Okay, The main purpose is to LEARN about virtualization and play around with it. However,I have a problem of determining which is best for a HEADLESS server. I want to run several Linux distributions as guests and of cause Windows guests as well.

On a Side Note: This is not the first time I am going use virtualization. For more than 3 years I have been using VMWare Workstation and VirtualBox to run guest VMs

However, now I want to run VMs/VEs in a headless server as they do in industry. I know, in industry there are lot of advanced technologies are being used but, still I want to try them in SMALL-SCALE. As I mentioned before, this is purely for educational purposes.

If you’re wondering what kind of system that I am going to use as my host, here are some details:

Intel processor that supports hardware virtualization (Intel-VT)
8GB RAM
More than enough Hard disk space (~1TB)

THEREFORE, CAN YOU GUYS GIVE SOME SUGGESTIONS / LINKS TO TUTORIALS etc. Your ideas/help is very much appreciated.

Thank you in advanced.

P.S. I installed VMWare vSphere Hypervisor on my "host" and later noticed that it uses just over 1GB of my RAM just to run hypervisor. It is not an efficient solution for me because I have only 8GB RAM in my machine. Typical Linux Headless server only uses ~300MB RAM just to run. So, I prefer Linux Server. In fact I love FOSS

I plan on building my own computer some day, and want to know about the fastest [and also the most compatible] processor there is, and how much it costs. I plan on using this computer for what I use my laptop for: hardware virtualization [for programs such as Windows Virtual PC and Oracle VirtualBox,] gaming, and running x86 and x64 programs and operating systems [I choose a x64 host OS.] Any suggestions? Tell me about them!
I also want to know about the best video card and hard drive.

I’m trying to run a virtualization program on my Macbook to run Windows Vista (or maybe XP, if necessary). I’m broke, and I’m looking for a way to get the standalone version of the OS from the internet. I’m also looking for a way to get VMware or Parallels for free, because I heard that Virtualbox is horrible compared to them.
Any help?

Anything besides virtualbox or Virtual PC. Thanks in advance.

want to have virtual machine access host hard disk(s). Are there any vitrual machine apps that allow this (tried virtualbox, but it doesnt)