VirtualBox

Introduction

What

  • Virtualization platform for desktops,
  • multi-platform (and Linux-friendly),
  • free to play with,
  • similar to VMware Workstation or HyperV.

Why

  • Supports machines with different operating systems,
  • creates clean environment,
  • builds multi-node virtual environments,
  • uses full virtualization,
  • supports network without infrastructure-level anti-spoofing protections,
  • is compatible with Vagrant,
  • has a nice GUI.

Limits

  • Perfect for developers, but not for production.
  • Performance and quantity of virtual machines is limited by desktop's RAM/CPU/disk.

Installation

  1. Update your system before installation and reboot to the latest kernel (if updated).

  2. Install matching kernel headers and required packages.

    # RedHat
$ yum install -y binutils gcc make patch libgomp glibc-headers glibc-devel kernel-headers kernel-devel-$(uname -r) dkms

# Ubuntu/Debian
$ apt-get -y install gcc make linux-headers-$(uname -r) dkms
  3. Download and install VirtualBox and VirtualBox Extension Pack from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads.

Avoid installation through the system package manager since VirtualBox packages are usually waaaaay outdated there.

Known issues

  • VT-x/AMD-V hardware acceleration

     # Error:
 # VT-x/AMD-V hardware acceleration is not available on your system

 # Fix:
 # Make sure you have virtualization support enabled in BIOS:

 # For Intel in BIOS ensure the following
 # Intel(R) Virtualization Technology [Enabled]

 # For AMD in BIOS ensure the following
 # ???

  • Missing VirtualBox kernel modules

    # Error:
# Kernel driver not installed (rc=-1908)
# The VirtualBox Linux kernel driver (vboxdrv) is either not loaded or there is a permission problem with /dev/vboxdrv.
# Please reinstall the kernel module by executing '/sbin/vboxconfig' as root.

# Fix:
# Check kernel version you are currently running
$ uname -r
4.16.3-301.fc28.x86_64

# Install matchig kernel headers, for me at Fedora it looks like this:
# RedHat
$ yum install kernel-devel-$(uname -r)

# Ubuntu/Debian
$ apt install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

# Re-install VirtualBox kernel modules by running
$ /sbin/vboxconfig

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