NETGEAR is aware of a growing number of phone and online scams. To learn how to stay safe click here.
Forum Discussion
chirpa
Mar 07, 2009Luminary
Running VirtualBox VM host on ReadyNAS Pro
What is VirtualBox?
So, I got bored while laundry was going... and decided to see how well a virtual OS would run on the Pro. My first choice of VM was VirtualBox, just cause I'm familiar with it after using it for ages, plus its open and free :) Eventually, I may look into VMWare as well.
After a bit of messing around, got it installed. Since the system is based off of Debian, was easy to get VirtualBox itself there (deb package). The trickiest part was getting the kernel modules required installed (see end of post).
In the end, I've got Windows 2003 R2 running on my Pro, interacting with it via RDP, and I am happy with the performance. I've added an extra 1GB memory (for a total of 2GB). I assigned 1GB of ram to my virtual OS, which still leaves the default configuration of 1GB for the NAS itself (which is more than enough still, 800MB+ is always cached).
I made a 10GB virtual disk to install the OS on. If I need more space later for extra applications, I can just add another virtual drive to that installation. And since I always like a bit extra security, I went a bit beyond the usual, and also have TrueCrypt running full disk encryption in the virtual OS. So no one can even boot and read the data in that OS without my bootup password.
I don't really have any screenshots to show, just a standard Windows installation. Here is a few of the steps I used while creating the VM on the console:
VirtualBox 3.1 has changed the CLI configuration. Until I update this how-to, please reference this: http://www.uhleeka.com/blog/2009/12/vir ... 9-04-host/
With the OS booted up and just sitting at the desktop, top reports:
Ad-hoc installation of VirtualBox. Should work for RAIDiator 4.2.4. Download links for the kernel modules, for those who don't want to go through the mess of compiling them.
So, I got bored while laundry was going... and decided to see how well a virtual OS would run on the Pro. My first choice of VM was VirtualBox, just cause I'm familiar with it after using it for ages, plus its open and free :) Eventually, I may look into VMWare as well.
After a bit of messing around, got it installed. Since the system is based off of Debian, was easy to get VirtualBox itself there (deb package). The trickiest part was getting the kernel modules required installed (see end of post).
In the end, I've got Windows 2003 R2 running on my Pro, interacting with it via RDP, and I am happy with the performance. I've added an extra 1GB memory (for a total of 2GB). I assigned 1GB of ram to my virtual OS, which still leaves the default configuration of 1GB for the NAS itself (which is more than enough still, 800MB+ is always cached).
I made a 10GB virtual disk to install the OS on. If I need more space later for extra applications, I can just add another virtual drive to that installation. And since I always like a bit extra security, I went a bit beyond the usual, and also have TrueCrypt running full disk encryption in the virtual OS. So no one can even boot and read the data in that OS without my bootup password.
I don't really have any screenshots to show, just a standard Windows installation. Here is a few of the steps I used while creating the VM on the console:
VirtualBox 3.1 has changed the CLI configuration. Until I update this how-to, please reference this: http://www.uhleeka.com/blog/2009/12/vir ... 9-04-host/
# Creating the Virtual Machine.
$ VBoxManage createvm -name "Windows2003" -register
$ VBoxManage modifyvm "Windows2003" -memory "1024MB" -acpi on -boot1 dvd -nic1 nat
$ VBoxManage createvdi -filename "/c/backup/VirtualBox/Windows2003.vdi" -size 10000 -register
$ VBoxManage modifyvm "Windows2003" -hda "/c/backup/VirtualBox/Windows2003.vdi"
