Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Although guest operating systems do not need any special software or drivers
to operate correctly, the host platform includes many features that a guest can
utilize if they are available. Specifically, VirtualBox provides a special set of driv-
ers and utilities that can be used by the guest once the operating system has been
installed. These “Guest Additions” are provided in a CD-ROM disk image that is
always available to the guest.
Yo u c a n u s e o n e o f t w o m e t h o d s t o i n s t a l l t h e G u e s t A d d i t i o n s . T h e fi r s t m e t h o d
is to attach the disk image file
VBoxGuestAdditions.iso
to one of the available
virtual CD-ROM devices. The second method is to use the VirtualBox graphical
console and choose Devices
Install Guest Additions from the guest console win-
dow. If the guest operating system does not automatically mount the media, this
step can be done manually from the guest.
Once the virtual media has been mounted, run the appropriate installer for
your guest platform. A reboot of the guest is required only if you are upgrading an
older version of the guest additions that are already installed. For a new installa-
tion, all that is required is to log out of the guest and log back in again to use the
Guest Additions.
Once installed, the Guest Additions provide several new features:
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Integrated keyboard and mouse.
The guest no longer requires a captive
keyboard and mouse. When the guest window receives focus, the keyboard
and mouse are automatically attached. When the window loses focus, they
are automatically released by the guest.
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Shared clipboard.
This feature allows a user to copy an object from an
application in one guest and paste it into another application on a totally
different guest, or even on the host system.
■
Resize guest display.
This feature enables the user to resize the guest
display. VirtualBox will notify the guest of the resolution changes, and the
drivers inside the guest will handle the changes.
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Seamless mode.
VirtualBox can hide the guest display background, only
displaying application windows on the host. When used with the shared clip-
board, this feature will hide the fact that applications are being run in virtual
machines. Instead, all applications appear to be running together in a single
environment—a uniquely integrated desktop experience.
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Time synchronization.
This feature keeps the guest clock synchronized
with that of the host, thereby avoiding the type of clock skewing that is com-
mon in virtualized environments.
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High-performance graphics.
If this feature is enabled in the Display
settings of the guest machine, VirtualBox will allow the guest operating
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