Q:

Virtualization on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

We plan to introduce virtualization on our 64bit Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server so that we can run, in different VMs, a file server for our staff and some development machines for our IT team (code repository, continuous integration, VMs with different browsers/OS's for testing webapps, etc.).
We would like to find a virtualization solution that provides:

Snapshots: ability to revert to a previous state of the machine (useful before installing a system update, etc.);
Hot backups: ability to create a copy of a machine for safety purposes;
Easy of use: simple user interface to create snapshots, create/start/stop/delete VMs.

Which virtualisation solution (e.g., KVM, VirtualBox, Xen, Xen/XCP, etc.) would you recommend for such a setup?

A:

Oracle VirtualBox can do all those things very nicely. It has easy to create snapshots, the machine's hard drive is a portable file so you can back it up, and has an optional GUI. There are other options, but none are as crazily simple as VirtualBox. It's super powerful, but so easy with the GUI a kid can use it. There are also ways to remotely use the VMs built right in VBox. If I were you I would download it from the website vs installing from the repositories, that way you have the latest version.
For your particular use, you will need to forward the network ports:
http://www.howtogeek.com/122641/how-to-forward-ports-to-a-virtual-machine-and-use-it-as-a-server/
http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch06.html