$ VBoxManage registerimage dvd /c/backup/VirtualBox/Windows2003Ent.iso
$ VBoxManage modifyvm "Windows2003" -dvd /c/backup/VirtualBox/Windows2003Ent.iso
$ VBoxHeadless -startvm "Windows2003" &
# Connected via Remote Desktop at this point.
# After the installation, first page requires Ctrl-Alt-Del, so I sent the keycodes.
$ VBoxManage controlvm "Windows2003" keyboardputscancode 1d 38 53
# System is up and running, time to install GuestAdditions for better video, etc.
$ wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/2.2.2/VBoxGuestAdditions_2.2.2.iso
$ VBoxManage registerimage dvd /c/backup/VirtualBox/VBoxGuestAdditions_2.2.2.iso
$ VBoxManage controlvm "Windows2003" dvdattach /c/backup/VirtualBox/VBoxGuestAdditions_2.2.2.iso
With the OS booted up and just sitting at the desktop, top reports:
top - 16:17:10 up 1 day, 17:58, 1 user, load average: 0.00, 0.01, 0.00
Tasks: 93 total, 1 running, 92 sleeping, 0 stopped, 0 zombie
Cpu(s): 0.7%us, 0.2%sy, 0.0%ni, 99.2%id, 0.0%wa, 0.0%hi, 0.0%si, 0.0%st
Mem: 2072432k total, 2020100k used, 52332k free, 6120k buffers
Swap: 1048536k total, 144k used, 1048392k free, 784620k cached
PID USER PR NI VIRT RES SHR S %CPU %MEM TIME+ COMMAND
10297 root 20 0 1104m 1.0g 4720 S 4 52.5 57:31.53 VBoxHeadless
12792 root 20 0 46092 9520 1720 S 1 0.5 59:54.51 motion
12196 root 20 0 9196 7688 980 S 0 0.4 0:57.72 wastesrv
1 root 20 0 1948 600 508 S 0 0.0 0:01.30 init
Ad-hoc installation of VirtualBox. Should work for RAIDiator 4.2.4. Download links for the kernel modules, for those who don't want to go through the mess of compiling them.
$ mkdir /lib/modules/`uname -r`/miscOr, if you want to compile the kernel modules yourself:
$ cd /lib/modules/`uname -r`/misc
$ wget http://www.readynas.com/contributed/chirpa/modules/virtualbox/pro/vboxdrv.ko
$ wget http://www.readynas.com/contributed/chirpa/modules/virtualbox/pro/vboxnetflt.ko
$ echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian etch non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.list
$ wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/sun_vbox.asc -O- | apt-key add -
$ apt-get update
$ apt-get install virtualbox-2.1
$ /etc/init.d/vboxdrv start
envyious:/c/backup# echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian etch non-free" >> /etc/apt/sources.listInstall of VirtualBox 2.2.2, before Sun updates the Debian Repository...
envyious:/c/backup# wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/sun_vbox.asc -O- | apt-key add -
envyious:/c/backup# apt-get update && apt-get install build-essential
...
Setting up build-essential (11.3) ...
envyious:/c/backup# wget -q http://www.readynas.com/download/GPL/RNDP6xxx_4.2.4_WW_src.zip
envyious:/c/backup# unzip -q RNDP6xxx_4.2.4_WW_src.zip -d ./GPL
envyious:/c/backup# cd GPL/linux-x86-2.6/
envyious:/c/backup/GPL/linux-x86-2.6# make && make prepare
...
envyious:/c/backup/GPL/linux-x86-2.6# ln -s /c/backup/GPL/linux-x86-2.6/ /usr/src/linux
envyious:/c/backup/GPL/linux-x86-2.6# KERN_DIR=/usr/src/linux
envyious:/c/backup/GPL/linux-x86-2.6# apt-get install virtualbox-2.1
...
Setting up virtualbox-2.1 (2.1.4-42893_Debian_etch) ...
Adding group `vboxusers' (GID 101) ...
Done.
Messages emitted during module compilation will be logged to /var/log/vbox-install.log.
Success!
Starting VirtualBox kernel module: done.
envyious:/c/backup/GPL/linux-x86-2.6# cd
envyious:/c/backup/GPL/linux-x86-2.6# VBoxManage list vms
VirtualBox Command Line Management Interface Version 2.1.4
(C) 2005-2009 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
All rights reserved.
# wget -q http://www.readynas.com/download/GPL/RNDP6xxx_4.2.4_WW_src.zip
# unzip -q RNDP6xxx_4.2.4_WW_src.zip -d ./GPL
# cd GPL/linux-x86-2.6/
# make && make prepare
# ln -s /c/backup/GPL/linux-x86-2.6/ /usr/src/linux
# export KERN_DIR=/usr/src/linux
# apt-get install libfontconfig1 libglib2.0-0 libice6 libsdl1.2debian libsm6 libx11-6 libxcursor1 libxext6 libxi6 libxmu6 libxrandr2 libxrender1 libxslt1.1 libxt6 python2.4
# wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/2.2.2/virtualbox-2.2_2.2.2-46594_Debian_etch_i386.deb
# dpkg -i virtualbox-2.2_2.2.2-46594_Debian_etch_i386.deb
Setting up virtualbox-2.2 (2.2.2-46594_Debian_etch) ...
