[opensuse] virtual box question
Hello SuSE people, I presently multiboot 4 separate os's. I've been thinking about installing virtualbox to see how it works but I know little about it. One of my questions is: Where and what does the host do with the guest files? Should I have a separate dedicated partition for it? How much space is needed? I've googled a little bit but have not come up with any specific answers. Bob S -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Hello SuSE people,
I presently multiboot 4 separate os's. I've been thinking about installing virtualbox to see how it works but I know little about it. One of my questions is:
Where and what does the host do with the guest files? Should I have a separate dedicated partition for it? How much space is needed? I've googled a little bit but have not come up with any specific answers.
Bob S
The guest file is a virtual disk, and there can be more than one for a particular virtual machine. The size of the file depends entirely on your use case; it can be pre-allocated or it can be defined as "dynamic" which means the file size will be only what is required to hold what is installed on it, and it will subsequently expand to accomodate data/sw as added. There is a small performance penalty using a dynamic file. The OS being installed will see the file simply like any other raw disk. Also bear in mind that with the "shared folder" feature, you can use your regular hard disk for data accessed by both the host and the guest. IIRC there may also now be a feature to use actual hard disk rather than a virtual disk file, but I haven't used that. I've built a lot of vm's and have never seen a need for doing so, nor for a dedicated partition. YMMV. Take a look at the VBox manual, it's quite thorough. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Wed, Aug 4, 2010 at 05:32, dwgallien wrote:
I presently multiboot 4 separate os's. I've been thinking about installing virtualbox to see how it works but I know little about it. One of my questions is:
Where and what does the host do with the guest files? Should I have a separate dedicated partition for it? How much space is needed? I've googled a little bit but have not come up with any specific answers.
Bob S
The guest file is a virtual disk, and there can be more than one for a particular virtual machine. The size of the file depends entirely on your use case; it can be pre-allocated or it can be defined as "dynamic" which means the file size will be only what is required to hold what is installed on it, and it will subsequently expand to accomodate data/sw as added.
Just a bit more on this.... The default for most installed Linux guests is 8GB... if you use the dynamic allocation, you only use up as much as the OS needs up to a max of 8GB, or whatever you set as the disk size. Once it hits that limit, it doesn't grow any more. I've never used more than this... in fact most of my Linux guest installs rarely go above 1.5GB. As for a dedicated partition... I agree with dwgallien... there is no need. The VM is just a file. I store all mine in my /home/$USER. C. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Wednesday 04 August 2010 00:28:14 C wrote:
As for a dedicated partition... I agree with dwgallien... there is no need.
So far I recall you can use already installed systems that reside on own partitions with Vbox, which will save some disc space and time to install them again. http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch05.html "3. Finally, as an experimental feature, you can allow a virtual machine to access one of your host disks directly;" http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#rawdisk I would test this on some system (partition) that is already slated for removal, so if something goes wrong there is no real damage. -- Regards, Rajko -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
* Rajko M. <rmatov101@charter.net> [08-07-10 12:20]:
On Wednesday 04 August 2010 00:28:14 C wrote:
As for a dedicated partition... I agree with dwgallien... there is no need.
So far I recall you can use already installed systems that reside on own partitions with Vbox, which will save some disc space and time to install them again.
http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch05.html "3. Finally, as an experimental feature, you can allow a virtual machine to access one of your host disks directly;"
http://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09.html#rawdisk
I would test this on some system (partition) that is already slated for removal, so if something goes wrong there is no real damage.
I am playing with this, new to *any* virtual operating systems aside vnc. I have 11.3 installed in VBox on 11.2. I can access my local to 11.2 directories using "mount.vboxsf ..." and added the mount commands to /etc/init.d/after.local as I could not get them to automagically mount with fstab. They are mounted with I start a new session/reboot the VBox. I cannot get 64-bit system in VBox, I guess because my processor is not capable. -- Patrick Shanahan Plainfield, Indiana, USA HOG # US1244711 http://wahoo.no-ip.org Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2 Registered Linux User #207535 @ http://counter.li.org -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 18:27, Patrick Shanahan wrote:
I cannot get 64-bit system in VBox, I guess because my processor is not capable.
