Ubuntu as Host server without XServer?

Question

I have Dell PowerEdge 2950 on which I want to setup Ubuntu as the host OS, then use VirtualBox for running multiple Guest OSes like Windows 7, XP, Ubuntu etc... I want to reduce the resources that the host OS uses so is it possible to run the Host Ubuntu OS without the XServer UI? and yet run the guest in full UI mode?

Answer 1

No, it is not. It is the host that displays the windows for each of the guests. Without that, which guest would you see, and how would you switch between them?

Answer 2

Yes that should work fine. If I understand correctly, what you're referring to is also referred to as a "headless" setup.

While any VM started from the VirtualBox Manager is capable of running virtual machines remotely, it is not convenient to have to run the full-fledged GUI if you never want to have VMs displayed locally in the first place. In particular, if you are running server hardware whose only purpose is to host VMs, and all your VMs are supposed to run remotely over VRDP, then it is pointless to have a graphical user interface on the server at all -- especially since, on a Linux or Solaris host, the VirtualBox manager comes with dependencies on the Qt and SDL libraries. This is inconvenient if you would rather not have the X Window system on your server at all.

Obviously, you won't have any option to see the display contents of your VMs on the host (or at least that's what I assume).