Virtualbox
Installation on Ubuntu
Virtualization in the host machine
Note that even the host machine is 64-bit, if the vT is not available/enabled in the BIOS, we cannot install 64-bit OS in the guest machine.
Virtual box guest addition
Install guest addition for virtualbox on Debian See the link [1]
virtual machine software benchmark
Trouble Shooting
virtualbox failed to create the host-only network
Virtualbox (*.deb) was downloaded from virtualbox website. However, when I want to create a host-only network, I have to execute
sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup sudo apt-get install dkms build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r)
This also solves the error "Kernel driver not installed (rc=-1908)".
Suppose we want to share some folder from host to guest. Assume in Virtualbox, we use "Downloads" as the folder name in Share Folders dialog.
Method 1: Use Auto-mount option built in VirtualBox. But I get a permission denied error. The reason is we have to add the current user to the group vboxsf.
sudo usermod -a -G vboxsf USERNAME # reboot is required # the shared folder is under /media/ with sf_ as prefix.
See http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/howto-linux-add-user-to-group/ for more examples of using usermod command.
Howtogeek.com provides another way to add user to vboxsf.
sudo adduser USERNAME vboxsf
We can then use id USERNAME to verify you are in the vboxsf group.
Method 2: We can use the following method to get an access to Downloads folder for this session only.
sudo mkdir /mnt/Downloads sudo mount -t vboxsf Downloads /media/downloads
Method 3: We can use the following method for permanent solution.
sudo nano /etc/fstab sudo mkdir /mnt/Downloads # Add a new line # Downloads /mnt/Downloads/ vboxsf defaults 0 0 sudo mount -a
PS: There is a bug in virtualbox 4.3.10 which results an error
mount: wrong fs type, bad option, bad superblock on hostshare,
missing codepage or helper program, or other error
In some cases useful info is found in syslog - try
dmesg | tail or so
The solution is to run
sudo rm /sbin/mount.vboxsf sudo ln -sf /usrs/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/VBoxGuestAdditions/mount.vboxsf /sbin/mount.vboxsf
Use VirtualBox
Increase the guest machine space
http://www.dedoimedo.com/computers/virtualbox-shrink-expand-disks.html
Different networks
See diagrams on https://blogs.oracle.com/fatbloke/entry/networking_in_virtualbox1
- NAT
- Bridge
- Host Only: Host can access guest, but not the other direction. Outside cannot access guests. Good for running a test web server.
- Internal Network: Guests can access each other but host still cannot access guests. This is good for testing when you need a separate, clean network, and you can create sophisticated internal networks with vm's that provide their own services to the internal network. (e.g. Active Directory, DHCP, etc).
Boot virtual machines from USB drives
http://www.howtogeek.com/187721/how-to-boot-from-a-usb-drive-in-virtualbox/
Seamless mode
If we want to run the app from guest machine on host machine (to hide the guest machine desktop) so the app looks like from the host machine, we can head to View->Switch to Seamless Mode in VirtualBox.
Clone vs Import/Export appliance
Clone will create a new VM directory (including *.vdi) on the same machine.
Import/Export appliance (*.ova) allows to transport the appliance to a new machine. The appliance will not be touched on the new machine. Note that the storage space cannot be adjust when we import an appliance.
vmware
apt-get update apt-get install build-essential module-assistant m-a prepare cd Downloads tar xzvf /media/cdrom0/VMwareTools-9.2.0-799703.tar.gz cd vmware-tools-distrib ./vmware-install.pl [Accept all default] shutdown -r now
Emulation vs virtualization
Virtualization allows users to configure virtual machines outfitted with similar hardware and processors as the host system, whereas emulation simulates different hardware and processor configurations in software.
Emulators are what allow you to run old Commodore 64 or NES games on a PC, for example.