. I also run a couple extra Virtualbox guests as spare work environments if an employee's workstation goes down. On boot the physical server auto-logs-on, runs scripts to start the desired guests, then locks the logged-on account. Every Saturday night a task-scheduler-controlled script shuts down the guests, backs up the guest Virtualbox files and virtual drives, then reboots the host to start the guests again. I remote into the logged-on account on the host to admin the guests and the host if needed.

[JustinH]

Would phpVirtualBox be what you are wanting, a web interface to the hypervisor?
https://sourceforge.net/projects/phpvirtualbox/

[vm_guy]

hmm so the answer is i can't?

i must install an operating system first on the desktop, then i can install virtualbox

so my plan is

Install Ubuntu(The Main OS)
--Install virtualbox
-----virtual machine linux1 server(website 1)
-----virtual machine linux2 server(website 1)
-----virtual machine windows2 server(website 3)
-----virtual machine windows3 server(website 4)


this way i can stop using 4 desktops and use 1 desktop for my 4 websites,
i thought installing Ubuntu then virtual box would use up too much resources, i was hoping to install only virtual box only then manage it via a web browser or something, i think proxmox does that, i was trying it last weekend,

actually this might work out better, im not experienced enough yet with the terminal, so virtual box is great if i screw up,
i dont have to worry about resources too much yet, since my websites dont get any traffic except myself, but i still want to put them online!

i hope there is a way for the domains to go to the correct virtual server, since i only have 2 ips,
i will use 1 ip for my normal desktop
and the 2nd ip for my ubunutu virtuaal box with all the virtual servers

looks like i got a project to do, thanks everyone!

[BillG]

VirtualBox is a computer program which runs under an OS, not a standalone system. It cannot be installed on "bare metal".

The other problem has nothing to do with VirtualBox. You would have the same problem if they were physical machines and you only had one public IP. There are several ways to handle it - host headers for a start or port forwarding.