apache
jspωiki
G’day (anonymous guest)
User Preferences
Log in
Register a new user!
For full search, hit enter...
Recent Searches
VirtualBox
☰
View
Info
5
Version :
21
Date Modified :
23-Apr-2022 17:05
Author : Harry Metske
More Info...
Attachments
5
Reading time: 11.9 mins, 2708 words
Help
More...
SystemInfo
RecentChanges
You are about to restore version
21
. Click on “Save” to restore. You may also edit the page before restoring it.
Save
first
..
..
..
Help
Auto Suggest
Tab Completion (keyword+Tab)
Smart Typing Pairs
Live Preview
Side by Side Preview
plain
wysiwyg
Find & Replace
×
TUUT
Replace
Replace all
Match Case
RegExp
!!! VirtualBox [{TableOfContents }] [{Image src='virtualbox.png' align='center' link='http://www.virtualbox.org' }] !! Documentation See [http://www.virtualbox.org], attached the [user manual|VirtualBox/VirtualBoxUserManual.pdf] %%accordion %%tab-VBoxManage Here is an help output of the main command __ VBoxManage __ : {{{ VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Usage: VBoxManage [-v|--version] print version number and exit VBoxManage [-q|--nologo] ... suppress the logo VBoxManage list [--long|-l] vms|runningvms|ostypes|hostdvds|hostfloppies| bridgedifs|hostonlyifs|dhcpservers|hostinfo| hddbackends|hdds|dvds|floppies| usbhost|usbfilters|systemproperties VBoxManage showvminfo <uuid>|<name> [--details] [--statistics] [--machinereadable] VBoxManage registervm <filename> VBoxManage unregistervm <uuid>|<name> [--delete] VBoxManage createvm --name <name> [--ostype <ostype>] [--register] [--basefolder <path> | --settingsfile <path>] [--uuid <uuid>] VBoxManage modifyvm <uuid|name> [--name <name>] [--ostype <ostype>] [--memory <memorysize in MB>] [--vram <vramsize in MB>] [--acpi on|off] [--ioapic on|off] [--pae on|off] [--hwvirtex on|off] [--nestedpaging on|off] [--vtxvpid on|off] [--cpus <number>] [--monitorcount <number>] [--accelerate3d <on|off>] [--bioslogofadein on|off] [--bioslogofadeout on|off] [--bioslogodisplaytime <msec>] [--bioslogoimagepath <imagepath>] [--biosbootmenu disabled|menuonly|messageandmenu] [--biossystemtimeoffset <msec>] [--biospxedebug on|off] [--boot<1-4> none|floppy|dvd|disk|net>] [--hd<a|b|d> none|<uuid>|<filename>] [--idecontroller PIIX3|PIIX4] [--sata on|off] [--sataportcount <1-30>] [--sataport<1-30> none|<uuid>|<filename>] [--sataideemulation<1-4> <1-30>] [--scsi on|off] [--scsiport<1-16> none|<uuid>|<filename>] [--scsitype LsiLogic|BusLogic] [--dvd none|<uuid>|<filename>|host:<drive>] [--dvdpassthrough on|off] [--floppy disabled|empty|<uuid>| <filename>|host:<drive>] [--nic<1-N> none|null|nat|bridged|intnet|hostonly] [--nictype<1-N> Am79C970A|Am79C973| 82540EM|82543GC|82545EM] [--cableconnected<1-N> on|off] [--nictrace<1-N> on|off] [--nictracefile<1-N> <filename>] [--nicspeed<1-N> <kbps>] [--bridgeadapter<1-N> none|<devicename>] [--hostonlyadapter<1-N> none|<devicename>] [--intnet<1-N> <network name>] [--natnet<1-N> <network>|default] [--macaddress<1-N> auto|<mac>] [--uart<1-N> off|<I/O base> <IRQ>] [--uartmode<1-N> disconnected| server <pipe>| client <pipe>| file <file>| <devicename>] [--gueststatisticsinterval <seconds>] [--audio none|null|oss|alsa|pulse] [--audiocontroller ac97|sb16] [--clipboard disabled|hosttoguest|guesttohost| bidirectional] [--vrdp on|off] [--vrdpport default|<port>] [--vrdpaddress <host>] [--vrdpauthtype null|external|guest] [--vrdpmulticon on|off] [--vrdpreusecon on|off] [--usb on|off] [--usbehci on|off] [--snapshotfolder default|<path>] VBoxManage import <ovf> [--dry-run|-n] [more options] (run with -n to have options displayed for a particular OVF) VBoxManage export <machines> --output|-o <ovf> [--legacy09] [--vsys <number of virtual system>] [--product <product name>] [--producturl <product url>] [--vendor <vendor name>] [--vendorurl <vendor url>] [--version <version info>] [--eula <license text>] [--eulafile <filename>] VBoxManage startvm <uuid>|<name> [--type gui|sdl|vrdp|headless] VBoxManage controlvm <uuid>|<name> pause|resume|reset|poweroff|savestate| acpipowerbutton|acpisleepbutton| keyboardputscancode <hex> [<hex> ...]