user_Installation.xml revision 835df1bfeff649dc86c98779242a7bd1041bcc97
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd">
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>As installation of VirtualBox varies depending on your host operating
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots system, we provide installation instructions in four separate chapters for
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris, respectively.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>For the various versions of Windows that we support as host
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots operating systems, please refer to <xref
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots <para>In addition, Windows Installer 1.1 or higher must be present on
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots your system. This should be the case if you have all recent Windows
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots updates installed.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>The VirtualBox installation can be started <itemizedlist>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>either by double-clicking on its executable file (contains
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots both 32- and 64-bit architectures)</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>or by entering <screen>VirtualBox.exe -extract</screen></para>
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots <para>on the command line. This will extract both installers into
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots a temporary directory in which you'll then find the usual .MSI
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots files. Then you can do a <screen>msiexec /i VirtualBox-<version>-MultiArch_<x86|amd64>.msi</screen>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots to perform the installation.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>In either case, this will display the installation welcome dialog
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots and allow you to choose where to install VirtualBox to and which
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots components to install. In addition to the VirtualBox application, the
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots following components are available:<glosslist>
14b1e9d6653e5b6ec6b2fbd4e30faaf3a74b6cf7Todd Kloots <glossentry>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>This package contains special drivers for your Windows
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots host that VirtualBox requires to fully support USB devices
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots inside your virtual machines.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots </glossentry>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <glossentry>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>This package contains extra networking drivers for your
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots Windows host that VirtualBox needs to support Bridged Networking
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots (to make your VM's virtual network cards accessible from other
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots machines on your physical network).</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots </glossentry>
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots <glossentry>
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots <para>This package contains Python scripting support for the
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots VirtualBox API (see <xref linkend="VirtualBoxAPI" />). For this
b659a7f728e509c746e5c15dc6b85034a07eb47bTodd Kloots to work, an already working Windows Python installation on the
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots system is required.<footnote>
c73ea722dccc6aae68dc27f7709399507f5ee126Todd Kloots url="http://www.python.org/download/windows/">http://www.python.org/download/windows/</ulink>.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots </glossentry>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Depending on your Windows configuration, you may see warnings
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots about "unsigned drivers" or similar. Please select "Continue" on these
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots warnings as otherwise VirtualBox might not function correctly after
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots installation.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>The installer will create a "VirtualBox" group in the Windows
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots "Start" menu which allows you to launch the application and access its
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots documentation.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>With standard settings, VirtualBox will be installed for all users
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots on the local system. In case this is not wanted, you have to invoke the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots installer by first extracting it by using <screen>VirtualBox.exe -extract</screen>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots and then do as follows: <screen>VirtualBox.exe -msiparams ALLUSERS=2</screen>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots or <screen>msiexec /i VirtualBox-<version>-MultiArch_<x86|amd64>.msi ALLUSERS=2</screen>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots on the extracted .MSI files. This will install VirtualBox only for the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots current user.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>If you do not want to install all features of VirtualBox, you can
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots set the optional <computeroutput>ADDLOCAL</computeroutput> parameter to
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots explicitly name the features to be installed. The following features are
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots available: <glosslist>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <glossentry>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>This feature must not be absent since it contains the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots minimum set of files to have working VirtualBox
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots installation.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots </glossentry>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <glossentry>
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots </glossentry>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <glossentry>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>All networking support; includes the VBoxNetworkFlt and
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots VBoxNetworkAdp features (see below).</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots </glossentry>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <glossentry>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots </glossentry>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <glossentry>
7b00f3fda5c8d6bdb30fa5f633a3330b7141df55Todd Kloots </glossentry>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <glossentry>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots </glossentry>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots </glosslist>For example, to only install USB support along with the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots main binaries, do a: <screen>VirtualBox.exe -msiparams ADDLOCAL=VBoxApplication,VBoxUSB</screen>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots or <screen>msiexec /i VirtualBox-<version>-MultiArch_<x86|amd64>.msi ADDLOCAL=VBoxApplication,VBoxUSB</screen></para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>As VirtualBox uses the standard Microsoft Windows installer,
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots VirtualBox can be safely uninstalled at any time by choosing the program
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots entry in the "Add/Remove Programs" applet in the Windows Control
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots Panel.</para>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <para>Unattended installations can be performed using the standard MSI
