Tutorial: Setting up a local Ubuntu virtual machine
In this tutorial we will:
- install virtualization software
- create a virtual machine (VM)
- install Linux on the VM
- and finally assign an IP to the VM
We use the free virtualization software VirtualBox from Oracle. The software is available for Windows, OS X, Linux and Solaris.
The machine must provide a network bridge for the VM so that the virtualized server can communicate with the router. This also means that the VM is only accessible via the local network. Accessing the VM from outside the local network requires additional configuration. The router must forward requests on the required ports to the VM. The public IP address of the internet connection may also change. That's where techniques like Dynamic DNS usually help. A free provider, for example, is No-Ip. For now, this tutorial focuses on access through the local network. External access is beyond its scope.