After nine months of the release of the 6.0.xx branch from the popular VirtualBox application, Oracle released the first beta version of what will be the next branch of virtualization system VirtualBox 6.1.
For those who do not know by VirtualBox, they should know that is a virtualization tool multiplatform, which gives us the possibility to create virtual disk drives where we can install an operating system within the one we normally use.
VirtualBox us allows running virtual machines remotely, through Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), iSCSI support. Another of the functions it presents is that of mount ISO images as virtual CD or DVD drives, or as a floppy disk.
VirtualBox is a free virtualization solution from Oracle. VirtualBox can virtualize Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 10, Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS and many other versions of Linux, Solaris, some variants of BSD, etc.
Main new features of VirtualBox 6.1 beta
With the launch of the new beta version highlighted that the GUI has improved virtual machine imaging (VISO) and has expanded the capabilities of the built-in file manager.
In VirtualBox Manager, the visualization of the virtual machines list is improved, Virtual machine groups are more clearly marked, virtual machine searching is improved, and the tools area is secured to fix position when scrolling through the virtual machine list.
The convenience of configuring storage parameters has been improved For virtual machines, support has been provided for changing the controller bus type and the ability to move attachments between controllers using the drag and drop interface.
Besides that a built-in VM attribute editor has also been added to the panel with information about the virtual machine, allowing you to change some settings without opening the configurator.
Media enumeration code has been optimized, It started to run faster and load less CPU in situations where there is a large amount of recorded media. Virtual Media Manager returns the function of adding existing or new media.
Added support for importing virtual machines from Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and the capabilities for exporting virtual machines to Oracle Cloud Infrastructure have also been expanded, including the ability to create multiple virtual machines without reloading them.
There will also be a new added option to export virtual machines to cloud environments using the paravirtualization mechanism.
Of the other changes that stand out in this Beta version:
- Enhanced and expanded dialogue with session information.
- The input system added support for horizontal mouse scrolling using the IntelliMouse Explorer protocol.
- The vboximg-mount module has been added with experimental support for direct access to NTFS, FAT and ext2 / 3/4 FS within the disk image. It is implemented on the guest system and does not require support from this FS on the host side. The job is still possible in read-only mode.
- Added support for proposed hardware mechanisms in XNUMXth generation Intel Core i (Broadwell) processors to organize the integrated launch of virtual machines.
- The old method of 3D graphics support based on the VBoxVGA driver has been removed. For 3D, it is recommended to use the newer VBoxSVGA and VMSVGA drivers.
- Added a software on-screen keyboard that can be used as a keyboard in guest operating systems.
How to install the Beta version of VirtualBox 6.1 in Ubuntu and derivatives?
For those who are interested in being able to install this Beta version of VirtualBox They can do so by following the instructions we share below.
The first thing to do is open a terminal on your system with Ctrl + Alt + T and run the following command in it:
wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.1.0_BETA1/virtualbox-6.0_6.1.0~beta1-133315~Ubuntu~xenial_amd64.deb
Then we are going to install the downloaded package with the following command:
sudo dpkg -virtualbox-6.0_6.1.0~beta1-133315~Ubuntu~xenial_amd64.deb
And ready. If you want to get the VBoxGuestAdditions, you can do it from the following link.