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots support.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>For Mac OS X hosts, VirtualBox ships in a disk image
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots (<computeroutput>dmg</computeroutput>) file. Perform the following
ac91eab7de6e2070ada47e7e1e78f1e3051f49abTodd Kloots steps: <orderedlist>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>Double-click on that file to have its contents
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots mounted.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>A window will open telling you to double click on the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>VirtualBox.mpkg</computeroutput> installer file
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots displayed in that window.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>This will start the installer, which will allow you to
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots select where to install VirtualBox to.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>After installation, you can find a VirtualBox icon in the
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots "Applications" folder in the Finder.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>To uninstall VirtualBox, open the disk image (dmg) file again and
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots double-click on the uninstall icon contained therein.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>To perform a non-interactive installation of VirtualBox you can
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots use the command line version of the installer application.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Mount the disk image (dmg) file as described in the normal
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots installation. Then open a terminal session and execute:</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <screen>sudo installer -pkg /Volumes/VirtualBox/VirtualBox.mpkg \
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <title id="install-linux-host">Installing on Linux hosts</title>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>For the various versions of Linux that we support as host
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots operating systems, please refer to <xref
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>You will need to install the following packages on your Linux
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots system before starting the installation (some systems will do this for
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots you automatically when you install VirtualBox):</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <itemizedlist>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>SDL 1.2.7 or higher (this graphics library is typically called
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>libsdl</computeroutput> or similar).</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots </itemizedlist>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>To be precise, these packages are only required if you want to
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots run the VirtualBox graphical user interfaces. In particular,
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>VirtualBox</computeroutput>, the graphical VirtualBox
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots manager, requires both Qt and SDL;
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>VBoxSDL</computeroutput>, our simplified GUI, requires
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots only SDL. By contrast, if you only want to run
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>VBoxHeadless</computeroutput>, neither Qt nor SDL are
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots required.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>VirtualBox uses a special kernel module to perform physical memory
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots allocation and to gain control of the processor for guest system
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots execution. Without this kernel module, you can still use the VirtualBox
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots manager to configure virtual machines, but they will not start.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>The VirtualBox kernel module is automatically installed on your
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots system when you install VirtualBox. To maintain it with future kernel
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots updates, for recent Linux distributions -- for example Fedora Core 5 and
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots later, Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy) and later and Mandriva 2007.1 and later --,
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots generally we recommend installing Dynamic Kernel Module Support
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots (DKMS)<footnote>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Kernel_Module_Support">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_Kernel_Module_Support</ulink>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots for an introduction.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots </footnote>. This framework helps with building and upgrading kernel
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots modules.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>If DKMS is not already installed, execute one of the following:
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <itemizedlist>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>On a Fedora system:<screen>yum install dkms</screen></para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>On a Mandriva system:<screen>urpmi dkms</screen></para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>If DKMS is available and installed, the VirtualBox kernel module
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots should always work automatically, and it will be automatically rebuilt
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots if your host kernel is updated.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>Otherwise, there are only two situations in which you will need to
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots worry about the kernel module:<orderedlist>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>The original installation fails. This probably means that
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots your Linux system is not prepared for building external kernel
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots modules.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>Most Linux distributions can be set up simply by installing
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots the right packages - normally, these will be the GNU compiler
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots (GCC), GNU Make (make) and packages containing header files for
05d0664d1cf00f06b4a25a9bda45012e29efe7efTodd Kloots your kernel - and making sure that all system updates are
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots installed and that the system is running the most up-to-date
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots kernel included in the distribution. <emphasis>The version numbers
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots of the header file packages must be the same as that of the kernel
de413b3e25c9cba63ab4b3003f5a4524d49f9f05Todd Kloots <itemizedlist>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>With Debian and Ubuntu releases, you must install the
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots right version of the
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>linux-headers</computeroutput> and if it
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots exists the <computeroutput>linux-kbuild</computeroutput>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots package. Current Ubuntu releases should have the right
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots packages installed by default.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>In even older Debian and Ubuntu releases, you must
