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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
- Sebastien1AspirantOk, with the command "make modules_prepare" you can come to have this:
ChildNemesis:~# sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup
Stopping VirtualBox kernel modules ...done.
Uninstalling old VirtualBox DKMS kernel modules ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox netadp kernel module ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox netflt kernel module ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox kernel module ...done.
Trying to register the VirtualBox kernel modules using DKMS ...failed!
(Failed, trying without DKMS)
Recompiling VirtualBox kernel modules ...done.
Starting VirtualBox kernel modules ...failed!
(modprobe vboxdrv failed. Please use 'dmesg' to find out why) - I get this on my ultra 4, I'm using /c/.vbox as the working directory, not sure if that makes a difference
frodo:/c/.vbox# /usr/bin/VBoxManage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.0.4-70112.vbox-extpack
WARNING: The vboxdrv kernel module is not loaded. Either there is no module
available for the current kernel (2.6.37.5.RNx86_64.2.1) or it failed to
load. Please recompile the kernel module and install it by
sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup
You will not be able to start VMs until this problem is fixed.
0%...
Progress state: NS_ERROR_FAILURE
VBoxManage: error: Failed to install "/c/.vbox/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.0.4-70112.vbox-extpack": Extension pack 'Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack' is already installed. In case of a reinstallation, please uninstall it first
frodo:/c/.vbox# /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup
Stopping VirtualBox kernel modules ...done.
Uninstalling old VirtualBox DKMS kernel modules ...done.
Trying to register the VirtualBox kernel modules using DKMS ...failed!
(Failed, trying without DKMS)
Recompiling VirtualBox kernel modules ...failed!
(Look at /var/log/vbox-install.log to find out what went wrong)
frodo:/c/.vbox# cat /var/log/vbox-install.log
Makefile:170: Warning: using /usr/src/linux as the source directory of your Linux kernel. If this is not correct, specify KERN_DIR=<directory> and run Make again.
make KBUILD_VERBOSE=1 SUBDIRS=/tmp/vbox.0 SRCROOT=/tmp/vbox.0 -C /usr/src/linux modules
test -e include/generated/autoconf.h -a -e include/config/auto.conf || ( \
echo; \
echo " ERROR: Kernel configuration is invalid."; \
echo " include/generated/autoconf.h or include/config/auto.conf are missing.";\
echo " Run 'make oldconfig && make prepare' on kernel src to fix it."; \
echo; \
/bin/false)
mkdir -p /tmp/vbox.0/.tmp_versions ; rm -f /tmp/vbox.0/.tmp_versions/*
WARNING: Symbol version dump /c/.vbox/linux-2.6.37.5/Module.symvers
is missing; modules will have no dependencies and modversions.
make -f scripts/Makefile.build obj=/tmp/vbox.0
gcc -Wp,-MD,/tmp/vbox.0/linux/.SUPDrv-linux.o.d -nostdinc -isystem /usr/lib/gcc/i486-linux-gnu/4.1.2/include -I/c/.vbox/linux-2.6.37.5/arch/x86/include -Iinclude -include include/generated/autoconf.h -D__KERNEL__ -Wall -Wundef -Wstrict-prototypes -Wno-trigraphs -fno-strict-aliasing -fno-common -Werror-implicit-function-declaration -Wno-format-security -fno-delete-null-pointer-checks -O2 -m64 -mtune=generic -mno-red-zone -mcmodel=kernel -funit-at-a-time -maccumulate-outgoing-args -DCONFIG_AS_CFI=1 -DCONFIG_AS_CFI_SIGNAL_FRAME=1 -DCONFIG_AS_FXSAVEQ=1 -pipe -Wno-sign-compare -fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables -mno-sse -mno-mmx -mno-sse2 -mno-3dnow -fno-stack-protector -fno-omit-frame-pointer -fno-optimize-sibling-calls -g -Wdeclaration-after-statement -Wno-pointer-sign -I/usr/src/linux/include -I/tmp/vbox.0/ -I/tmp/vbox.0/include -I/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux -I/tmp/vbox.0/vboxdrv/ -I/tmp/vbox.0/vboxdrv/include -I/tmp/vbox.0/vboxdrv/r0drv/linux -D__KERNEL__ -DMODULE -DRT_OS_LINUX -DIN_RING0 -DIN_RT_R0 -DIN_SUP_R0 -DVBOX -DRT_WITH_VBOX -DVBOX_WITH_HARDENING -DCONFIG_VBOXDRV_AS_MISC -DRT_ARCH_AMD64 -DVBOX_WITH_64_BITS_GUESTS -DMODULE -D"KBUILD_STR(s)=#s" -D"KBUILD_BASENAME=KBUILD_STR(SUPDrv_linux)" -D"KBUILD_MODNAME=KBUILD_STR(vboxdrv)" -c -o /tmp/vbox.0/linux/.tmp_SUPDrv-linux.o /tmp/vbox.0/linux/SUPDrv-linux.c
/bin/sh: scripts/genksyms/genksyms: No such file or directory
make[2]: *** [/tmp/vbox.0/linux/SUPDrv-linux.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/tmp/vbox.0] Error 2
make: *** [vboxdrv] Error 2
frodo:/c/.vbox# - jmalmlundAspirantQuick update.. heading to bed..