You can only install 64 bit guest OSes on a 64 bit host OS running on a 64 bit CPU... if there's a 32 bit anything in that chain... no 64 bit guest :-) C. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
* C <smaug42@gmail.com> [08-07-10 15:15]:
On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 18:27, Patrick Shanahan wrote:
I cannot get 64-bit system in VBox, I guess because my processor is not capable.
You can only install 64 bit guest OSes on a 64 bit host OS running on a 64 bit CPU... if there's a 32 bit anything in that chain... no 64 bit guest :-)
uname -a Linux wahoo 2.6.35-rc6-16-default #1 SMP 2010-08-02 14:39:22 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux But *something* reports that VBox "cannot run 64-bin system on 32-bit hardware", or something similar, iirc. -- Patrick Shanahan Plainfield, Indiana, USA HOG # US1244711 http://wahoo.no-ip.org Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2 Registered Linux User #207535 @ http://counter.li.org -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 22:18, Patrick Shanahan wrote:
uname -a Linux wahoo 2.6.35-rc6-16-default #1 SMP 2010-08-02 14:39:22 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
But *something* reports that VBox "cannot run 64-bin system on 32-bit hardware", or something similar, iirc.
Which VBox are you running? rpm -qa VirtualBox* VirtualBox-3.2-3.2.6_63112_openSUSE113-1.x86_64 (this is the one from the VBox website, not the repo version) Did you by any chance accidentally install the 32 bit VirtualBox? That's all that immediately comes to mind. I've got both 32 and 64 bit guests installed in mine, and my kernel is essentially the same as yours.... uname -a Linux numpty 2.6.35-rc6-14-desktop #1 SMP PREEMPT 2010-07-23 20:09:25 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux (that reminds me.. I should update to the released 2.6.35 kernel instead of using the rc) C. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
* C <smaug42@gmail.com> [08-07-10 16:32]:
On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 22:18, Patrick Shanahan wrote:
uname -a Linux wahoo 2.6.35-rc6-16-default #1 SMP 2010-08-02 14:39:22 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
But *something* reports that VBox "cannot run 64-bin system on 32-bit hardware", or something similar, iirc.
Which VBox are you running? rpm -qa VirtualBox* VirtualBox-3.2-3.2.6_63112_openSUSE113-1.x86_64 (this is the one from the VBox website, not the repo version)
16:56 wahoo:~ > rpm -qa VirtualBox* VirtualBox-3.2-3.2.6_63112_openSUSE111-1.x86_64
Did you by any chance accidentally install the 32 bit VirtualBox?
yes, before using the rpm from the VBox site. Tried many different VBox packages w/o much success, as I really do need usb support for printer, scanner and card-readers. 16:59 wahoo:~ > rpm -qa |grep -i virt VirtualBox-3.2-3.2.6_63112_openSUSE111-1.x86_64 soprano-backend-virtuoso-2.4.64-81.1.x86_64 virtuoso-drivers-6.1.2-11.2.x86_64 virtuoso-server-6.1.2-11.2.x86_64 Would one of the ose packages have left something behind? And, if so, how to find?
