Use VirtualBox in a Production Environment?

[cyberspace50]

Hello,

Quick question.

Is VirtualBox usable in a production environment (like running a mail server, web server, MySQL server), or it is not mature enough yet to really be used in that manner?

I noticed that virtual machines can now be automatically started when the computer boots (feature in the latest released VirtualBox), which is what drew my attention back to the idea of using VirutalBox to run virtual servers.

Thanks!

[iCone]

I'm also playing with it and considering using it as our virtualization engine, having said that and having used ESX before seems to be lacking some features and can't find anything on the interweb to create backups of the guests and replicating them to a stand by/disaster recovery server. For that created a batch file to export the appliance and copy it to another machine, have yet to automate the import but would like to have something more dependable than a batch file if going live with it.

Let me say something else (before I get burned), for being a free product is great; just would like to see more enterprise features.

[scottgus1]

Sure is. I use Virtualbox on a Windows 7 dual 6-core hyperthreaded Xeon 48GB-memory server-class machine for our sbs2003 domain controller guest and about 8 other XP guests carrying our antispam, business database software, ftp server, remote-users, etc. I also use VB on my Windows 7 work computer to host my personal 3-screen XP work environment and a couple of other guests I use on occasion. Everything is stable and runs like clockwork.

That said, I don't use bleeding-edge-new software in production scenarios, since not all the bugs are out of it yet. I also don't believe in upgrading just because an upgrade is available. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I read back through the change logs of earlier versions to find out what bugs were being fixed with each build. I read the forums for discussions of various issues that come up with certain versions/builds. I had 3.2.14 running fine on my work PC, and decided on 4.0.16 for the office server, even though 4.1 was being bandied about at the time. And I haven't upgraded either system because they're stable and I haven't needed the newer features yet. Were I to set up a new production computer now, I'd probably look somewhere in the later builds of the 4.1 series first, and save 4.2 for test environments for now.

[Sysprobs]

But, is it Okay in terms of licence in production environment?

[scottgus1]

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/VirtualBox_PUEL
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Licensing_FAQ