Been working with Sebastien over msn tonight to get this sorted and we've eliminated some potential issues but it's still to early for me to tell when we might have a universal solution. :| :(
Results using my guide seems vary, so for now, please be aware that upgrades may or may not work! - Sebastien1AspirantOk, so for me the solution was:
ChildNemesis:~# cd /usr/src/linux/
ChildNemesis:/usr/src/linux# make
...
ChildNemesis:~# ./VirtualBox-4.0.4-70112-Linux_amd64.run
...
ChildNemesis:~# /etc/init.d/vboxdrv start
...
A very big thank you to jmalmlund. - leakAspirant
Sebastien wrote: Ok, so for me the solution was:
ChildNemesis:~# cd /usr/src/linux/
ChildNemesis:/usr/src/linux# make
...
ChildNemesis:~# ./VirtualBox-4.0.4-70112-Linux_amd64.run
...
ChildNemesis:~# /etc/init.d/vboxdrv start
...
A very big thank you to jmalmlund.
argh! Did almost this before, just forgot to run vb-4.0.4!
Works great now tho, so thanks! - tried the updated guide,
frodo:/c/.vbox# /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup
Stopping VirtualBox kernel modules ...done.
Uninstalling old VirtualBox DKMS kernel modules ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox netadp kernel module ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox netflt kernel module ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox kernel module ...done.
Trying to register the VirtualBox kernel modules using DKMS ...failed!
(Failed, trying without DKMS)
Recompiling VirtualBox kernel modules ...done.
Starting VirtualBox kernel modules ...failed!
(modprobe vboxdrv failed. Please use 'dmesg' to find out why)
dmsg:vboxdrv: no symbol version for module_layout
- lchapuisAspirant
- jmalmlundAspirant
TeknoJnky wrote: tried the updated guide, frodo:/c/.vbox# /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup
Stopping VirtualBox kernel modules ...done.
Uninstalling old VirtualBox DKMS kernel modules ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox netadp kernel module ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox netflt kernel module ...done.
Removing old VirtualBox kernel module ...done.
Trying to register the VirtualBox kernel modules using DKMS ...failed!
(Failed, trying without DKMS)
Recompiling VirtualBox kernel modules ...done.
Starting VirtualBox kernel modules ...failed!
(modprobe vboxdrv failed. Please use 'dmesg' to find out why)
dmsg:vboxdrv: no symbol version for module_layout
What's your status on this now? Have you worked it out?
If not, could you help me help you, please give some more details on your system, what model NAS do you have, what RAIDiator version is it running and so on.
Also check your kernel source directory, does the file "Module.symvers" exist? The dmsg output that you included is known to happen if that file's not found. - GurutekAspirantHi Gents
Firstly - Thanks for the guide - I'm busy running through the Virtualbox installation now!
Secondly, Apologise if I'm asking some stupid questions here (I'm new to Linux and VirtualBox).
Can I confirm that the only way to manage Virtualbox on the NAS is via the CLi? The reason that I ask it that VMWare Esxi (That with which I am familiar), uses a Windows application to connect to and manage the VMWare enviroment, only the basic setup is done in the console.
If CLi is the only option, are these instructions adequate to get me going:
http://cheznick.net/main/content/creating-a-virtual-machine-using-the-virtualbox-cli
Thanks in advance!
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