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots install the right version of the
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots package.</para>
de413b3e25c9cba63ab4b3003f5a4524d49f9f05Todd Kloots <para>On Fedora and Redhat systems, the package is
de413b3e25c9cba63ab4b3003f5a4524d49f9f05Todd Kloots <computeroutput>kernel-devel</computeroutput>.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>On SUSE and openSUSE Linux, you must install the right
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots versions of the <computeroutput>kernel-source</computeroutput>
e470bf2f937c08b9fe627a8af9637594cddd40a1Todd Kloots and <computeroutput>kernel-syms</computeroutput>
e470bf2f937c08b9fe627a8af9637594cddd40a1Todd Kloots packages.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>Alternatively, if you have built your own kernel,
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>/usr/src/linux</computeroutput> should point
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots to your kernel sources. If you have not removed the files
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots created during the build process, then your system will
fd84dbd20108044a5ee332d9b02175bc14f55d3cTodd Kloots already be set up correctly.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots </itemizedlist>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>The kernel of your Linux host was updated and DKMS is not
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots installed. In that case, the kernel module will need to be
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots reinstalled by executing (as root):</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>VirtualBox is available in a number of package formats native to
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots various common Linux distributions (see <xref linkend="hostossupport" />
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots for details). In addition, there is an alternative generic installer
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots (.run) which should work on most Linux distributions.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <title>Installing VirtualBox from a Debian/Ubuntu package</title>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>First, download the appropriate package for your distribution.
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots The following examples assume that you are installing to a 32-bit
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots Ubuntu Karmic system. Use <computeroutput>dpkg</computeroutput> to
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots install the Debian package:</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <screen>sudo dpkg -i VirtualBox-3.2_$VBOX_VERSION_STRING_Ubuntu_karmic_i386.deb</screen>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>You will be asked to accept the VirtualBox Personal Use and
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots Evaluation License. Unless you answer "yes" here, the installation
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots will be aborted.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>The installer will also search for a VirtualBox kernel module
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots suitable for your kernel. The package includes pre-compiled modules
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots for the most common kernel configurations. If no suitable kernel
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots module is found, the installation script tries to build a module
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots itself. If the build process is not successful you will be shown a
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots warning and the package will be left unconfigured. Please have a look
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots at <computeroutput>/var/log/vbox-install.log</computeroutput> to find
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots out why the compilation failed. You may have to install the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots appropriate Linux kernel headers (see <xref
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots linkend="externalkernelmodules" />). After correcting any problems, do
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <screen>sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup</screen>This will start a
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots second attempt to build the module.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>If a suitable kernel module was found in the package or the
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots module was successfully built, the installation script will attempt to
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots load that module. If this fails, please see <xref
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots linkend="linuxkernelmodulefailstoload" /> for further
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots information.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>Once VirtualBox has been successfully installed and configured,
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots you can start it by selecting "VirtualBox" in your start menu or from
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots the command line (see <xref linkend="startingvboxonlinux" />).</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <title>Using the alternative installer (VirtualBox.run)</title>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>The alternative installer performs the following steps:</para>
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots <itemizedlist>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>It unpacks the application files to a target directory of
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots choice. By default, <screen>/opt/VirtualBox/</screen> will be
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots used.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>It builds the VirtualBox kernel module
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots (<computeroutput>vboxdrv</computeroutput>) and installs it.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>It creates
05d0664d1cf00f06b4a25a9bda45012e29efe7efTodd Kloots <computeroutput>/etc/init.d/vboxdrv</computeroutput>, an init
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots script to start the VirtualBox kernel module.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>It creates a new system group called
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>vboxusers</computeroutput>.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>It creates symbolic links to
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>VBoxHeadless</computeroutput> and
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>/usr/bin</computeroutput>.</para>
05d0664d1cf00f06b4a25a9bda45012e29efe7efTodd Kloots <para>It creates
db1eebead76852e1e0c240caa8fc75402fbe2a0bTodd Kloots <computeroutput>/etc/udev/60-vboxdrv.rules</computeroutput>, a
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots description file for udev, if that is present, which makes the
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots module accessible to anyone in the group
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <computeroutput>vboxusers</computeroutput>.</para>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <para>It writes the installation directory to
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <computeroutput>/etc/vbox/vbox.cfg</computeroutput>.</para>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots </itemizedlist>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <para>The installer must be executed as root with either
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <computeroutput>uninstall</computeroutput> as the first parameter. If
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots you do not want the installer to ask you whether you wish to accept
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots the license agreement (for example, for performing unattended
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots installations), you can add the parameter
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>license_accepted_unconditionally</computeroutput>.