| injectnmi| setlinkstate<1-N> on|off | usbattach <uuid>|<address> | usbdetach <uuid>|<address> | dvdattach none|<uuid>|<filename>|host:<drive> | floppyattach none|<uuid>|<filename>|host:<drive> | vrdp on|off] | vrdpport default|<port>] | setvideomodehint <xres> <yres> <bpp> [display]| setcredentials <username> <password> <domain> [--allowlocallogon <yes|no>] VBoxManage discardstate <uuid>|<name> VBoxManage adoptstate <uuid>|<name> <state_file> VBoxManage snapshot <uuid>|<name> take <name> [--description <desc>] | discard <uuid>|<name> | discardcurrent --state|--all | edit <uuid>|<name>|--current [--name <name>] [--description <desc>] | showvminfo <uuid>|<name> VBoxManage openmedium disk|dvd|floppy <filename> [--type normal|immutable|writethrough] (disk only) VBoxManage closemedium disk|dvd|floppy <uuid>|<filename> VBoxManage showhdinfo <uuid>|<filename> VBoxManage createhd --filename <filename> --size <megabytes> [--format VDI|VMDK|VHD] (default: VDI) [--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX] [--type normal|writethrough] (default: normal) [--comment <comment>] [--remember] VBoxManage modifyhd <uuid>|<filename> [--type normal|writethrough|immutable] [--autoreset on|off] [--compact] VBoxManage clonehd <uuid>|<filename> <outputfile> [--format VDI|VMDK|VHD|RAW|<other>] [--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX] [--type normal|writethrough|immutable] [--remember] [--existing] VBoxManage convertfromraw <filename> <outputfile> [--format VDI|VMDK|VHD] [--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX] VBoxManage convertfromraw stdin <outputfile> <bytes> [--format VDI|VMDK|VHD] [--variant Standard,Fixed,Split2G,Stream,ESX] VBoxManage addiscsidisk --server <name>|<ip> --target <target> [--port <port>] [--lun <lun>] [--encodedlun <lun>] [--username <username>] [--password <password>] [--type normal|writethrough|immutable] [--comment <comment>] [--intnet] VBoxManage getextradata global|<uuid>|<name> <key>|enumerate VBoxManage setextradata global|<uuid>|<name> <key> [<value>] (no value deletes key) VBoxManage setproperty hdfolder default|<folder> | machinefolder default|<folder> | vrdpauthlibrary default|<library> | websrvauthlibrary default|null|<library> | loghistorycount <value> VBoxManage usbfilter add <index,0-N> --target <uuid>|<name>|global --name <string> --action ignore|hold (global filters only) [--active yes|no] (yes) [--vendorid <XXXX>] (null) [--productid <XXXX>] (null) [--revision <IIFF>] (null) [--manufacturer <string>] (null) [--product <string>] (null) [--remote yes|no] (null, VM filters only) [--serialnumber <string>] (null) [--maskedinterfaces <XXXXXXXX>] VBoxManage usbfilter modify <index,0-N> --target <uuid>|<name>|global [--name <string>] [--action ignore|hold] (global filters only) [--active yes|no] [--vendorid <XXXX>|""] [--productid <XXXX>|""] [--revision <IIFF>|""] [--manufacturer <string>|""] [--product <string>|""] [--remote yes|no] (null, VM filters only) [--serialnumber <string>|""] [--maskedinterfaces <XXXXXXXX>] VBoxManage usbfilter remove <index,0-N> --target <uuid>|<name>|global VBoxManage sharedfolder add <vmname>|<uuid> --name <name> --hostpath <hostpath> [--transient] [--readonly] VBoxManage sharedfolder remove <vmname>|<uuid> --name <name> [--transient] VBoxManage vmstatistics <vmname>|<uuid> [--reset] [--pattern <pattern>] [--descriptions] VBoxManage guestproperty get <vmname>|<uuid> <property> [--verbose] VBoxManage guestproperty set <vmname>|<uuid> <property> [<value> [--flags <flags>]] VBoxManage guestproperty enumerate <vmname>|<uuid> [--patterns <patterns>] VBoxManage guestproperty wait <vmname>|<uuid> <patterns> [--timeout <milliseconds>] [--fail-on-timeout] VBoxManage metrics list [*|host|<vmname> [<metric_list>]] (comma-separated) VBoxManage metrics setup [--period <seconds>] [--samples <count>] [--list] [*|host|<vmname> [<metric_list>]] VBoxManage metrics query [*|host|<vmname> [<metric_list>]] VBoxManage metrics collect [--period <seconds>] [--samples <count>] [--list] [--detach] [*|host|<vmname> [<metric_list>]] VBoxManage hostonlyif ipconfig <name> [--dhcp | --ip<ipv4> [--netmask<ipv4> (def: 255.255.255.0)] | --ipv6<ipv6> [--netmasklengthv6<length> (def: 64)]] VBoxManage dhcpserver add|modify --netname <network_name> | --ifname <hostonly_if_name> [--ip <ip_address> --netmask <network_mask> --lowerip <lower_ip> --upperip <upper_ip>] [--enable | --disable] VBoxManage dhcpserver remove --netname <network_name> | --ifname <hostonly_if_name> }}} %% !! Installation Download from [http://www.virtualbox.org/], version : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~ $ VBoxManage --version 3.0.8r53138 }}} Also install vboxgtk, a graphical interface for VirtualBox.\\ The main configuration command is __ VBoxManage __. !! Create Virtual Machine We want to create a virtual machine from a downloaded iso.\\ I first tried the smallest Linux I could find, tinycore (10 MB), and after that a CentOS live-CD, an Ubuntu 9.04 server and an Ubuntu 9.10 server CD. * First download the server iso, for example from [http://ftp.snt.utwente.nl/pub/linux/ubuntu-releases/jaunty/ubuntu-9.04-server-i386.iso] * startup ''VirtualBox'' (or the old vboxgtk) and register the CD image (manage VDI's) * then create a new VM, and associate it with the ISO, see \\ [{Image src='vboxgtk.png' align='left'}] \\ * or, better, use the cmdline: __'' VBoxManage createvm ''__ : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/vbox $ VBoxManage createvm --name ubuntu910 --register --ostype Ubuntu VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Virtual machine 'ubuntu910' is created and registered. UUID: 20b27023-e054-4a0a-9080-242dff36ca4b Settings file: '/home/metskem/.VirtualBox/Machines/ubuntu910/ubuntu910.xml' }}} * check your results with the ''__ VBoxManage list __'' command : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/vbox $ VBoxManage list vms VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. "tinycore01" {de160c79-0b97-4773-a4e1-3d4b610e3cbc} "CentOS54" {ce515eda-41c6-494a-b5b4-3bef38e624d2} "ubuntu904" {afa59426-fd8d-4bcf-ac4d-e5f385ffd70c} "ubuntu910" {20b27023-e054-4a0a-9080-242dff36ca4b} }}} * now alter several attributes of the VM with the ''__ VBoxManage modifyvm __'' command : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/bin $ vb modifyvm ubuntu910 --memory 255 --vram 1 --pae off --hwvirtex off --boot1 dvd --boot2 disk --hda /home/metskem/.VirtualBox/HardDisks/ubuntu910.vdi --dvd /home/metskem/Downloads/ubuntu-9.10-rc-server-i386.iso --nic1 bridged --bridgeadapter1 wlan0 --vrdp on --vrdp 10910 VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. }}} ** main memory is 255 MB ** graphics memory 1 MB ** pae (Physical Address Extensions) off ** no hardware virtualization ** bootorder, dvd first, disk second ** attach a vdi file that we will create later ** use bridged networking (most suitable for servers) ** use the host's wlan nic as bridgeadapter ** use the DVD (we need that to boot from the first time) ** if started headless (with VBoxHeadless cmd), use port 10910 * create a VDI hd with the ''__ VBoxManage createhd __'' command : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/.VirtualBox/HardDisks $ VBoxManage createhd --filename ubuntu910.vdi --size 2000 --format VDI --remember VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. 