Recompiling VirtualBox kernel module: done.
Starting VirtualBox kernel module: done.
441 Replies
Replies have been turned off for this discussion
- jmalmlundAspirant
JeIlMa wrote: jmalmlund wrote: Just a word of waring, DON'T update to RAIDiator 4.2.19 yet! The apt-get repository isn't up-to-date and running 'apt-get -f install' will actually remove the some packages required to build the needed VirtualBox kernel modules.
Forget to remove autoupdate... So RAIDiator has been upgrade to 4.2.19. Is there some steps that I can make to get this back to business?
-JeIlMa
I downgraded to 4.2.17 since that has worked good for me and it still does I might add. Also I still haven't upgraded my computers to Lion so I don't really really need any of the new features in 4.2.19 right now. - prometheus1AspirantIs this likely to become an installable package :D
i would be really interested in running this on my ultra 4 - invader980Aspirant
prometheus wrote: Is this likely to become an installable package :D
i would be really interested in running this on my ultra 4
secound that .... which i had the know how to put this together i feel so left out :( lol - jmalmlundAspirant
invader980 wrote: prometheus wrote: Is this likely to become an installable package :D
i would be really interested in running this on my ultra 4
secound that .... which i had the know how to put this together i feel so left out :( lol
I doubt that this will ever become an installable package, sure it could be done but I'll share my thoughts as to why it's unlikely.
1. To install VirtualBox there are a number of pre-requisits that needs to be in place, build-essentials for example. These are usually not hard to install, just doapt-get update
and one should be ready to install VirtualBox.
apt-get install build-essential amd64-libs lib64stdc++6 bzip2 lib64z1 lzma
apt-get --reinstall install libc6-amd64
Only problem is that the software-repository holding these components for 4.2.19 is broken with version mismatches and creating an add-on that first downgrades the installed RAIDiator software to 4.2.17, a version that to my knowledge doesn't work well with Mac OS X Lion afp isn't a good idea.
2. To have any real use for VirtualBox on a ReadyNAS a memory-upgrade is also needed, the stock 1GB won't get anyone very far when considering that about half of that is needed to run the ReadyNAS itself. I've got 2GB ram in my Pro Pioneer and if I run transmission and a VirtualBox computer with any more than 256MB memory the ReadyNAS starts swaping out memory to disk which can really slow everything to a crawl, or even a complete system crash (ReadyNAS looks up only to reboot it self moments later, happened to me twice when trying to allocate more memory to a vm computer).
3. Every ReadyNAS in the Ultra series except for the Ultra 6 Plus uses Intel Atom cpu's and Ultra 4 Plus is the first to feature dual-core cpu's, but even so I wouldn't even consider running any virtualization software on an Atom cpu, they are simply not designed for it. - invader980Aspirant
jmalmlund wrote: invader980 wrote: prometheus wrote: Is this likely to become an installable package :D
i would be really interested in running this on my ultra 4
secound that .... which i had the know how to put this together i feel so left out :( lol
I doubt that this will ever become an installable package, sure it could be done but I'll share my thoughts as to why it's unlikely.
1. To install VirtualBox there are a number of pre-requisits that needs to be in place, build-essentials for example. These are usually not hard to install, just doapt-get update
and one should be ready to install VirtualBox.
apt-get install build-essential amd64-libs lib64stdc++6 bzip2 lib64z1 lzma
apt-get --reinstall install libc6-amd64
Only problem is that the software-repository holding these components for 4.2.19 is broken with version mismatches and creating an add-on that first downgrades the installed RAIDiator software to 4.2.17, a version that to my knowledge doesn't work well with Mac OS X Lion afp isn't a good idea.
2. To have any real use for VirtualBox on a ReadyNAS a memory-upgrade is also needed, the stock 1GB won't get anyone very far when considering that about half of that is needed to run the ReadyNAS itself. I've got 2GB ram in my Pro Pioneer and if I run transmission and a VirtualBox computer with any more than 256MB memory the ReadyNAS starts swaping out memory to disk which can really slow everything to a crawl, or even a complete system crash (ReadyNAS looks up only to reboot it self moments later, happened to me twice when trying to allocate more memory to a vm computer).
