Beforehand, it must be known the ID of the guest OS type.
Except for storage configuration, most resources are initially preset.
Certain values intialy preset are usually insufficient, for example, memory.
List possible guest OS type IDs, if not already known:
$ VBoxManage list ostypes | grep ID | sed 's/ID: *\(.*\)/\1/'
Define the virtual machine, preferably specifying a "custom" base folder.
By default, the "custom" base folder will be created inside ~/.VirtualBox.
$ VBoxManage createvm
--name "vm1"
--ostype "Solaris11_64"
--basefolder "VM"
--register
Adjust memory, cpu, and boot order:
$ VBoxManage modifyvm vm1
--memory 1536 --cpus 2
--boot1 net
--boot2 dvd
--boot3 disk
--boot4 none
Adjust BIOS options for faster reboots:
$ VBoxManage modifyvm vm1
--bioslogodisplaytime 0
--bioslogofadein off
--bioslogofadeout off
NOTE
This note, as of 2013/2014, appears to be relevant.
It seem to be related to NIS & logins - troubleshooting #1.
It's about the Using ZFS Storage Pools in VirtualBox.
Bottom line do the following extra step:
$ VBoxManage setextradata vm1
"VBoxInternal/Devices/ahci/0/LUN0/Config/IgnoreFlush" 0
NOTE
Later on, after performing the basic installation of the client-OS, if available, install the corresponding Guest Additions.
