Ten excellent Linux system virtualization software

Virtualization software is widely used due to its purpose and benefits, you can use it to experience, test or run software that requires a specific operating system version.

Virtualization provides an abstract computer hardware concept to help you create virtual machines (VMs), networks, storage, etc. The benefits include isolation, security, and the freedom to test a variety of things.

Different types of virtualization software are available for desktop users, server administrators, and enterprise users.

While listing various virtualization software, I will also mention who it is suitable for.

1.VirtualBox

VirtualBox is an award-winning open source virtual machine program for Linux, Windows, and macOS.

It's suitable for all types of users, whether you just want to run Linux on a virtual machine, want to create a virtual machine for testing, or an enterprise needs a virtual machine solution.

For most users, it can be considered a catch-all solution. While it's primarily intended for desktop use, you can try its headless mode to run a virtual machine as a remote desktop server by consulting its documentation.

Main Highlights:

• Supports a wide range of guest operating systems
• Simple user interface and fast performance
• Regular updates
• Rich functions

2. OpenVZ

Want to create an isolated Linux container on your server? OpenVZ can help you.

You can create containers that behave like standalone servers. These containers have all the essential features to help you manage them efficiently.

Because OpenVZ is built and distributed as a Linux distribution, containers only run on Linux.

For beginners, OpenVZ is a great choice for learning to use containers because it is easy to configure and manage. Additionally, OpenVZ-based VPS hosting is affordable compared to some other options.

Main Highlights:

• High resource utilization efficiency
• Easy to use and manage

3. KVM

Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) is integrated into Linux, which is its biggest advantage. You can run virtual machines directly on Linux using KVM. It is a type-1 hypervisor, which is hardware-level virtualization.

KVM converts a Linux host into a hypervisor running virtual machines to achieve performance similar to that of a physical machine.

Unlike OpenVZ, KVM is highly customizable and built into the Linux system, requiring no separate installation. Considering that KVM implements hardware-level virtualization with the help of a hypervisor, it requires relatively more memory and other system resources.

You can use KVM to create virtual machines for different operating systems. To configure it, you can refer to Ubuntu’s official blog post about KVM installation.

Main Highlights:

• Highly customizable and complex to set up
• Integrate with Linux systems