0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100% Disk image created. UUID: 496dd7fd-2bdb-4255-819b-04ba90cb77ab metskem@gneisenau ~/.VirtualBox/HardDisks $ ls -l total 1500192 -rw------- 1 metskem metskem 1536176640 2009-10-25 13:40 hd01 -rw------- 1 metskem metskem 8704 2009-10-25 13:41 ubuntu910.vdi }}} !! Starting the VM * now fire up the whole thing (you can use the vboxgtk for that) but I prefer cmdline, so : ''__ VBoxManage startvm ubuntu910 __'' (that name was given to this VM) {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/bin $ vb startvm ubuntu910 VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Waiting for the remote session to open... Remote session has been successfully opened. }}} \\This will show a popup and you can go on: [vboxrunning.png] !! Networking The manual (Chapter 6) has more information on this. I chose bridged networking, as this is most suitable for servers. You can choose a host adapter that acts as the bridge adapter. On the host this looks like : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/bin $ ip a 1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 16436 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00 inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo inet6 ::1/128 scope host valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever 2: eth0: <NO-CARRIER,BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state DOWN qlen 1000 link/ether 00:24:81:56:01:f9 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff 3: wmaster0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN qlen 1000 link/ieee802.11 00:22:fa:8f:fd:0a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff 4: wlan0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UP qlen 1000 link/ether 00:22:fa:8f:fd:0a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 10.0.0.164/24 brd 10.0.0.255 scope global wlan0 inet6 fe80::222:faff:fe8f:fd0a/64 scope link valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever 7: vboxnet0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN qlen 1000 link/ether 0a:00:27:00:00:00 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 10.0.2.2/8 brd 10.255.255.255 scope global vboxnet0 inet6 fe80::800:27ff:fe00:0/64 scope link valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever metskem@gneisenau ~/bin $ ifconfig vboxnet0 vboxnet0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 0a:00:27:00:00:00 inet addr:10.0.2.2 Bcast:10.255.255.255 Mask:255.0.0.0 inet6 addr: fe80::800:27ff:fe00:0/64 Scope:Link UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:292 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:0 (0.0 B) TX bytes:19247 (19.2 KB) metskem@gneisenau ~/bin $ ip r 10.0.0.0/24 dev wlan0 proto kernel scope link src 10.0.0.164 metric 2 10.0.2.0/24 via 10.0.2.2 dev vboxnet0 scope link 10.0.2.0/24 dev vboxnet0 scope link 169.254.0.0/16 dev wlan0 scope link metric 1000 default via 10.0.0.138 dev wlan0 proto static }}} On the VM (guest) it looks like this : {{{ root@ubuntu:/etc/init.d# ip a 1: lo: <LOOPBACK,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 16436 qdisc noqueue state UNKNOWN link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00 inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo inet6 ::1/128 scope host valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever 2: eth0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST,UP,LOWER_UP> mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN qlen 1000 link/ether 08:00:f5:1f:e9:04 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff inet 10.0.0.172/24 brd 10.0.0.255 scope global eth0 inet6 fe80::a00:f5ff:fe1f:e904/64 scope link valid_lft forever preferred_lft forever root@ubuntu:/etc/init.d# ifconfig eth0 eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 08:00:f5:1f:e9:04 inet addr:10.0.0.172 Bcast:10.0.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0 inet6 addr: fe80::a00:f5ff:fe1f:e904/64 Scope:Link UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:14721 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:14884 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 RX bytes:1074906 (1.0 MB) TX bytes:14917902 (14.9 MB) Interrupt:11 Base address:0xd020 root@ubuntu:/etc/init.d# ip r 10.0.0.0/24 dev eth0 proto kernel scope link src 10.0.0.172 default via 10.0.0.138 dev eth0 metric 100 }}} !! Shared Folders This feature is only available when you install the guest additions.