Setting Up Your First Windows Server Homelab with VirtualBox
Allocate at least 50 GB . Using "Dynamically Allocated" storage is a pro tip—it only uses space on your physical drive as you actually fill it up inside the VM. 3. The Installation Process
Click the empty optical drive icon and select to point to your downloaded ISO. Start the VM and follow the Windows prompts. Windows Server Original.vbox
Here is how to take your .vbox configuration from a blank slate to a fully functional server. 1. Gather Your Installation Media
Windows Server 2022 is the current standard, but 2019 and the upcoming 2025 are also popular for labs. 2. Create the Virtual Machine Container Launch VirtualBox and click New to start the wizard: Name: Give it a clear name like Windows_Server_2022_Lab . Setting Up Your First Windows Server Homelab with
Windows Server is resource-hungry. Assign at least 4 GB of RAM and 2 CPU cores to keep things snappy.
Select Microsoft Windows and the corresponding 64-bit version. The Installation Process Click the empty optical drive
If you’re diving into the world of IT administration or just want a safe sandbox to test enterprise features, building a Windows Server virtual machine (VM) is the perfect starting point. Using Oracle VM VirtualBox , you can run a full-scale server environment right on your laptop without messing with your primary OS.