--- title: 'My VirtualBox Collection: 37 VMs Covering Security, Networking and Every Linux Distro I Could Find' url: 'http://itlad.uk/blog/my-virtualbox-vm-collection' markdown: 'http://itlad.uk/blog/my-virtualbox-vm-collection.md' date: '2026-06-09' description: 'My VirtualBox VM collection — 37 virtual machines covering Kali, ParrotOS, pfSense, OPNsense, TrueNAS, macOS, Whonix, Wazuh and more than a dozen Linux distros.' taxonomy: category: - homelab tag: - virtualbox - vms - linux - security - networking - homelab --- [ Home ](http://itlad.uk/) [ Blog ](http://itlad.uk/blog) My VirtualBox Collection: 37 VMs Covering Security, Networking and Every Linux Distro I Could Find # [My VirtualBox Collection: 37 VMs Covering Security, Networking and Every Linux Distro I Could Find](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-virtualbox-vm-collection) By [IT Lad](http://itlad.uk/about) 9 Jun 2026 [virtualbox](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:virtualbox#body-wrapper) [vms](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:vms#body-wrapper) [linux](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:linux#body-wrapper) [security](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:security#body-wrapper) [networking](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:networking#body-wrapper) [homelab](http://itlad.uk/blog/tag:homelab#body-wrapper) VirtualBox runs alongside Hyper-V on the same laptop using VirtualBox 7's Hyper-V backend. All 37 VMs sit on 2TB of NVMe and a 9.3TB external drive for the larger images. I group them by what they're actually for. ## Security and Penetration Testing **Kali Linux** — 8GB RAM, 2 CPUs. The standard penetration testing distro. Full tool suite pre-installed. I keep a clean snapshot and reset to it after each lab session. **Parrot Security** — 8GB RAM, 4 CPUs. A Kali alternative with a lighter desktop and a reputation for being more stable in day-to-day use. I run both because some tools behave differently between the two. **Parrot Home** — 4GB RAM, 4 CPUs. The desktop variant without the full pen-test suite. Useful as a general-purpose Linux environment with good privacy defaults. **BlackArch** — 4GB RAM, 2 CPUs. Arch-based security distro with a larger tool repository than Kali. Slower to set up, more targeted tools available. **Tails** — 4GB RAM, 2 CPUs. Amnesic OS built for privacy. Boots from RAM, leaves nothing on disk. I test Tails in a VM for workflow validation before recommending it to people who actually need it. **Whonix Gateway + Whonix Workstation + Whonix** — the full Whonix setup. The Gateway VM routes all traffic through Tor. The Workstation connects to the internet only through the Gateway. A clean two-VM architecture for anonymised research. ## Networking and Firewalls **pfSense** — 1GB RAM, 2 CPUs. The firewall I wrote about [comparing to OPNsense](http://itlad.uk/blog/pfsense-vs-opnsense-2026). Running it as a VM lets me test rule changes without risking the production network. **OPNsense** — 256MB RAM, 1 CPU. My recommended firewall for new builds. Minimal RAM allocation because I'm testing config, not pushing real traffic through it. **RouterOS** — 4GB RAM, 4 CPUs. MikroTik's OS for testing CHR (Cloud Hosted Router) configurations. RouterOS logic differs enough from other firewall platforms that hands-on testing saves time later. **OpenWrt** — 256MB RAM, 1 CPU. Embedded router OS. I test package installations and custom configs here before flashing real hardware. **Kemp LoadMaster VLM** — 2GB RAM, 2 CPUs. Kemp's virtual load balancer. Pairs with my IIS cluster in Hyper-V for end-to-end load balancing lab work. ## Servers and Infrastructure **TrueNAS** — 2GB RAM, 2 CPUs. ZFS storage testing. I validate pool configurations and scrub behaviour here before making changes on real NAS hardware. **OpenMediaVault** — 2GB RAM, 2 CPUs. Debian-based NAS OS. A simpler alternative to TrueNAS for smaller deployments. **Home Assistant** — 4GB RAM, 1 CPU. Home automation testing environment. **Wazuh** and **Wazuh v4.8.2 OVA** — 8GB RAM, 4 CPUs each. Two Wazuh SIEM instances. One tracks the current stable release, the other is the official OVA for comparison. Covered in the [cybersecurity homelab guide](http://itlad.uk/blog/cybersecurity-homelab-getting-started). **Raspberry Pi OS Pi 5** — 8GB RAM, 2 CPUs. Testing Pi 5 software configurations before deploying to physical hardware. **StartOS** — 4GB RAM, 2 CPUs. A privacy-focused self-hosting OS. I keep this for evaluating its app ecosystem. ## Linux Distros The collection grew organically. Some I evaluated for specific use cases, others I installed to answer questions clients or colleagues asked. | VM | RAM | Use | |---|---|---| | Ubuntu | 8GB | General baseline | | Kubuntu | 4GB | KDE desktop evaluation | | Xubuntu | 4GB | Lightweight XFCE builds | | Ubuntu-MATE | 4GB | MATE desktop | | ZorinOS | 6GB | Windows-to-Linux migration demos | | ElementaryOS | 8GB | macOS-style UX evaluation | | POP OS | 4GB | NVIDIA driver handling | | Wubuntu | 4GB | Windows 11 visual style | | Raspbian | 4GB | Pi software testing | | Slax | 4GB | Minimal live system | | PuppyLinux BionicPup | 2GB | Ultra-lightweight builds | ## Unusual Ones **MacOS and MacOS Catalina 10.15.5** — 9GB and 8GB RAM respectively. Running macOS in VirtualBox requires specific patches. I keep these for testing software that only runs on macOS, and for demystifying Apple hardware to Windows-only colleagues. **Android** — 8GB RAM, 4 CPUs. x86 Android image for mobile app testing without a physical device. **ReactOS** — 4GB RAM, 2 CPUs. An open-source Windows-compatible OS. Interesting for understanding the NT architecture and testing legacy Windows software compatibility. **AtlasOS** — 8GB RAM, 4 CPUs. A debloated Windows 7 build designed for performance. Useful for testing legacy software that refuses to run on anything newer. **Tiny11** — 4GB RAM, 2 CPUs. A stripped-down Windows 11 image that runs in about 2GB RAM. Worth knowing about for low-spec deployments. [A USB drive fast enough to run VMs from](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=samsung%2Bt7%2Bportable%2Bssd%2B2tb&tag=itlad-21) makes rotating through these images much easier when the NVMe is full. --- *As an Amazon Associate, IT Lad earns from qualifying purchases made through links on this page. [Read the full affiliate disclosure](http://itlad.uk/affiliate-disclosure).* [ Previous Post](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-hyper-v-lab) [Next Post ](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-docker-stack) #### Syndicate [ Atom 1.0](http://itlad.uk/blog.atom) [ RSS](http://itlad.uk/blog.rss) --- ## Navigation - Parent: [Blog](http://itlad.uk/blog.md) - Previous: [My Docker Stack: 12 Containers Running on a Laptop](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-docker-stack.md) - Next: [My Hyper-V Lab: 12 Enterprise VMs on a Laptop](http://itlad.uk/blog/my-hyper-v-lab.md)