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots Finally, if you want to use a directory other than the default
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots installation directory, add the desired path as an extra
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots parameter.</para>
de413b3e25c9cba63ab4b3003f5a4524d49f9f05Todd Kloots <screen>sudo /VirtualBox.run install /opt/VirtualBox</screen>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>Or if you do not have the "sudo" command available, run the
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots following as root instead:<screen>/VirtualBox.run install /opt/VirtualBox</screen></para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>After that you need to put every user which should be able to
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots use VirtualBox in the group
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>vboxusers</computeroutput>, either through the GUI
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots user management tools or by running the following command as
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots root:</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <screen>sudo usermod -a -G vboxusers username</screen>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>The <computeroutput>usermod</computeroutput> command of some
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots older Linux distributions does not support the
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>-a</computeroutput> option (which adds the user to
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots the given group without affecting membership of other groups). In
de413b3e25c9cba63ab4b3003f5a4524d49f9f05Todd Kloots this case, find out the current group memberships with the
a82da1da5f01d59992c338f04dcbc9dd34002d63Todd Kloots <computeroutput>groups</computeroutput> command and add all these
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots groups in a comma-separated list to the command line after the
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>-G</computeroutput> option, e.g. like this:
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>usermod -G group1,group2,vboxusers
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots </note>If any users on your system should be able to access host USB
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots devices from within VirtualBox guests, you should also add them to the
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots appropriate user group that your distribution uses for USB access,
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>usbusers</computeroutput>.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>If, for any reason, you cannot use the shell script installer
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots described previously, you can also perform a manual installation.
a82da1da5f01d59992c338f04dcbc9dd34002d63Todd Kloots Invoke the installer like this:</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <screen>/VirtualBox.run --keep --noexec</screen>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>This will unpack all the files needed for installation in the
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots directory <computeroutput>install</computeroutput> under the current
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots directory. The VirtualBox application files are contained in
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>VirtualBox.tar.bz2</computeroutput> which you can
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots unpack to any directory on your system. For example:</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Klootssudo tar jxf /install/VirtualBox.tar.bz2 -C /opt/VirtualBox</screen>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Klootstar jxf /install/VirtualBox.tar.bz2 -C /opt/VirtualBox</screen></para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>The sources for VirtualBox's kernel module are provided in the
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>src</computeroutput> directory. To build the module,
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots change to the directory and issue</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>If everything builds correctly, issue the following command to
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots install the module to the appropriate module directory:</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>In case you do not have sudo, switch the user account to root
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>The VirtualBox kernel module needs a device node to operate. The
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots above make command will tell you how to create the device node,
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots depending on your Linux system. The procedure is slightly different
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots for a classical Linux setup with a
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>/dev</computeroutput> directory, a system with the now
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots deprecated <computeroutput>devfs</computeroutput> and a modern Linux
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots system with <computeroutput>udev</computeroutput>.</para>
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <para>On certain Linux distributions, you might experience
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots difficulties building the module. You will have to analyze the error
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots messages from the build system to diagnose the cause of the problems.
