user_AdvancedTopics.xml revision 6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923ed
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync"http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd">
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For each system user, VirtualBox stores configuration data in the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync user's home directory, as per the conventions of the host operating
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync system:<itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>On Windows, this is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>%HOMEDRIVE%%HOMEPATH%\.VirtualBox</computeroutput>;
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync typically something like <computeroutput>C:\Documents and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Settings\Username\.VirtualBox</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>On Mac OS X, this is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>$HOME/Library/VirtualBox</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>On Unix-like systems (Linux, Solaris), this is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>$HOME/.VirtualBox</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VirtualBox creates this configuration directory automatically, if
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync necessary. Optionally, you can supply an alternate configuration directory
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync by setting the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput><literal>VBOX_USER_HOME</literal></computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync environment variable. You can globally change some of the locations where
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox keeps extra configuration and data by selecting "Global
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync settings" from the "File" menu in the VirtualBox main window. Then, in the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync window that pops up, click on the "General" tab.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VirtualBox stores all its global and machine-specific configuration
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync data in XML documents. We intentionally do not document the specifications
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync of these files, as we must reserve the right to modify them in the future.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync We therefore strongly suggest that you do not edit these files manually.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox provides complete access to its configuration data through its
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> command line tool (see
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <xref linkend="vboxmanage" />) and its API (see <xref
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The XML files are versioned. When a new settings file is created
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync (e.g. because a new virtual machine is created), VirtualBox automatically
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync uses the settings format of the current VirtualBox version. These files
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync may not be readable if you downgrade to an earlier version of VirtualBox.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync However, when VirtualBox encounters a settings file from an earlier
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync version (e.g. after upgrading VirtualBox), it attempts to preserve the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync settings format as much as possible. It will only silently upgrade the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync settings format if the current settings cannot be expressed in the old
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync format, for example because you enabled a feature that was not present in
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync an earlier version of VirtualBox.<footnote>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>As an example, before VirtualBox 3.1, it was only possible to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync enable or disable a single DVD drive in a virtual machine. If it was
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync enabled, then it would always be visible as the secondary master of
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the IDE controller. With VirtualBox 3.1, DVD drives can be attached to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync arbitrary slots of arbitrary controllers, so they could be the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync secondary slave of an IDE controller or in a SATA slot. If you have a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync machine settings file from an earlier version and upgrade VirtualBox
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to 3.1 and then move the DVD drive from its default position, this
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync cannot be expressed in the old settings format; the XML machine file
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync would get written in the new format, and a backup file of the old
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync format would be kept.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </footnote> In such cases, VirtualBox backs up the old settings file in
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the virtual machine's configuration directory. If you need to go back to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the earlier version of VirtualBox, then you will need to manually copy
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync these backup files back.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>In detail, the following settings files are in use:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>In the configuration directory,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>VirtualBox.xml</computeroutput> is the main
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync configuration file. This includes global configuration options and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the media and virtual machine registry. The media registry links to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync all CD/DVD, floppy and disk images that have been added to the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Virtual Media Manager. For each registered VM, there is one entry
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync which points to the VM configuration file, also in XML
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync format.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Virtual machine settings and files are, by default, saved as
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync XML files in a subdirectory of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>Machines</computeroutput> directory, which
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox creates under the main configuration directory (see
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync above). You can change the location of this main "Machines" folder
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync in the "Global settings" dialog.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>By default, for each virtual machine, VirtualBox uses another
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync subdirectory of the "Machines" directory that carries the same name
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync as the virtual machine. As a result, your virtual machine names must
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync conform to the conventions of your operating system for valid file
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync names. For example, a machine called "Fedora 6" would, by default,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync have its settings saved in
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>.VirtualBox/Machines/Fedora 6/Fedora
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 6.xml</computeroutput> (on a Linux or Solaris host).</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>If you would like more control over the file names used, you
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync can create the machine using <computeroutput>VBoxManage
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync createvm</computeroutput> with the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>--settingsfile</computeroutput> option; see <xref
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The virtual machine directory will be renamed if you change
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the machine name. If you do not wish this to happen, you can create
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the machine using <computeroutput>VBoxManage
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync createvm</computeroutput> with the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>--basefolder</computeroutput> option. In this case,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the folder name will never change.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VirtualBox keeps snapshots and saved states in another special
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync folder for each virtual machine. By default, this is a subfolder of
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the virtual machine folder called
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>Snapshots</computeroutput> -- in our example,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 6/Snapshots</computeroutput>. You can change this setting for each
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync machine using <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> as
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync well.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VDI container files are, by default, created in the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>HardDisks</computeroutput> directory under the main
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync configuration directory (see above). In particular, this directory
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync is used when the "Create new virtual disk" wizard is started to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync create a new VDI file. Changing this default is probably most useful
