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<!DOCTYPE topic PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Topic//EN" "topic.dtd">
<topic xml:lang="en-us" id="ct_working-with-vms">
  <title>Working with Virtual Machines</title>
  <body>
    <p>This chapter provides detailed steps for configuring an <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> virtual machine (VM). For an introduction to <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> and steps to get your first virtual machine running, see <xref href="Introduction.dita"/>.</p>
    <p>You have considerable latitude when deciding what virtual hardware to provide to the guest. Use virtual hardware to communicate with the host system or with other guests. For example, you can use virtual hardware in the following ways: </p>
    <ul>
      <li>
        <p>Have <ph conkeyref="vbox-conkeyref-phrases/product-name"/> present an ISO CD-ROM image to a guest system as if it were a physical CD-ROM. </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p>Provide a guest system access to the physical network through its virtual network card. </p>
      </li>
      <li>
        <p>Provide the host system, other guests, and computers on the Internet access to the guest system. </p>
      </li>
    </ul>
  </body>
</topic>
