VirtualBox's options allows for the sharing of resources from the host computer. When planning to implement a virtualization environment and setting, administrators or end users should plan on sharing the memory, CPU and hard drive of the host computer. Planning for IDE, SATA or SCSI drives depends on the individual use of the virtualization application. Hard drive response time plays another key role in response time of the operating systems.
Generally the host computer will operate on 1 gigabyte of RAM. With today's computers hard drives are inexpensive and processors are generally multi - core. Although 1 gigabyte of RAM will operate two operating systems, more RAM will yield better performance. Because the CPU is shared, adding more RAM takes the load off of the CPU. The Settings tab for the indivdual operating system allows for the adjustment of memory. With the example above, Windows 7 and Windows XP operated with a given 512 megabytes of RAM each. Each operating system performed smoothly and with little hesitation. The Windows Vista host system operated Flow Matrix, Apache and SQL while using NMAP and UMIT to scan the operating systems on a network for vulnerabilities.
The options and settings supports up to four individual network adapters allowing for the adapters to be split among the operating systems. Planning and supporting the USB options and CD/DVD hardware has to be decided during the planning stages.
