Although Linux offers similar features and functions to Windows, it cannot substitute all software functions. If there is a critical piece of Windows software you need to use but prefer the Linux operating system, one solution is to run a virtual Windows machine. Several virtualization utilities are available commercially and as free open-source packages. You need to own a licensed copy of Windows on a physical disc or in image format to create a Windows virtual machine.
Difficulty: ChallengingInstructions1Use Oracle's VirtualBox, which is a free and easy virtualization package available for Linux, Windows and Mac OS X. VirtualBox comes with wizards to quickly set up a virtual machine for any operating system with virtual hard disks, additional devices, and various network configurations. You can mount disk images or use an existing optical drive to load the operating system.
2Install KVM if you are a power user. KVM is another popular open source virtualization tool. It is not as user friendly as VirtualBox and relies on the typical Linux method manual configurations through text files. However, KVM is powerful and there are extensions for graphically managing virtual machines. KVM can handle almost any guest operating system on most Linux distributions.
3Purchase commercial software. VMware and Citrix are both enterprise level virtualization applications. Virtualization is becoming more prevalent in server environments as developers create virtual servers on one physical server, making maintenance easier combined with a controlled environment. Oracle offers its own software, separate from VirtualBox, called OracleVM. Commercial packages overlap in features and offer more support than open source alternatives and may be easier to use than command line utilities like KVM.
Tips & WarningsNo matter your software preference, because of the prevalence of Windows in the operating system market, every virtualization program will support running Windows. The exact configuration will depend on what software package you are using, but Windows installations will be well documented. Check the website of your virtualization program for exact instructions. References VirtualBox KVM VMware Citrix Oracle VM