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots In general, make sure that the correct Linux kernel sources are used
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots for the build process.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Note that the user who is going to run VirtualBox needs read and
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots write permission on the VirtualBox kernel module device node
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>/dev/vboxdrv</computeroutput>. You can either define a
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots <computeroutput>vboxusers</computeroutput> group by entering<screen>groupadd vboxusers
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Klootschmod 660 /dev/vboxdrv</screen>or, alternatively, simply give all users access
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots (insecure, not recommended!)<screen>chmod 666 /dev/vboxdrv</screen>You
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots should also add any users who will be allowed to use host USB devices
ac91eab7de6e2070ada47e7e1e78f1e3051f49abTodd Kloots in VirtualBox guests to the appropriate USB users group for your
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots distribution. This group is often called
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>usbusers</computeroutput>.</para>
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots <para>Next, you will have to install the system initialization script
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots for the kernel module:<screen>cp /opt/VirtualBox/vboxdrv.sh /etc/init.d/vboxdrv</screen>(assuming
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots you installed VirtualBox to the
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>/opt/VirtualBox</computeroutput> directory) and
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots activate the initialization script using the right method for your
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots distribution. You should create VirtualBox's configuration
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Klootsecho INSTALL_DIR=/opt/VirtualBox > /etc/vbox/vbox.cfg</screen>and, for
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots convenience, create the following symbolic links:</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <screen>ln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VirtualBox
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Klootsln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VBoxManage
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Klootsln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VBoxHeadless
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Klootsln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VBoxSDL</screen>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <title>Updating and uninstalling VirtualBox</title>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Before updating or uninstalling VirtualBox, you must terminate
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots any virtual machines which are currently running and exit the
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots VirtualBox or VBoxSVC applications. To update VirtualBox, simply run
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots the installer of the updated version. To uninstall VirtualBox, invoke
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots the installer like this: <screen>sudo /VirtualBox.run uninstall</screen>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots or as root<screen>/VirtualBox.run uninstall</screen>. Starting with
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots version 2.2.2, you can uninstall the .run package by invoking <screen>/opt/VirtualBox/uninstall.sh</screen>To
ac91eab7de6e2070ada47e7e1e78f1e3051f49abTodd Kloots manually uninstall VirtualBox, simply undo the steps in the manual
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots installation in reverse order.</para>
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots <title>Automatic installation of Debian packages</title>
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots <para>The Debian packages will request some user feedback when
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots installed for the first time. The debconf system is used to perform
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots this task. To prevent any user interaction during installation,
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots default values can be defined. A file
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>vboxconf</computeroutput> can contain the following
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots debconf settings: <screen>virtualbox virtualbox/module-compilation-allowed boolean true
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Klootsvirtualbox virtualbox/delete-old-modules boolean true</screen>The first line
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots allows compilation of the vboxdrv kernel module if no module was found
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots for the current kernel. The second line allows the package to delete
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots any old vboxdrv kernel modules compiled by previous
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots installations.</para>
ac91eab7de6e2070ada47e7e1e78f1e3051f49abTodd Kloots <para>These default settings can be applied with <screen>debconf-set-selections vboxconf</screen>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots prior to the installation of the VirtualBox Debian package.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>In addition there are some common configuration options that can
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots be set prior to the installation, described in <xref
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <title>Automatic installation of .rpm packages</title>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>The .rpm format does not provide a configuration system
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots comparable to the debconf system. See <xref
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots linkend="linux_install_opts" /> for how to set some common
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots installation options provided by VirtualBox.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <title id="linux_install_opts">Automatic installation options</title>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>To configure the installation process of our .deb and .rpm
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots packages, a file
ac91eab7de6e2070ada47e7e1e78f1e3051f49abTodd Kloots <computeroutput>/etc/default/virtualbox</computeroutput> is
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots interpreted. The automatic generation of the udev rule can be
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots prevented by the following setting: <screen>INSTALL_NO_UDEV=1</screen>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots The creation of the group vboxusers can be prevented by <screen>INSTALL_NO_GROUP=1</screen>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots If the line <screen>INSTALL_NO_VBOXDRV=1</screen> is specified, the
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots package installer will not try to build the
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>vboxdrv</computeroutput> kernel module if no module
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots according to the current kernel was found.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>The Linux installers create the system user group
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>vboxusers</computeroutput> during installation. Any
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots system user who is going to run VirtualBox must be member of that group.
