In this article I’m going to show you how to download and install Ubuntu Desktop. And configure one of the Linux distributions called Ubuntu.
Basically two types of virtual machines that you can download the server and the desktop. I’m going to be showing you the desktop first.
How to download and install Ubuntu Desktop
let’s download Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is one of the Linux distributions so it’s the operating system that we’re going have in our Virtualbox. And effectively would have a virtual machine running the Linux operating system of Ubuntu distribution.
Difference between Desktop and Server
There are two server and desktop. The desktop pretty much is just similar to you having your windows 10 on your hp or dell or any brand of laptop that you have.
It’s the standard OS with your user interface where you can click, you can go to your folders, you can copy, you can use a mouse, you can fiddle around with it.
The main difference between the desktop and the server is. The server is optimized for production workload for your applications. So if you have developed an app or software or a website or anything like that.
You don’t host them on a desktop based operating system. You rather host them on a server-based operating system. Because it has been optimized for that.
Desktop operating system are not optimized to run for a month or years without having to reboot. But with server you can leave it running for the whole year without having need to rebuild.
You can leave it on for two years, three years. Imagine banks and big organizations that have systems that are always available 24/7 all year round.
You can imagine them running on the desktop computer it’ll be you know a mess so that’s one of the major differences between them.
The server being optimized for such workload because it doesn’t have a GUI. You don’t tend to right click or anything like that everything is terminal based. You have to run commands to do anything you want to do on it.
That’s one of the reasons why it’s more lightweight. It’s not as huge in size as you would have the desktop because desktop has colors and all of that.
How to Install Ubuntu
So we’re going to download and install Ubuntu Desktop and configure it. You yourself be able to see the difference between two. Lets go to Ubuntu official website.
You can just hit on the download button here and it’s just gonna start downloading. It’s about 1.9 gig in size.
Bring up my Virtualbox. You remember we downloaded Virtualbox on our previous article.
What you would have to do now is click on new and because it’s a Linux operating system.
With the type there you can just select “Linux”. And I will name this “ubuntuDesktop”. If you click on the “versions” you would see that there is Ubuntu 32-bit and 64-bit. If downloaded 64-bit then select Ubuntu (64-bit).
Click Continue
In this tab here it’s asking what memory size. Now a couple of things i want you to be aware of before you configure this. Be aware of the size of the setup of your system. If you have 16 gig of memory obviously you have enough to give so you can say maybe 2 gig.
Depending on how many other virtual machines you also want to create you might want to limit it. Just be aware I’ll just recommend it at 2 gig for the memory size.
Click Continue
Now here’s another thing similar to the memory is the hard disk. Just leave this as default “Create a virtual hard disk now”.
Click Create
VDI (virtualbox disk image) is what you want
Click Continue
And just put a fixed size it’s faster much faster.
Click Continue
Now this is where we would now have to select how much of storage do you want to give this virtual disk. So if your computer has uh let’s say 1 terabyte then you can take out of that and give in. my case.
I’m just going to select 10 gig and say i want to give this virtual box 10 gig out of 1 terabyte. So that’s basically what it means.
Click Create
And it will start creating Virtual Machine and you can see this on Virtualbox. We’re going to use it select “ubuntuDesktop” and click Settings.
Click on settings
Then click storage then you can see this disk here that is “empty”. Just click on it and to your right you’ll see disk.
click on “choose Virtual Optical Disk File so that is the iso file that we downloaded.
Select downloaded ISO file from your computer Files Manager.
No what you’re going to do is click on the arrow where you have to start and just select “normal start”. And you can have a nicer view of what’s going on.
All right so we have this and is asking us do you want to “Try Ubuntu” or you want to install it?. Well i’m going to select English and I want to install Ubuntu.
Here select keyboard language as per your need and click continue.
Here select “normal installation”, click continue.
Select “Erase disk and install Ubuntu”, so this disk is referring to that 10 gig that we gave to it. Not your host disk of this operating system.
Click Install Now
Select your location then click continue.
This is where you specify what names you want. fill your computer information.
Click Continue
It will start installing your Ubuntu Operating System.
All right installation complete you can hit the “Restart Now” button and this will complete the installation.
Ubuntu UI
There we go now we have our ubuntu completely installed and configured. Okay let me just take you through what the UI looks like.
If you click on this you would see the different applications show up.
There we go and it’s got a search bar where you can type whatever you want type. Type “terminal” it brings up the terminal. In terminal we’ll be able to do a lot of things. This is where we’ll be working most times.
Just like your windows 10 or windows 8 operating system it has a browser, it has its own word document
writer. I think it’s called labor office.
You can see amazon you know it’s just standard computer right but not a lot of people use this as a desktop based computer but it exists.
Some people use it they enjoy it some people don’t they use windows.
Ubuntu running on Virtual Machine
That’s it that’s pretty much everything you need to know about picking up an Ubuntu desktop virtual machine. If we open up our virtual machine we have “ubuntuDesktop” is running.
And that’s the only virtual machine we have now. So we’re gonna start adding all the virtual machines here.
We can increase the number of virtual machines we have in virtualbox and it’s completely out and different from your host computer. So it’s like you’re having a computer inside a computer.
All right so I hope this has been very informative for you.
