Virt‑Manager vs VirtualBox: Why I Switched for Linux VMs

Summary of the Article: Switching from VirtualBox to KVM/Virt-Manager

This article discusses the author’s repeated frustrations with VirtualBox and their decision to switch to a combination of KVM and Virt-Manager for virtual machine management on Linux.

Here’s a breakdown of the key points:

* VirtualBox Issues: The author consistently experiences problems with VirtualBox requiring frequent uninstalls and reinstalls, often with unhelpful error messages.
* KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine): KVM is a virtualization technology already built into the Linux kernel,leveraging hardware virtualization for near-native performance. It doesn’t need to be installed separately.
* Virt-Manager: This is a GUI (graphical user interface) that simplifies managing virtual machines using KVM through libvirt.While not the most modern-looking, it’s much easier than using the command line.
* Red Hat & Cockpit: Red Hat has deprecated Virt-Manager in favor of Cockpit for their RHEL distribution, but this doesn’t affect most users. the author finds Cockpit less user-friendly for VM management.
* Ease of Use Comparison:
* VirtualBox: Simple when it works, but can become confusing and frustrating when troubleshooting.
* Virt-Manager: Has a learning curve, particularly with “storage pools” (defining where VMs are stored). The author finds storage pools necessary for managing a large number of VMs, but initially cumbersome to set up.

In essence, the author argues that while VirtualBox is initially easier to use, KVM/Virt-Manager offers greater reliability and performance due to its integration with the Linux kernel, despite a slightly steeper learning curve.