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync if the disk containing your home directory does not have enough room
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to hold your VDI files, which can grow very large.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>VBoxSDL, the simplified VM displayer</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VBoxSDL is a simple graphical user interface (GUI) that lacks the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync nice point-and-click support which VirtualBox, our main GUI, provides.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VBoxSDL is currently primarily used internally for debugging VirtualBox
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and therefore not officially supported. Still, you may find it useful
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync for environments where the virtual machines are not necessarily
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync controlled by the same person that uses the virtual machine.<note>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VBoxSDL is not available on the Mac OS X host platform.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>As you can see in the following screenshot, VBoxSDL does indeed
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync only provide a simple window that contains only the "pure" virtual
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync machine, without menus or other controls to click upon and no additional
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync indicators of virtual machine activity:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <imageobject>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <imagedata align="center" fileref="images/vbox-sdl.png"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync width="10cm" />
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </imageobject>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To start a virtual machine with VBoxSDL instead of the VirtualBox
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync GUI, enter the following on a command line:<screen>VBoxSDL --startvm <vm></screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>where <computeroutput><vm></computeroutput> is, as usual
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with VirtualBox command line parameters, the name or UUID of an existing
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync virtual machine.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>When running guest operating systems in fullscreen mode, the guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync operating system usually has control over the whole screen. This could
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync present a security risk as the guest operating system might fool the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync user into thinking that it is either a different system (which might
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync have a higher security level) or it might present messages on the screen
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync that appear to stem from the host operating system.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>In order to protect the user against the above mentioned security
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync risks, the secure labeling feature has been developed. Secure labeling
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync is currently available only for VBoxSDL. When enabled, a portion of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync display area is reserved for a label in which a user defined message is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync displayed. The label height in set to 20 pixels in VBoxSDL. The label
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync font color and background color can be optionally set as hexadecimal RGB
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync color values. The following syntax is used to enable secure
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync labeling:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxSDL --startvm "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync --seclabelsiz 14 --seclabelfgcol 00FF00 --seclabelbgcol 00FFFF</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>In addition to enabling secure labeling, a TrueType font has to be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync supplied. To use another font size than 12 point use the parameter
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>--seclabelsiz</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The label text can be set with <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "VBoxSDL/SecureLabel" "The Label"</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Changing this label will take effect immediately.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Typically, full screen resolutions are limited to certain
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "standard" geometries such as 1024 x 768. Increasing this by twenty
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync lines is not usually feasible, so in most cases, VBoxSDL will chose the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync next higher resolution, e.g. 1280 x 1024 and the guest's screen will not
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync cover the whole display surface. If VBoxSDL is unable to choose a higher
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync resolution, the secure label will be painted on top of the guest's
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync screen surface. In order to address the problem of the bottom part of
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the guest screen being hidden, VBoxSDL can provide custom video modes to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the guest that are reduced by the height of the label. For Windows
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guests and recent Solaris and Linux guests, the VirtualBox Guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Additions automatically provide the reduced video modes. Additionally,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the VESA BIOS has been adjusted to duplicate its standard mode table
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with adjusted resolutions. The adjusted mode IDs can be calculated using
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the following formula:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For example, in order to start Linux with 1024 x 748 x 16, the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync standard mode 0x117 (1024 x 768 x 16) is used as a base. The Linux video
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync mode kernel parameter can then be calculated using:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>vga = 0x200 | 0x117 + 0x30
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncvga = 839</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The reason for duplicating the standard modes instead of only
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync supplying the adjusted modes is that most guest operating systems
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync require the standard VESA modes to be fixed and refuse to start with
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync different modes.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>When using the X.org VESA driver, custom modelines have to be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync calculated and added to the configuration (usually in
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <literal>/etc/X11/xorg.conf</literal>. A handy tool to determine
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync url="http://www.tkk.fi/Misc/Electronics/faq/vga2rgb/calc.html">http://www.tkk.fi/Misc/Electronics/faq/vga2rgb/calc.html</ulink></literal>.)</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Releasing modifiers with VBoxSDL on Linux</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>When switching from a X virtual terminal (VT) to another VT using
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Ctrl-Alt-Fx while the VBoxSDL window has the input focus, the guest will
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync receive Ctrl and Alt keypress events without receiving the corresponding
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync key release events. This is an architectural limitation of Linux. In
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync order to reset the modifier keys, it is possible to send
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>SIGUSR1</computeroutput> to the VBoxSDL main thread
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync (first entry in the <computeroutput>ps</computeroutput> list). For
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync example, when switching away to another VT and saving the virtual
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync machine from this terminal, the following sequence can be used to make
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync sure the VM is not saved with stuck modifiers:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage controlvm "Windows 2000" savestate</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title id="autologon">Automated guest logons</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VirtualBox provides Guest Addition modules for Windows, Linux and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Solaris to enable automated logons on the guest.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>When a guest operating system is running in a virtual machine, it
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync might be desirable to perform coordinated and automated logons using
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync credentials from a master logon system. (With "credentials", we are
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync referring to logon information consisting of user name, password and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync domain name, where each value might be empty.)</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Since Windows NT, Windows has provided a modular system logon
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync subsystem ("Winlogon") which can be customized and extended by means of
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync so-called GINA modules (Graphical Identification and Authentication).
