Activity 2 – Cloud Computing (BCS601)
Title: Installation and Usage of Virtualization Software (VirtualBox and
Xen) with Multi-OS Application Testing
Name: MEENAKSHI S
USN: 1SB22CS059
Objective:
The objective of this activity was to understand virtualization by installing and
configuring Oracle VirtualBox and the Xen hypervisor. Multiple operating
systems were installed as virtual machines (Ubuntu, Windows 10, Fedora), and
commonly used applications were tested for functionality, compatibility, and
system resource usage.
Software and Tools Used:
For this activity,
1. Host Operating Systems:
Windows 11: Used for installing and running Oracle VirtualBox , Ubuntu
22.04 LTS: Used as the host environment for installing and configuring
the Xen hypervisor.
2. Virtualization Software:
Oracle VM VirtualBox: An open-source virtualization tool used to create
and manage virtual machines on the Windows host, Xen Hypervisor: A
bare-metal hypervisor used to run guest operating systems directly on
the hardware under the control of a Linux host.
3. Guest Operating Systems Installed:
Ubuntu 22.04 LTS: Installed in VirtualBox and Xen for Linux-based
application testing, Windows 10: Installed in VirtualBox for Windows-
specific application testing, Fedora 38: Installed under Xen for
performance comparison and application compatibility checks.
4. Applications Installed and Tested:
GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program): Installed on Ubuntu to test
image editing performance in a Linux VM, Visual Studio Code: Installed
on Windows 10 VM for code editing and testing, Mozilla Thunder bird:
Installed on Fedora to evaluate mail client functionality in a Xen
environment.
5. ISO Image Files:
Ubuntu, Windows 10, and Fedora ISO files were used to install the
operating systems on virtual machines.
6. Network and Virtualization Settings:
BIOS settings enabled for virtualization (VT-x/AMD-V), NAT and Bridged
Adapter configurations were used for network access inside the virtual
machines.
Procedure:
The activity began with the installation of Oracle VM VirtualBox. The software
was downloaded from the official website and installed on the host operating
system. After installation, virtual machines were created by allocating specific
amounts of RAM, storage, and CPU cores. ISO files of various operating systems
were mounted, and the OS installations were completed successfully.
Following that, the Xen hypervisor was installed on a Linux host machine. This
setup required additional configuration, especially related to the Dom0 (host
domain) and DomU (guest domains). After setting up Xen, lightweight Linux
distributions were used to create and manage guest domains.
Once the virtual machines were ready, commonly used applications were
installed on each guest OS. VLC Media Player was tested on Ubuntu, Notepad++
on Windows 7, and LibreOffice on CentOS. The performance, responsiveness,
and compatibility of each application were observed. Startup times, system
resource usage, and overall user experience were noted.
Observations:
GIMP on Ubuntu worked efficiently, especially for basic image editing [Link]
Code on Windows 10 was quick to start and responsive while editing multiple
files. Thunderbird on Fedora required manual setup for mail configuration but
ran smoothly. Xen required more configuration than VirtualBox, especially for
networking. Fedora VM under Xen showed slight lag due to limited RAM.
Challenges Faced:
Setting up Xen proved to be more complex than VirtualBox, especially in terms
of networking and configuration of guest domains. Additionally, limited
physical hardware resources on the host system affected the performance of
some virtual machines. Proper allocation of CPU and memory was necessary to
avoid slowdowns.
Output:
what do yov want to do with Ubuntu?
Conclusion:
This activity provided valuable hands-on experience in virtualization. It
demonstrated how different operating systems can be installed and managed on
a single machine using hypervisors. The experience also highlighted the
importance of proper resource allocation and compatibility testing when
running applications in virtual environments. Overall, this activity enhanced our
understanding of virtualization technology and its practical applications in
computing.
