I wanted to test out a database system (VoltDB) that didn’t run on Windows, so I needed a way to run a Linux installation, although I had zero experience with running that OS. I decided to run it in a virtual machine on my test PC (I decided against a dual boot Windows/Linux system, because I use remote desktop to access the test PC). VoltDB requires a 64 bit operating system as well.
I chose to run Xubuntu, which is a variant of Ubuntu. Xubuntu was recommended since it doesn’t use the Unity desktop and would consume less resources, which would be important in a virtual environment.
So I ran into several issues with the install, so a few steps were necessary before installing the OS. First, my PC had virtualization disabled by default, I needed to go into the BIOS, under Performance => Virtualization and set that value to ‘On’.
Next, I downloaded Oracle VirtualBox (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads) to run the VM. Unfortunately, running the latest version (4.3.6) had a bug that wouldn’t allow me to run a 64 bit OS, so I chose an older version (4.2.14) to download.
Then I obtained the OS from http://xubuntu.org/getxubuntu/ , in my case getting the latest 64 bit LTS (Long Term Support) release (12.04). I got an ISO image to install.
In VirtualBox, select ‘New’ to create a new VM, on the following screens, I used these settings:
Name and OS: Name = ‘VoltDB’ : Type = ‘Linux’ : Version = ‘Ubuntu (64 bit)’
Memory Size: VoltDB needs a minimum of 4 GB, although you’ll get a warning if the setting is more than 2/3 of the available memory.
Hard Drive: ‘Create a virtual hard drive file’
Hard Drive File Type: VDI
Storage On Physical Drive: Dynamically Allocated
File Location And Size: Folder name and size of virtual drive – I used 20 GB as the size.

Select the newly created VM and ‘Settings’:
‘Storage’: Storage Tree – Controller: IDE – Click plus sign to add CD/DVD drive
‘Choose Disk’ – Navigate to ISO – OK
‘Network’: Adapter 1 – Change ‘Attached To’ to ‘Bridged Adapter’ – OK

Start the VM. After a minute or two to boot up, you’ll come to an install screen for the OS. Select the ‘Install Xubuntu’ option. Most of the setup is intuitive, I did select the ‘Enable Updates’ options, and for ‘Installation Type’ – ‘Erase Disk and Install’.
After completing, restart and then apply any updates.