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync With Windows Vista and Windows 7, the GINA modules were replaced with a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync new mechanism called "credential providers". The VirtualBox Guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Additions for Windows come with both, a GINA and a credential provider
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync module, and therefore enable any Windows guest to perform automated
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync logons.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To activate the VirtualBox GINA or credential provider module,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync install the Guest Additions with using the command line switch
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/with_autologon</computeroutput>. All the following
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync manual steps required for installing these modules will be then done by
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the installer.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To manually install the VirtualBox GINA module, extract the Guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Additions (see <xref linkend="windows-guest-file-extraction" />) and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync copy the file <computeroutput>VBoxGINA.dll</computeroutput> to the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Windows <computeroutput>SYSTEM32</computeroutput> directory. Then, in
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the registry, create the following key: <screen>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\GinaDLL</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with a value of <computeroutput>VBoxGINA.dll</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync The VirtualBox GINA is implemented as a wrapper around the standard Windows
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync GINA (<computeroutput>MSGINA.DLL</computeroutput>),
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync therefore it will most likely not work correctly with 3rd party GINA modules.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To manually install the VirtualBox credential module, extract the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Guest Additions (see <xref linkend="windows-guest-file-extraction" />)
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and copy the file <computeroutput>VBoxCredProv.dll</computeroutput> to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the Windows <computeroutput>SYSTEM32</computeroutput> directory. Then,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync in the registry, create the following keys:<screen>HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Authentication\Credential Providers\{275D3BCC-22BB-4948-A7F6-3A3054EBA92B}
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncHKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{275D3BCC-22BB-4948-A7F6-3A3054EBA92B}
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncHKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{275D3BCC-22BB-4948-A7F6-3A3054EBA92B}\InprocServer32</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>with all default values (the key named
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>(Default)</computeroutput> in each key) set to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>VBoxCredProv</computeroutput>. After that a new string
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync named <screen>HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{275D3BCC-22BB-4948-A7F6-3A3054EBA92B}\InprocServer32\ThreadingModel</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with a value of <computeroutput>Apartment</computeroutput> has to be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync created.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To set credentials, use the following command on a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage controlvm "Windows XP" setcredentials "John Doe" "secretpassword" "DOMTEST"</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>While the VM is running, the credentials can be queried by the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox logon modules (GINA or credential provider) using the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox Guest Additions device driver. When Windows is in "logged
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync out" mode, the logon modules will constantly poll for credentials and if
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync they are present, a logon will be attempted. After retrieving the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync credentials, the logon modules will erase them so that the above command
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync will have to be repeated for subsequent logons.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For security reasons, credentials are not stored in any persistent
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync manner and will be lost when the VM is reset. Also, the credentials are
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "write-only", i.e. there is no way to retrieve the credentials from the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync host side. Credentials can be reset from the host side by setting empty
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync values.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Depending on the particular variant of the Windows guest, the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync following restrictions apply: <orderedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For <emphasis role="bold">Windows XP guests,</emphasis> the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync logon subsystem needs to be configured to use the classic logon
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync dialog as the VirtualBox GINA module does not support the XP-style
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync welcome dialog.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For <emphasis role="bold">Windows Vista and Windows 7
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guests,</emphasis> the logon subsystem does not support the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync so-called Secure Attention Sequence
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync (<computeroutput>CTRL+ALT+DEL</computeroutput>). As a result, the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest's group policy settings need to be changed to not use the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Secure Attention Sequence. Also, the user name given is only
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync compared to the true user name, not the user friendly name. This
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync means that when you rename a user, you still have to supply the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync original user name (internally, Windows never renames user
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync accounts).</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The following command forces VirtualBox to keep the credentials
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync after they were read by the guest and on VM reset: <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "Windows XP" VBoxInternal/Devices/VMMDev/0/Config/KeepCredentials 1</screen>Note
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync that this is a potential security risk as a malicious application
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync running on the guest could request this information using the proper
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync interface.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Starting with version 3.2, VirtualBox provides a custom PAM module
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync (Pluggable Authentication Module) which can be used to perform automated
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest logons on platforms which support this framework. Virtually all
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync modern Linux/Unix distributions rely on PAM.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The <computeroutput>pam_vbox.so</computeroutput> module itself
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <emphasis role="bold">does not</emphasis> do an actual verification of
