running linux server headless in VirtualBox

For tests I use a simple arch linux installation with out X installed. This saves quite some RAM. But I had still the Window of the VM, that I was not using. Instead I used multiple ssh logins with different sized terminal windows.

There should be a way to run the VM headless, like the real server. A search brought me to this description on running a VirtualBox headless and using a RDP or SSH connection.

For me this boils down to:

1. list the available VMs: VBoxManage list vms
2. start the VM: VBoxManage startvm arch --type headless
3. connect as usual: ssh user@address
4. and switch off the VM after a shutdown: VBoxManage controlvm arch poweroff