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots A user can be made member of the group
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>vboxusers</computeroutput> through the GUI user/group
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots management or at the command line with</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <screen>sudo usermod -a -G vboxusers username</screen>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Note that adding an active user to that group will require that
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots user to log out and back in again. This should be done manually after
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots successful installation of the package.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>The easiest way to start a VirtualBox program is by running the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots program of your choice (<computeroutput>VirtualBox</computeroutput>,
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>VBoxHeadless</computeroutput>) from a terminal. These
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots are symbolic links to <computeroutput>VBox.sh</computeroutput> that
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots start the required program for you.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>The following detailed instructions should only be of interest if
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots you wish to execute VirtualBox without installing it first. You should
ac91eab7de6e2070ada47e7e1e78f1e3051f49abTodd Kloots start by compiling the <computeroutput>vboxdrv</computeroutput> kernel
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots module (see above) and inserting it into the Linux kernel. VirtualBox
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots consists of a service daemon (<computeroutput>VBoxSVC</computeroutput>)
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots and several application programs. The daemon is automatically started if
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots necessary. All VirtualBox applications will communicate with the daemon
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots through Unix local domain sockets. There can be multiple daemon
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots instances under different user accounts and applications can only
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots communicate with the daemon running under the user account as the
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots application. The local domain socket resides in a subdirectory of your
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots system's directory for temporary files called
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots <computeroutput>.vbox-<username>-ipc</computeroutput>. In case of
3400b203be7070506f073537f5150b980d363089Todd Kloots communication problems or server startup problems, you may try to remove
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots this directory.</para>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <para>All VirtualBox applications
05d0664d1cf00f06b4a25a9bda45012e29efe7efTodd Kloots <computeroutput>VBoxHeadless</computeroutput>) require the VirtualBox
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots directory to be in the library path:</para>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <screen>LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. /VBoxManage showvminfo "Windows XP"</screen>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <title id="install-solaris-host">Installing on Solaris hosts</title>
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots <para>For the specific versions of Solaris that we support as host
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots operating systems, please refer to <xref
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots <para>If you have a previously installed instance of VirtualBox on your
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots Solaris host, please uninstall it first before installing a new instance.
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots Refer to <xref linkend="uninstallsolhost" /> for uninstall
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots instructions.</para>
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots <para>VirtualBox is available as a standard Solaris package. Download
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots the VirtualBox SunOS package which includes both the 32-bit and 64-bit
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots versions of VirtualBox. <emphasis>The installation must be performed as
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots root and from the global zone</emphasis> as the VirtualBox installer
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots loads kernel drivers which cannot be done from non-global zones. To
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots verify which zone you are currently in, execute the
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <computeroutput>zonename</computeroutput> command. Execute the following
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots commands:</para>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <screen>gunzip -cd VirtualBox-$VBOX_VERSION_STRING-SunOS.tar.gz | tar xvf -</screen>
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <para>Starting with VirtualBox 3.1 the VirtualBox kernel package is no
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots longer a separate package and has been integrated into the main package.
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots Install the VirtualBox package using:</para>
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots <screen>pkgadd -d VirtualBox-$VBOX_VERSION_STRING-SunOS.pkg</screen>
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots <para>If you are using Solaris Zones, to install VirtualBox only into
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots the current zone and not into any other zone, use
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots <computeroutput>pkgadd -G</computeroutput>. For more information refer
186030b6cf32f403c5bbd9c51366d2170473b0d2Todd Kloots to the <computeroutput>pkgadd</computeroutput> manual; see also <xref
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots <para>The installer will then prompt you to enter the package you wish
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots to install. Choose "1" or "all" and proceed. Next the installer will ask
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots you if you want to allow the postinstall script to be executed. Choose
269127229912bbc887ad01187105dcbd16133144Todd Kloots "y" and proceed as it is essential to execute this script which installs
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots the VirtualBox kernel module. Following this confirmation the installer
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots will install VirtualBox and execute the postinstall setup script.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Once the postinstall script has been executed your installation is
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots now complete. You may now safely delete the uncompressed package and
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots <computeroutput>autoresponse</computeroutput> files from your system.
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots VirtualBox would be installed in
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>/opt/VirtualBox</computeroutput>.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>The easiest way to start a VirtualBox program is by running the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots program of your choice (<computeroutput>VirtualBox</computeroutput>,
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>VBoxHeadless</computeroutput>) from a terminal. These
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots are symbolic links to <computeroutput>VBox.sh</computeroutput> that
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots start the required program for you.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Alternatively, you can directly invoke the required programs from
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>/opt/VirtualBox</computeroutput>. Using the links
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots provided is easier as you do not have to type the full path.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>You can configure some elements of the
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>VirtualBox</computeroutput> Qt GUI such as fonts and
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots colours by executing <computeroutput>VBoxQtconfig</computeroutput> from
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots the terminal.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <title id="uninstallsolhost">Uninstallation</title>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>Uninstallation of VirtualBox on Solaris requires root permissions.