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the credentials passed to the guest OS; instead it relies on other
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync modules such as <computeroutput>pam_unix.so</computeroutput> or
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>pam_unix2.so</computeroutput> down in the PAM stack to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync do the actual validation using the credentials retrieved by
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>pam_vbox.so</computeroutput>. Therefore
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>pam_vbox.so</computeroutput> has to be on top of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync authentication PAM service list.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The <computeroutput>pam_vbox.so</computeroutput> only supports
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the <computeroutput>auth</computeroutput> primitive. Other primitives
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>password</computeroutput> are not supported.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The <computeroutput>pam_vbox.so</computeroutput> module is shipped
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync as part of the Guest Additions but it is not installed and/or activated
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync on the guest OS by default. In order to install it, it has to be copied
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/opt/VBoxGuestAdditions-<version>/lib/VBoxGuestAdditions/</computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to the security modules directory, usually
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/lib/security/</computeroutput>. Please refer to your
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest OS documentation for the correct PAM module directory.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For example, to use <computeroutput>pam_vbox.so</computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with a Ubuntu Linux guest OS and GDM (the GNOME Desktop Manager) to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync logon users automatically with the credentials passed by the host, the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest OS has to be configured like the following:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <orderedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The <computeroutput>pam_vbox.so</computeroutput> module has to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync be copied to the security modules directory, in this case it is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/lib/security</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Edit the PAM configuration file for GDM found at
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/etc/pam.d/gdm</computeroutput>, adding the line
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>auth requisite pam_vbox.so</computeroutput> at the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync top. Additionaly, in most Linux distributions there is a file called
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/etc/pam.d/common-auth</computeroutput>. This file
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync is included in many other services (like the GDM file mentioned
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync above). There you also have to add add the line <computeroutput>auth
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>If authentication against the shadow database using
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>pam_unix2.so</computeroutput> is desired, the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync argument <computeroutput>try_first_pass</computeroutput> is needed
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync in order to pass the credentials from the VirtualBox module to the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync shadow database authentication module. For Ubuntu, this needs to be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync added to <computeroutput>/etc/pam.d/common-auth</computeroutput>, to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the end of the line referencing
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>pam_unix.so</computeroutput>. This argument tells
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the PAM module to use credentials already present in the stack, i.e.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the ones provided by the VirtualBox PAM module.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </orderedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>An incorrectly configured PAM stack can effectively prevent
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync you from logging into your guest system!</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To make deployment easier, you can pass the argument
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>debug</computeroutput> right after the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>pam_vbox.so</computeroutput> statement. Debug log output
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync will then be recorded using syslog.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>At present, the GDM display manager only retrieves credentials
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync at startup so unless the credentials have been supplied to the guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync before GDM starts, automatic logon will not work. This limitation
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync needs to be addressed by the GDM developers or another display
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync manager must be used.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Advanced configuration for Windows guests</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Automated Windows system preparation</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Beginning with Windows NT 4.0, Microsoft offers a "system
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync preparation" tool (in short: Sysprep) to prepare a Windows system for
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync deployment or redistribution. Whereas Windows 2000 and XP ship with
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Sysprep on the installation medium, the tool also is available for
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync download on the Microsoft web site. In a standard installation of
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Windows Vista and 7, Sysprep is already included. Sysprep mainly
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync consists of an executable called
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>sysprep.exe</computeroutput> which is invoked by the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync user to put the Windows installation into preparation mode.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Starting with VirtualBox 3.2.2, the Guest Additions offer a way to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync launch a system preparation on the guest operating system in an
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync automated way, controlled from the host system. To achieve that, see
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <xref linkend="guestadd-guestcontrol" /> for using the feature with the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync special identifier <computeroutput>sysprep</computeroutput> as the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync program to execute, along with the user name
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>sysprep</computeroutput> and password
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>sysprep</computeroutput> for the credentials. Sysprep
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync then gets launched with the required system rights.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Specifying the location of "sysprep.exe" is <emphasis
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync role="bold">not possible</emphasis> -- instead the following paths are