That's all that immediately comes to mind. I've got both 32 and 64 bit guests installed in mine, and my kernel is essentially the same as yours.... uname -a Linux numpty 2.6.35-rc6-14-desktop #1 SMP PREEMPT 2010-07-23 20:09:25 +0200 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
(that reminds me.. I should update to the released 2.6.35 kernel instead of using the rc)
:^), have kernel-default-2.6.35-18.1.x86_64 from yesterday, just haven't rebooted yet. tks, -- Patrick Shanahan Plainfield, Indiana, USA HOG # US1244711 http://wahoo.no-ip.org Photo Album: http://wahoo.no-ip.org/gallery2 Registered Linux User #207535 @ http://counter.li.org -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sat, Aug 7, 2010 at 18:27, Patrick Shanahan wrote:
I cannot get 64-bit system in VBox, I guess because my processor is not capable. You can only install 64 bit guest OSes on a 64 bit host OS running on a 64 bit CPU... if there's a 32 bit anything in that chain... no 64 bit guest :-)
C. Nope, VirtualBox's 64-bit guest support is decided by whether your
On 07/08/10 20:13, C wrote: processor supports Intel VT-x (or AMD-V) extensions only. 64-bit guests work fine on a 32-bit OS running on a processor with virtualization extensions. Regards, Tejas -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sun, Aug 8, 2010 at 12:12, Tejas Guruswamy wrote:
You can only install 64 bit guest OSes on a 64 bit host OS running on a 64 bit CPU... if there's a 32 bit anything in that chain... no 64 bit guest :-)
C.
Nope, VirtualBox's 64-bit guest support is decided by whether your processor supports Intel VT-x (or AMD-V) extensions only. 64-bit guests work fine on a 32-bit OS running on a processor with virtualization extensions.
Errr.. right... I should have known that. :-P I stand corrected... again. Ha. AMD-V is on almost all AMD processors except a few low end (eg Semperon). From what I've read this morning, VT-x isn't on all intel... in fact it's quite a confusing mess... http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/05/r2e-microsoft-intel-goof-up-wi... and http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/how-many-intel-cpus-will-fail-the-xp-mode-tes... and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X86_virtualization#Intel_Virtualization_Technol... give some info on it. C. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 08/03/2010 09:35 PM, Bob S wrote:
Hello SuSE people,
I presently multiboot 4 separate os's. I've been thinking about installing virtualbox to see how it works but I know little about it. One of my questions is:
Where and what does the host do with the guest files? Should I have a separate dedicated partition for it? How much space is needed? I've googled a little bit but have not come up with any specific answers.
Bob S
Bob, First, you will love vbox, so go grab a copy at: http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/3.2.6/ Generally, all virtualbox guest OS's are stored under your ~/.Virtualbox directory. If your multiboot setup all use the same /home partition, then you are fine. If not, then a separate partitions for your guest OS's is a really good idea. Then you could just mount the guest OS partition as ~/.Virtualbox and have vbox available in all your installs. As for size, it depends. My XP guests are all between 10 and 20G. A good rule of thumb for Vista and XP is 4G (for the base OS + freespace) + "Your Stuff" Remember you will need to leave at least 15% free space if you want to defrag your windows installs, so the more the merrier. As for Win7, I ain't got a clue. As for all the virtual hosts out there vbox is my favorite. -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E. Rankin Law Firm, PLLC 510 Ochiltree Street Nacogdoches, Texas 75961 Telephone: (936) 715-9333 Facsimile: (936) 715-9339 www.rankinlawfirm.com -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
Unless you specifically enable and configure filesharing in VirtualBox, all of the files for the guest environment will be located within a virtual disk file representing the harddisk of your virtual system. The configuration files for each virtual system are managed by the VirtualBox VM manager application. On Tue, Aug 3, 2010 at 9:35 PM, Bob S <911@sanctum.com> wrote:
Hello SuSE people,
I presently multiboot 4 separate os's. I've been thinking about installing virtualbox to see how it works but I know little about it. One of my questions is:
Where and what does the host do with the guest files? Should I have a separate dedicated partition for it? How much space is needed? I've googled a little bit but have not come up with any specific answers.
Bob S -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
-- JAY VOLLMER Il n'y a aucune honte en étant un paria! -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
participants (8)
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Bob S -
C -
David C. Rankin -
dwgallien -
Jay Vollmer -
Patrick Shanahan -
Rajko M. -
Tejas Guruswamy