With its free virtualization software, VirtualBox, Sun Microsystems includes a set of development tools for third-party developers. The VirtualBox Software Development Kit (SDK) provides developers with all the documentation and interface files that are needed to write code that interacts with VirtualBox. VirtualBox SDK 2.1.4 Build 42893 is a maintenance update addressing the changes included with the latest version of VirtualBox.

"Virtual desktops, such as those provided by the xVM VirtualBox software, are the future of business desktops because they are more flexible, manageable and secure than traditional PC architectures," said Steve Wilson, vice president, xVM, Sun Microsystems. "Enterprises will be thrilled with the xVM VirtualBox platform because it provides them an easier way to deliver a standard operating environment across their enterprises."

Sun Microsystems' xVM VirtualBox software lets users create virtual machines in which they can install their operating system of choice. The solution is similar to those advertised and sold by VMware (VMware Fusion), or Parallels (Parallels Desktop). VirtualBox is a feature rich, high performance product for enterprise customers, which (as surprising as it may sound) is freely available as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License (GPL).

The latest version of the software fixes guru meditation on Mac OS X hosts when using VT-x, fixes VERR_ADDRESS_TOO_BIG error on some Mac OS X systems when starting a VM, and adds significant performance improvements when using VT-x/AMD-V on Mac OS X hosts. As far as X11 additions are concerned, Sun has thought up a workaround in the mouse driver for a server crash when the driver is loaded manually.

Exclusive Mac OS X host changes include: save the state of running or paused VMs when the host machine’s battery reaches critical level; improved window resizing of the VM window; added GUI option to disable the dock icon realtime preview in the GUI to decrease the host CPU load when the guest is doing 3D; polished realtime preview dock icon.

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Download VirtualBox SDK (Free)