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync used (based on the operating system): <itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><computeroutput>C:\sysprep\sysprep.exe</computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync for Windows NT 4.0, 2000 and XP</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><computeroutput>%WINDIR%\System32\Sysprep\sysprep.exe</computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync for Windows Vista, 2008 Server and 7</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </itemizedlist> The Guest Additions will automatically use the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync appropriate path to execute the system preparation tool.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>With virtual machines running modern server operating systems,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox supports CPU hot-plugging.<footnote>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Support for CPU hot-plugging was introduced with VirtualBox
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 3.2.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </footnote> Whereas on a physical computer this would mean that a CPU
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync can be added or removed while the machine is running, VirtualBox supports
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync adding and removing virtual CPUs while a virtual machine is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync running.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>CPU hot-plugging works only with guest operating systems that
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync support it. So far this applies only to Linux and Windows Server 2008 x64
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Data Center Edition. Windows supports only hot-add while Linux supports
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync hot-add and hot-remove but to use this feature with more than 8 CPUs a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 64bit Linux guest is required.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>At this time, CPU hot-plugging requires using the VBoxManage
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync command-line interface. First, hot-plugging needs to be enabled for a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync virtual machine:<screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --cpuhotplug on</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>After that, the --cpus option specifies the maximum number of CPUs
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync that the virtual machine can have:<screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --cpus 8</screen>When
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the VM is off, you can then add and remove virtual CPUs with the modifyvm
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync --plugcpu and --unplugcpu subcommands, which take the number of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync virtual CPU as a parameter, like this:<screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --plugcpu 3
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --unplugcpu 3</screen>Note that CPU 0 can never
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync be removed.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>While the VM is running, CPUs can be added with the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>controlvm plugcpu/unplugcpu</computeroutput> commands
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync instead:<screen>VBoxManage controlvm "VM name" plugcpu 3
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage controlvm "VM name" unplugcpu 3</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>See <xref linkend="vboxmanage-modifyvm" /> and <xref
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync linkend="vboxmanage-controlvm" /> for details.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>With Linux guests, the following applies: To prevent ejection while
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the CPU is still used it has to be ejected from within the guest before.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync The Linux Guest Additions contain a service which receives hot-remove
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync events and ejects the CPU. Also, after a CPU is added to the VM it is not
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync automatically used by Linux. The Linux Guest Additions service will take
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync care of that if installed. If not a CPU can be started with the following
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync command:<screen>echo 1 > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu<id>/online</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Apart from the standard VESA resolutions, the VirtualBox VESA BIOS
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync allows you to add up to 16 custom video modes which will be reported to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the guest operating system. When using Windows guests with the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox Guest Additions, a custom graphics driver will be used
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync instead of the fallback VESA solution so this information does not
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync apply.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Additional video modes can be configured for each VM using the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync extra data facility. The extra data key is called
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <literal>CustomVideoMode<x></literal> with <literal>x</literal>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync being a number from 1 to 16. Please note that modes will be read from 1
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync until either the following number is not defined or 16 is reached. The
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync following example adds a video mode that corresponds to the native
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync display resolution of many notebook computers:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "CustomVideoMode1" "1400x1050x16"</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The VESA mode IDs for custom video modes start at
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <literal>0x160</literal>. In order to use the above defined custom video
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync mode, the following command line has be supplied to Linux:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>vga = 0x200 | 0x160
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncvga = 864</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For guest operating systems with VirtualBox Guest Additions, a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync custom video mode can be set using the video mode hint feature.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring the maximum resolution of guests when using the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync graphical frontend</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>When guest systems with the Guest Additions installed are started
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync using the graphical frontend (the normal VirtualBox application), they
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync will not be allowed to use screen resolutions greater than the host's
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync screen size unless the user manually resizes them by dragging the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync window, switching to fullscreen or seamless mode or sending a video mode
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync hint using VBoxManage. This behavior is what most users will want, but
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync if you have different needs, it is possible to change it by issuing one
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync of the following commands from the command line:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/MaxGuestResolution any</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>will remove all limits on guest resolutions.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/MaxGuestResolution >width,height<</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>manually specifies a maximum resolution.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/MaxGuestResolution auto</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>restores the default settings. Note that these settings apply