3. Every ReadyNAS in the Ultra series except for the Ultra 6 Plus uses Intel Atom cpu's and Ultra 4 Plus is the first to feature dual-core cpu's, but even so I wouldn't even consider running any virtualization software on an Atom cpu, they are simply not designed for it.
agreed... i run the ultra 4 plus so i am runing the atom dual core ... and a ram upgrade for such a reason + i dont do apple product so im the perfect candidate for a beta app ;) lol (J/K), the potential draw backs r pretty major but the potential u open ur nas up to is exponential i would even go so far as to experiment with the 4gb upgrades people have gotten working to do soo.... i think an atom dual core has much unlocked potential and can do some major work (aside from the obvious cpu intensive task).I think the limited os it has is handy capping this amazing nas... i mean there are alot of simple task that can be accomplished with a handy windows app that if my nas is already on ... id love for it to preform for me vs turning on a comp to do such. Ive made plenty of atom based systems for people to do simple task (eg: media encoding (not hd of course) / seed box / folder syncing & unraring/encryption/ Virtual hard mounting ) that although it will do it SLOWLY its out of site out of mind always on & low consumption and it WILL get the task done with 24 hours 7 days a week to work on it lol (granted most of this there r current add-ons for )
credit were credit is due ... the readynas has one of the most amazing communities ive ever seen for a line of product and the amount/usefullness of the ad-ons created for it are amazing . I'm in love with my readynas lol , unfortunately i dont live in the world of linux so there very little i can do outside the add-ons created for it to customize it :( ( other then bugg everyone to make an app for me )
thanx for the info ( will keep my fingers cross , and a single tear lol) maybe one day ill get the guts to dive into this and see if i can make this happen - laksmkkAspirantWith the mini-guide written by jmalmlund was successfully able to install Windows. Now here is my question? How do I install the sound card?
- MikeMcr1Aspirant
jmalmlund wrote: Only problem is that the software-repository holding these components for 4.2.19 is broken with version mismatches and creating an add-on that first downgrades the installed RAIDiator software to 4.2.17, a version that to my knowledge doesn't work well with Mac OS X Lion afp isn't a good idea.
Has this been fixed yet? Am I safe to install VirtualBox with 4.2.19? MikeMcr wrote: jmalmlund wrote: Only problem is that the software-repository holding these components for 4.2.19 is broken with version mismatches and creating an add-on that first downgrades the installed RAIDiator software to 4.2.17, a version that to my knowledge doesn't work well with Mac OS X Lion afp isn't a good idea.
Has this been fixed yet? Am I safe to install VirtualBox with 4.2.19?
I don't know the answer at all, but I'm running into errors that "could" relate the above quote. (At least the way I'm interpreting things)
I'm simply trying to install bzip2/bunzip2.- jmalmlundAspirant
InTheShires wrote: MikeMcr wrote: jmalmlund wrote: Only problem is that the software-repository holding these components for 4.2.19 is broken with version mismatches and creating an add-on that first downgrades the installed RAIDiator software to 4.2.17, a version that to my knowledge doesn't work well with Mac OS X Lion afp isn't a good idea.
Has this been fixed yet? Am I safe to install VirtualBox with 4.2.19?
I don't know the answer at all, but I'm running into errors that "could" relate the above quote. (At least the way I'm interpreting things)
I'm simply trying to install bzip2/bunzip2.
4.2.19 is still a no-go and I don't expect it to ever get fixed eigther seeing how work on 4.2.20 seems to be progressing with numerous beta releases already. I just hope that Netgear doesn't make the same mistake again and that we'll have a working software repository once again when 4.2.20 is released in finalized form. - MikeMcr1Aspirant
jmalmlund wrote: 4.2.19 is still a no-go and I don't expect it to ever get fixed eigther seeing how work on 4.2.20 seems to be progressing with numerous beta releases already. I just hope that Netgear doesn't make the same mistake again and that we'll have a working software repository once again when 4.2.20 is released in finalized form.
OK, thanks, that is very poor of Netgear; how can they expect people to keep up to date with RAIDiator releases when they make these mistakes :x
Related Content
NETGEAR Academy

Boost your skills with the Netgear Academy - Get trained, certified and stay ahead with the latest Netgear technology!
Join Us!