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots To perform the uninstallation, start a root terminal session and
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots execute:</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>After confirmation, this will remove VirtualBox from your
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots system.</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para>If you are uninstalling VirtualBox version 3.0 or lower, you need
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots to remove the VirtualBox kernel interface package, execute:</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <para><screen>pkgrm SUNWvboxkern</screen></para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>To perform a non-interactive installation of VirtualBox we have
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots provided a response file named
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <computeroutput>autoresponse</computeroutput> that the installer will
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots use for responses to inputs rather than ask them from you.</para>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Extract the tar.gz package as described in the normal
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots installation. Then open a root terminal session and execute:</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <screen>pkgadd -d VirtualBox-$VBOX_VERSION_STRING-SunOS-x86 -n -a autoresponse SUNWvbox</screen>
ac91eab7de6e2070ada47e7e1e78f1e3051f49abTodd Kloots <para>To perform a non-interactive uninstallation, open a root terminal
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots session and execute:</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <screen>pkgrm -n -a /opt/VirtualBox/autoresponse SUNWvbox</screen>
870e762dff448c62395c1fc5ac36d3235fc486b4Todd Kloots <title id="solariszones">Configuring a zone for running
dcc27ab1cda56d7ad286e36c57f451db77894301Todd Kloots VirtualBox</title>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>Starting with VirtualBox 1.6 it is possible to run VirtualBox from
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots within Solaris zones. For an introduction of Solaris zones, please refer
ce06fcd5562d725b60692d44fd9deef967a3276cTodd Kloots url="http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/features/articles/solaris_zones.jsp">http://www.sun.com/bigadmin/features/articles/solaris_zones.jsp</ulink>.</para>
ce06fcd5562d725b60692d44fd9deef967a3276cTodd Kloots <para>Assuming that VirtualBox has already been installed into your
ce06fcd5562d725b60692d44fd9deef967a3276cTodd Kloots zone, you need to give the zone access to VirtualBox's device node. This
ce06fcd5562d725b60692d44fd9deef967a3276cTodd Kloots is done by performing the following steps. Start a root terminal and
ce06fcd5562d725b60692d44fd9deef967a3276cTodd Kloots execute:</para>
ce06fcd5562d725b60692d44fd9deef967a3276cTodd Kloots <para>Inside the <computeroutput>zonecfg</computeroutput> prompt add the
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>device</computeroutput> resource and
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>match</computeroutput> properties to the zone. Here's
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots how it can be done:</para>
5f40f927dba3cf399373572f6ed6fe59a376376eTodd Kloots <screen>zonecfg:vboxzone>add device
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Klootszonecfg:vboxzone:device>set match=/dev/vboxdrv
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Klootszonecfg:vboxzone:device>end
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Klootszonecfg:vboxzone>verify
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Klootszonecfg:vboxzone>exit</screen>
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <para>If you are running VirtualBox 2.2.0 or above on Solaris 11 or
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots Nevada hosts, you should add a device for
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots <computeroutput>/dev/vboxusbmon</computeroutput> too, similar to what
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots was shown above. This does not apply to Solaris 10 hosts due to lack of
db1eebead76852e1e0c240caa8fc75402fbe2a0bTodd Kloots USB support.</para>
db1eebead76852e1e0c240caa8fc75402fbe2a0bTodd Kloots <para>Replace "vboxzone" with the name of the zone in which you intend
db1eebead76852e1e0c240caa8fc75402fbe2a0bTodd Kloots to run VirtualBox. Next reboot the zone using
db1eebead76852e1e0c240caa8fc75402fbe2a0bTodd Kloots <computeroutput>zoneadm</computeroutput> and you should be able to run
9a2430d08e4d1b8b870cd3ba6c17ffc7881d16a6Todd Kloots VirtualBox from within the configured zone.</para>