\\ Once you defined a shared folder for a guest, you can access inside the guest with an NFS-like mount :\\ ''mount -t vboxsf SharedFolderDefault /tmp/ff'' . !! Guest properties This is also only available when guest additions have been installed.\\ You can assign (from the host) key/values to a guest , and after that you can read (and/or write) those values from within the guest. !! Snapshots TODO.............. !! Management of VM's Statistics from the GUI: [vboxstats.png] ! Setup statistics collection Use the __'' VBoxManage metrics setup ''__ command : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/bin $ VBoxManage metrics setup --period 10 --samples 600 ubuntu910 CPU/Load,RAM/Usage VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. }}} You can display the current collection settings with the ''__ VBoxManage metrics list ''__ command {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/bin $ vb metrics list ubuntu910 VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Object Metric Unit Minimum Maximum Period Count Description ---------- -------------------- ---- ---------- ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------- ubuntu910 CPU/Load/User % 0 100000 10 600 Percentage of processor time spent in user mode by VM process. ubuntu910 CPU/Load/User:avg % 0 100000 10 1 ubuntu910 CPU/Load/User:min % 0 100000 10 1 ubuntu910 CPU/Load/User:max % 0 100000 10 1 ubuntu910 CPU/Load/Kernel % 0 100000 10 600 Percentage of processor time spent in kernel mode by VM process. ubuntu910 CPU/Load/Kernel:avg % 0 100000 10 1 ubuntu910 CPU/Load/Kernel:min % 0 100000 10 1 ubuntu910 CPU/Load/Kernel:max % 0 100000 10 1 ubuntu910 RAM/Usage/Used kB 0 2147483647 10 600 Size of resident portion of VM process in memory. ubuntu910 RAM/Usage/Used:avg kB 0 2147483647 10 1 ubuntu910 RAM/Usage/Used:min kB 0 2147483647 10 1 ubuntu910 RAM/Usage/Used:max kB 0 2147483647 10 1 }}} ! Displaying statistics Use the ''__ VBoxManage metrics query __'' command to display usage stats : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/bin $ vb metrics query ubuntu910 VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 3.0.8 (C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc. All rights reserved. Object Metric Values ---------- -------------------- -------------------------------------------- ubuntu910 CPU/Load/User 0.22%, 0.09%, 0.15%, 0.30%, 0.20%, 0.15%, 0.36%, 0.09%, 0.30%, 0.15%, 0.15%, 0.40%, 0.25%, 0.35%, 0.20%, 0.22%, 0.40% ubuntu910 CPU/Load/User:avg 0.23% ubuntu910 CPU/Load/User:min 0.09% ubuntu910 CPU/Load/User:max 0.40% ubuntu910 CPU/Load/Kernel 0.18%, 0.09%, 0.15%, 0.35%, 0.30%, 0.25%, 0.27%, 0.09%, 0.20%, 0.20%, 0.10%, 0.20%, 0.15%, 0.20%, 0.30%, 0.18%, 0.25% ubuntu910 CPU/Load/Kernel:avg 0.20% ubuntu910 CPU/Load/Kernel:min 0.09% ubuntu910 CPU/Load/Kernel:max 0.35% ubuntu910 RAM/Usage/Used 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB, 136452 kB ubuntu910 RAM/Usage/Used:avg 136452 kB ubuntu910 RAM/Usage/Used:min 136452 kB ubuntu910 RAM/Usage/Used:max 136452 kB }}} !! Mass VM creation ! Preparing original mother system I created a fairly small Linux image with a DSL (Damn Small Linux) distro.\\ This guy runs with only 24M RAM.