VirtualBox < IT

IT Web>CommonlyUsedSoftware>VirtualBox (2009-09-18, AndrewPickford) (raw view)

---+ VirtualBox

VirtualBox is Sun's open source virtualization software. More information on the software itself can be found on the VirtualBox home page, http://www.virtualbox.org/. This twiki page describes the PPE group specific uses for VirtualBox, in particular how to install the prepackaged Scientific Linux virtual hosts.

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---+++ Installing VirtualBox

VirtualBox is installed by default on the newer E5400 laptops, otherwise download the installation binary from http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads, run it and click through the setup dialog boxes keeping the default options. 

---+++ Installing A Prepackaged Scientific Linux Virtual Machine

To import one of the prepackaged scientific linux virtual machines follow these steps:

   1. access the PPE Samba server by doing <code>Start->Run->\\ppesmb</code>, (this will allow the VirtualBox program to access the required virtual machine files)<br><br>
   1. start VirtualBox and select 'Import Appliance ...' from the File menu.<br><br>
   <img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/import_appliance.png" alt="import_appliance.png" width='773' height='583' /><br><br>
   1. select the appliance (prepackaged virtual machine) to import:<br><br>
   <img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/select_appliance.png" alt="select_appliance.png" width='561' height='417' /><br><br>
   <code>\\ppesmb\ppemgr01\virtualbox\SL48\SL48.ovf</code> for the SL4 virtual machine<br>
   <code>\\ppesmb\ppemgr01\virtualbox\SL53\SL53.ovf</code> for the SL5 virtual machine<br><br>
   1. the default appliance settings for the virtual machine are fine, just select <code>Import</code><br><br>
   <img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/appliance-import-settings.png" alt="appliance-import-settings.png" width='555' height='528' /><br><br>
   1. wait while the virtual machine is imported over the network (this copies 2-6 GB of data so will take time)<br><br>
   <img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/copying_appliance.png" alt="copying_appliance.png" width='437' height='127' /><br><br>
   1. to run the virtual machine once it is installed, select it and click 'Start':<br><br>
   <img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/sl53-appliance.png" alt="sl53-appliance.png" width='778' height='584' /><br><br>
   Note booting a virtual machine can take a few minutes. Scientific linux virtual machines can pause at early in the boot sequence at 'Red hat nash X.XX starting' for a minute or two.<br><br>

---+++ Shutting A Prepackaged Scientific Linux Virtual Machine Down

A virtual machine can be shutdown either from inside the virtual machine (using /sbin/shutdown as root) or by selecting <code>APCI Shutdown</code> from the <code>Machine</code> pull down menu on the virtual machine window.<br><br>
<img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/sl-vm-shutdown.png" alt="sl-vm-shutdown.png" width='808' height='676' />

---+++ Changing The Screen Resolution On A  Scientific Linux Virtual Machine

The following works on  SL5 only: start up the virtual machine and edit the file <code>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</code> by default the last section should be:

<verbatim>
Section "Screen"
        Identifier "Screen0"
        Device     "Videocard0"
        Monitor    "Monitor0"
        DefaultDepth     24
        SubSection "Display"
#                Modes "1440x900"
                Viewport   0 0
                Depth     24
        EndSubSection
EndSection
</verbatim>

uncomment the <code>Modes</code> line by removing the <code>#</code> and change the resolution as required. New laptops have a screen resolution of 1440x900, older laptops have 1280x1024 or 1024x768. After changing <code>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</code> reboot the virtual machine.

---+++ Accessing The Host Disc From The Scientific Linux Virtual Machine

Currently only the SL5 virtual machine is setup to access the host machine discs. This is enabled by:

   1. with the virtual machine off right click on the virtual machine in the VirtualBox listing and select the 'Settings' menu.<br><br>
   <img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/settings-menu.png" alt="settings-menu.png" width='561' height='417' /><br><br>
   1. from the settings menu select the 'shared folders' submenu.<br><br>
   <img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/shared-folders.png" alt="shared-folders.png" width='777' height='584' /><br><br>
   1. then add a shared folder, sharing the 'C:\Shared' folder and giving it the name 'Shared'<br><br>
   <img src="%ATTACHURLPATH%/add-share.png" alt="add-share.png" width='775' height='584' /><br><br>

Other shared folders with different names can of course be used, but the default SL5 virtual guest is setup to look for and used a shared folder called 'Shared'.

-- Main.AndrewPickford - 12 Aug 20009

Attachments

Topic attachments
I	Attachment	History	Action	Size	Date	Who
png	add-share.png	r1	manage	50.2 K	2009-09-18 - 14:20	AndrewPickford
png	appliance-import-settings.png	r1	manage	73.1 K	2009-08-13 - 13:33	AndrewPickford
png	copying_appliance.png	r1	manage	9.1 K	2009-08-13 - 13:35	AndrewPickford
png	import_appliance.png	r1	manage	54.5 K	2009-08-13 - 13:19	AndrewPickford
png	select_appliance.png	r1	manage	23.3 K	2009-08-13 - 13:26	AndrewPickford
png	settings-menu.png	r1	manage	51.9 K	2009-09-18 - 14:11	AndrewPickford
png	shared-folders.png	r1	manage	44.3 K	2009-09-18 - 14:17	AndrewPickford
png	sl-vm-shutdown.png	r1	manage	242.6 K	2009-08-13 - 13:51	AndrewPickford
png	sl53-appliance.png	r1	manage	46.1 K	2009-08-13 - 13:48	AndrewPickford

Topic revision: r7 - 2009-09-18 - AndrewPickford