Install VirtualBox in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS

First, we would discuss a bit about virtualization. Then, we would discuss how to install VirtualBox in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS release.

Developed by Oracle Corporation, VirtualBox was first released on January 17, 2007. It is available for many platforms like Windows, macOS, Linux and Solaris thereby making it a cross-platform application. Also, it is a free and open source hypervisor written in C, C++ and x86 Assembly. At the time of writing the article, the latest stable release available is 6.1.6.

With the help of an Hypervisor, we can manage i.e. create and run our Virtual Machines. There are mainly two types of Hypervisor – Type 1 (bare-metal) and Type 2 (hosted). Type 1 hypervisor runs on hosts’ hardware and doesn’t need an operating system installed as a prerequisite.

On the other hand, it is necessary to have an operating system installed to run VirtualBox application. So, its a Type 2 Hypervisor.

For improved performance and better support we can also install VirtualBox guest additions and VirtualBox extension pack.

Note: Following operation may require you to have superuser privileges. In case you don’t have one, then contact your System Administrator for assistance.

Install VirtualBox in Ubuntu 20.04

Since, VirtualBox is already available through standard Ubuntu repository. Therefore, we need to update the repository first to make the latest version of package available. Hence, issue the following in terminal –

sudo apt update

Now, to install VirtualBox –

sudo apt install virtualbox

This will download the relevant application and its related dependencies.

In addition to, we can also install VirtualBox Guest Additions and VirtualBox extension pack. We have discussed only the installation part here.

To install VirtualBox Guest Additions –

sudo apt install virtualbox-guest-additions-iso

and, to install VirtualBox extension pack –

sudo apt install virtualbox-ext-pack

We will discuss how to use VirtualBox Guest Additions ISO and VirtualBox Extension packs in coming articles.

In conclusion, we have discussed how to install VirtualBox in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS release.

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