Virtualization platform including VMWare ESXI, Virtualbox

This course teaches students the fundamental skills required to set up and manage virtual machines in a variety of scenarios. Whether the goal is to create a small lab environment for practice, to prepare a devops-style setup for automation testing, or simply to experiment with different software stacks, the course provides a structured pathway. By the end, learners will be comfortable deploying and interacting with virtual machines across multiple operating systems, gaining both conceptual understanding and hands-on experience.

The curriculum begins by introducing the concept of virtualization and explaining why it is such an important tool in modern computing. It then details the role of the hypervisor, the key piece of software that makes virtualization possible. Different types of hypervisors—Type 1 (bare-metal) and Type 2 (hosted)—are compared, with guidance on when each is appropriate. Students receive recommendations for suitable environments depending on their learning objectives, available hardware, and target use cases.

From there, the course dives into the installation and configuration steps needed to create guest operating systems. Detailed walkthroughs are provided for popular platforms such as Oracle VirtualBox, VMware Workstation, and VMware Fusion. The course also includes modules on configuring WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux) and introduces peripheral virtualization technologies, ensuring students are aware of advanced solutions like KVM, Parallels, and other modern alternatives.