VirtualBox for Mac is an open-source virtual machine software designed for the macOS platform. This software enables users to run applications from Windows, Mac, Linux, and Solaris platforms on macOS. With powerful functionality, the VirtualBox Mac client can simultaneously run multiple operating systems within several virtual machines, effectively mitigating, to some extent, the disadvantage of limited software availability on the macOS platform.
Developed by the German company Innotek and originally released by Sun Microsystems, the software was officially renamed Oracle VM VirtualBox after Sun was acquired by Oracle. Innotek released VirtualBox under the GNU General Public License (GPL), providing both binary versions and open-source edition (OSE) source code. Users can install and run operating systems such as Solaris, Windows, DOS, Linux, OS/2 Warp, and BSD as guest operating systems within VirtualBox.
Features of VirtualBox for Mac
• USB Device Support. VirtualBox implements a virtual USB controller and allows you to connect any USB device to a virtual machine without installing device-specific drivers on the host system. USB support is not limited to certain device categories.
• Hardware Compatibility. VirtualBox virtualizes a wide range of devices commonly found in other virtualization platforms. These include IDE, SCSI, and SATA hard disk controllers, multiple virtual network cards and sound cards, virtual serial and parallel ports, and the advanced programmable interrupt controller (I/O APIC) found in modern PC systems. This simplifies cloning PC images from physical machines and importing third-party virtual machines into VirtualBox.
• Full ACPI Support. VirtualBox provides complete support for the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI). This facilitates the cloning of PC images from physical machines or other virtualization platforms into VirtualBox. Thanks to its unique support for ACPI power states, VirtualBox can even report the host system's power status to ACPI-aware guest operating systems. On mobile systems running on battery, guest systems can implement power-saving features and notify users of remaining battery life (e.g., in full-screen mode).
• Multi-Screen Resolution. VirtualBox virtual machines support screen resolutions that are multiples of the physical screen size, allowing the display to span across multiple monitors connected to the host system.
• Built-in iSCSI Support. This unique feature allows you to connect virtual machines directly to iSCSI storage servers without routing through the host system. The VM accesses the iSCSI target directly, eliminating the overhead associated with virtualizing hard disks within container files.
• PXE Network Boot. VirtualBox's integrated virtual network card fully supports remote booting via the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE).