I open the terminal within Ubuntu and install some basics:

(Note that sometimes, in these tutorials, the VM - in my case, Ubuntu - is called the 'guest' OS, while the OS within which it's run - in my case, Windows Server - is called the 'host' OS.) Now that that's all set up, I head back inside the VM.

I make a note of the IPv4 address (it should be something like 192.168._.1) and check 'Enable' under 'DHCP Server' in the right-most column. I click on 'Global Tools' at the top-right of the VirtualBox screen:Īnd click 'Properties' in the menubar to open the Properties tabs at the bottom of the screen: I know I'll need to do this later to SSH in, so while it's rebooting, I set up a network adapter in VirtualBox. I installed Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS on VirtualBox, choosing a 'minimal installation' and allowing the installer to 'download updates while installing Ubuntu'. If you want to know how I manage all sorts of JVM languages, deal with multiple Python versions, easily install Hadoop and Spark, and keep my $PATH sensible, read on!

One thing which was particularly difficult to set up was the SSH connection between MobaXTerm (running on a Windows 7 machine on our company's subnetwork, part of a nearby university's network) and the Ubuntu VM running on the Windows Server machine (which is actually behind a firewall on the university's network, and which forwards a port to the Windows Server machine to allow SSH connections through). After a few tries, I managed to install everything the way I wanted. We recently got a new Windows Server machine at work and I wanted to install an Ubuntu VM within it.

Ubuntu vm on windows 10