VirtualBox

VirtualBox for Fedora 12 Host

This is a step by step tutorial on how to get VirtualBox 3 up and running on Fedora 12. Specifically, this guide was written using the VirtualBox 3.2.12 version and an i386 CPU (32-bit), but should work with all versions. It can be adapted to upcoming versions and different CPUs (64-bit). The folks at VirtualBox have made it easy to install for Fedora users and I’m going to show you how in a few easy steps. Right, open a terminal window and let’s get to it.

There are two options for install:

VirtualBox repo: If you are selective or do not install Fedora updates, this is not the option for you. It will result in installation of ALL Fedora updates that your HDA requires.
VirtualBox RPM: This will only install the RPM and any required dependencies or dependency updates your HDA requires. It is much faster and will not force ALL Fedora updates like Option 1.

Install Option 1 (VirtualBox Repo)

Become privileged (root user):

su -

Install the VirtualBox repo:

wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/rpm/fedora/virtualbox.repo && cp virtualbox.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/

Enable the new repo:

yum clean all
yum update

Install VirtualBox (along with a few other required packages). If you’re having issues here, see Troubleshooting section below:

yum install -y VirtualBox-3.2 dkms gcc

Add yourself to the “vboxusers” group:

usermod -G vboxusers -a <yourusername>

(OPTIONAL) This will bring up the VirtualBox GUI on the HDA Desktop. Run and enjoy!

VirtualBox

NOTE: See how-to-install-virtualbox-3-on-fedora-12-tutorial for more info.

Install Option 2 (VirtualBox RPM)

Become privileged (root user):

su -

Download the applicable RPM for your system (32- or 64-bit):

wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/3.2.12/VirtualBox-3.2-3.2.12_68302_fedora12-1.i686.rpm
wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/3.2.12/VirtualBox-3.2-3.2.12_68302_fedora12-1.x86_64.rpm

Download and import the GPG key:

wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc
rpm --import oracle_vbox.asc

Add dependencies:

yum install dkms gcc

Install VirtualBox:

yum localinstall VirtualBox-3.2*

Add yourself to the “vboxusers” group:

usermod -G vboxusers -a <yourusername>

(OPTIONAL) This will bring up the VirtualBox GUI on the HDA Desktop. Run and enjoy!

VirtualBox

Update VirtualBox to Latest Version

To update VirtualBox to the latest version, you must stop the service:

Become privileged (root user):

su -
service vboxwebsrv stop

Depending on the Install Option you used originally will determine how you update.

Option 1 (RPM): Download RPM from VirtualBox.org

yum localinstall RPM-Name

Option 2 (Repo):

yum update

Restart service:

service vboxwebsrv start

Web Front End (phpVirtualBox)

The application has been packaged for Amahi and is currently in ALPHA testing.

How to Install Manually:

NOTE: This requires Advanced Settings to be enabled on your HDA and can be done via the Settings tab in the Amahi Dashboard.

Navigate to the Amahi Applications tab, create a web app called phpvb.
Become root user:

su -

Download and extract the source file:

cd /var/hda/web-apps/phpvb
wget http://phpvirtualbox.googlecode.com/files/phpvirtualbox-0.5.zip
unzip phpvirtualbox-0.5.zip
mv phpvirtualbox-0.5/* html
chown -R apache:users html

Edit /var/hda/web-apps/phpvb/html/config.php and change the values below to your user name and password (must be the same user name as added to the vboxusers group during VirtualBox install):

var $username = 'ian';
var $password = 'pass';

Start Web Service:

/usr/bin/vboxwebsrv -b --logfile /dev/null >/dev/null

Enable Web Service start on boot:

Exit root user and edit crontab for your user (whoami will display the current user name and must match the one in the previous step):

whoami
crontab -e

and add the following line. (to save, enter : followed by wq):

@reboot /usr/bin/vboxwebsrv -b --logfile /dev/null >/dev/null

Create Web Service daemon (this will allow start/stop for updating VirutalBox versions):

As root user, create the file /etc/init.d/vboxwebsrv and add the following (ensure you replace username on line 6 with the same user name as added to the vboxusers group during VirtualBox install):

#! /bin/sh
PATH=/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin
DESC="VirtualBox Web Service"
NAME=vboxwebsrv
SCRIPTNAME=/etc/init.d/$NAME
USER=username
[ -r /etc/default/$NAME ] && . /etc/default/$NAME
[ -f /etc/default/rcS ] && . /etc/default/rcS
. /etc/rc.d/init.d/functions
VBPID=`ps -U ${USER} --no-heading -o pid,cmd | grep vboxwebsrv | grep -v ${SCRIPTNAME} | grep -v  grep | tail -1 | awk '{ print $1 }'`
do_start()
{
  if [ "$VBPID" != "" ] && [ "$VBPID" -gt 0 ]; then
     echo $NAME already running with PID $VBPID
  else
     su ${USER} -c 'vboxwebsrv -b --logfile /dev/null >/dev/null'
  fi
}
do_stop()
{
  if [ "$VBPID" != "" ] && [ "$VBPID" -gt 0 ]; then
       echo Stopping $NAME ...
       kill $VBPID
  else 
       echo $NAME not running
  fi
}
do_status()
{
  if [ "$VBPID" != "" ] && [ "$VBPID" -gt 0 ]; then
       echo Running with pid $VBPID
  else
       echo $NAME not running
  fi
}
case "$1" in
 start)
   [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "Starting $DESC" "$NAME"
   do_start
   ;;
 stop)
   [ "$VERBOSE" != no ] && echo "Stopping $DESC" "$NAME"
   do_stop
   ;;
 restart|force-reload)
   echo "Restarting $DESC" "$NAME"
   do_stop
   sleep 1
   VBPID=0
   echo Starting $NAME ...
   do_start
   ;;
 status)
   do_status
   ;;
 *)
   echo "Usage: $SCRIPTNAME {start|stop|restart|force-reload|status}" >&2
   exit 3
   ;;
esac

Set permissions:

chmod 755 /etc/init.d/vboxwebsrv

To use the service, do the following as root user (option: start, stop, restart, force-reload, status):

service vboxwebsrv option

That's it. You should now be able to access VirtualBox from your browser at http://phpvb. It will restart automatically on reboot as well. Be aware moving the mouse pointer in this app is quirky and often difficult to navigate.
Refer to phpVirtualBox Installation for additional guidance.

NOTE: See Amahi on VirtualBox for detailed guidance on installing Amahi on a virtual machine (VM).

Portable VirtualBox for Windows XP/Vista/7 Host

Download latest version from here.
You can install this on a hard drive or USB Flash Drive.
How to Install VirtualBox Guest Additions in Fedora 12 has additional info that might be helpful.

Troubleshooting

Having issues with install, check to see if you have the PAE kernel:

 uname -r

If it returns anything reflecting PAE, do:

yum install -y kernel-PAE-devel

You should be able to start VirtualBox.

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