\\ The following was done to create this one : * download iso image * ''vb createvm --name dsl01 --register --ostype Linux'' * ''vb createhd --filename HardDisks/dsl01disk.vdi --size 250 --format VDI --remember'' * ''vb modifyvm dsl01 --memory 24 --vram 1 --pae off --hwvirtex off --boot1 dvd --boot2 disk --hda HardDisks/dsl01disk.vdi --dvd /home/metskem/Downloads/dsl.iso --nic1 bridged --bridgeadapter1 wlan0'' * give the VM a name that can be queried by the guest: ''vb guestproperty set dsl01 vmname dsl01 -flags RDONLYGUEST'' * __TODO__ to use this name in the guest, you first have to install the guest additions, see Chapter 4.3.1 ''Installing the Linux Guest Additions'' * start the vm with ''vb startvm dsl01'' * make sure the ssh daemon is started during boot so we can remote login, create symlink in /etc/rc5.d: S25ssh -> ../init.d/ssh * set password for user dsl * create the following script and create symlink in /etc/rc5.d: S22tellip -> ../init.d/tellip.sh : %%prettify {{{ IP=`ifconfig eth0|grep inet|awk '{ print $2}'|awk -F: '{print $2}'` wget -q -O - http://www.computerhok.nl/IAM:$IP }}} %% This tells us which machine is using which IP address. ! Cloning Now I want to clone this and create a whole lot of them (in a script). The following actions the have to be done (XX = sequencenumber) : * ''vb clonehd HardDisks/dsl01disk.vdi HardDisks/dslXXdisk.vdi --remember'' * ''vb createvm --name dslXX --register --ostype Linux'' * ''vb modifyvm dslXX --memory 24 --vram 1 --pae off --hwvirtex off --boot1 disk --hda HardDisks/dslXXdisk.vdi --nic1 bridged --bridgeadapter1 wlan0'' See the following simple script : %%prettify {{{ #!/bin/sh # # script to generate VBoxManage VMs # NUMVMS=$1 for N in `seq 2 $NUMVMS` do echo "Creating VM $N" VBoxManage clonehd HardDisks/dsl01disk.vdi HardDisks/dsl${N}disk.vdi --remember VBoxManage createvm --name dsl$N --register --ostype Linux VBoxManage modifyvm dsl$N --memory 24 --vram 1 --pae off --hwvirtex off --boot1 disk --hda HardDisks/dsl${N}disk.vdi --nic1 bridged --bridgeadapter1 wlan0 --vrdp on --vrdpport 100$N done echo "" echo "VirtualBox's known VMs :" echo " -------------------------------------------------------------" VBoxManage list vms echo "" echo "" echo "VirtualBox's known HDDs :" echo " -------------------------------------------------------------" VBoxManage list hdds }}} ! CPU Usage __Tickless kernel__ Running 5 dsl guests concurrently almost eats 50 % of the host system, I suspect that the non-tickless (2.4) kernel of DSL is the cause of that. So I did the same clone excercise with a brand new Ubuntu 9.10 (2.6.31 kernel), which has a tickless kernel (CONFIG_NO_HZ).\\ These guests run with 64 MB, 1 GB VDI file (680 MB hda for the guest, the rest is swap).\\ One [caveat with eth0 eth1|http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=20082] , I solved that by removing __ /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules __ __ CPU Affinity __ Another thing that is mentioned on the forums is that assigning cpu aff. to a process reduces CPU consumption of a guest.\\ Experimented this by running two identical guests for many hours, one with aff. (ubm1) and another one without aff. (ubm2), here are the start commands : {{{ taskset -c 0 VBoxManage startvm ubm1 --type headless VBoxManage startvm ubm2 --type headless }}} After a couple of hours, we look at the cpu time : {{{ metskem@gneisenau ~/Downloads $ ps -f -p 10591 10622 UID PID PPID C STIME TTY STAT TIME CMD metskem 10591 9922 0 Nov03 ? Sl 7:44 /usr/lib/virtualbox/VBoxHeadless --comment ubm1 --startvm 59034198-f98e-447d-896d-cd87cead96c2 --vrdp off metskem 10622 9922 0 Nov03 ? Sl 12:13 /usr/lib/virtualbox/VBoxHeadless --comment ubm2 --startvm 108de229-caef-4fb8-b4bf-973155c945d1 --vrdp off }}} As you can see, this makes quite a difference, 464 seconds versus 733 seconds (__ 37 % less CPU usage __) !! Nice and Handy to know * Use 'Right Ctrl' (the host key) key to capture the mouse/keyboard again * show VM info with __'' VBoxManage showvminfo <vmname> ''__ * start your VM's with ''VBoxHeadless --startvm ubuntu910 --vrdp=config'', this way you don't need X on the host, and you still have console access via rdesktop, the vrdp config is read from the configxml (port is important if you run multiple guests)
Recent Changes
Find pages
Page Index
SystemInfo
Harry's PGP key