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync globally to all guest systems, not just to a single machine.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Custom external authentication modules</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>As described in <xref linkend="vbox-auth" />, VirtualBox supports
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync arbitrary external modules to perform authentication. When the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync authentication method is set to "external" for a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync particular VM, VirtualBox calls the library that was specified with
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>VBoxManage setproperty vrdeauthlibrary</computeroutput>.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync This library will be loaded by the VM process on demand, i.e. when the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync first RDP connection is made by an external client.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>External authentication is the most flexible as the external
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync handler can both choose to grant access to everyone (like the "null"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync authentication method would) and delegate the request to the guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync authentication component. When delegating the request to the guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync component, it will still be called afterwards with the option to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync override the result.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>An authentication library is required to implement exactly one
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync entry point:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * Authentication library entry point. Decides whether to allow
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * a client connection.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * Parameters:
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * pUuid Pointer to the UUID of the virtual machine
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * which the client connected to.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * guestJudgement Result of the guest authentication.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * szUser User name passed in by the client (UTF8).
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * szPassword Password passed in by the client (UTF8).
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * szDomain Domain passed in by the client (UTF8).
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * fLogon Boolean flag. Indicates whether the entry point is called
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * for a client logon or the client disconnect.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * clientId Server side unique identifier of the client.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * Return code:
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * VRDPAuthAccessDenied Client access has been denied.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * VRDPAuthAccessGranted Client has the right to use the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * virtual machine.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * VRDPAuthDelegateToGuest Guest operating system must
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * authenticate the client and the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * library must be called again with
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * the result of the guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync * authentication.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVRDPAuthResult VRDPAUTHCALL VRDPAuth2(
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync PVRDPAUTHUUID pUuid,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VRDPAuthGuestJudgement guestJudgement,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync const char *szUser,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync const char *szPassword
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync const char *szDomain
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync int fLogon,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync unsigned clientId)
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync /* process request against your authentication source of choice */
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync return VRDPAuthAccessGranted;
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>A note regarding the UUID implementation of the first argument:
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox uses a consistent binary representation of UUIDs on all
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync platforms. For this reason the integer fields comprising the UUID are
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync stored as little endian values. If you want to pass such UUIDs to code
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync which assumes that the integer fields are big endian (often also called
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync network byte order), you need to adjust the contents of the UUID to e.g.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync achieve the same string representation. The required changes
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync are:<itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>reverse the order of byte 0, 1, 2 and 3</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </itemizedlist>Using this conversion you will get identical results
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync when converting the binary UUID to the string representation.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The second arguments contains information about the guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync authentication status. For the first call, it is always set to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>VRDPAuthGuestNotAsked</computeroutput>. In case the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync function returns
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>VRDPAuthDelegateToGuest</computeroutput>, a guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync authentication will be attempted and another call to the method is made
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with its result. This can be either granted / denied or no judgement
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync (the guest component chose for whatever reason to not make a decision).
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync In case there is a problem with the guest authentication module (e.g.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the Additions are not installed or not running or the guest did not
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync respond within a timeout), the "not reacted" status will be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync returned.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Using a raw host hard disk from a guest</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Starting with version 1.4, as an alternative to using virtual disk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync images (as described in detail in <xref linkend="storage" />),
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox can also present either entire physical hard disks or
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync selected partitions thereof as virtual disks to virtual machines.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>With VirtualBox, this type of access is called "raw hard disk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync access"; it allows a guest operating system to access its virtual hard
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync disk without going through the host OS file system. The actual
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync performance difference for image files vs. raw disk varies greatly
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync depending on the overhead of the host file system, whether dynamically
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync growing images are used and on host OS caching strategies. The caching
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync indirectly also affects other aspects such as failure behavior, i.e.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync whether the virtual disk contains all data written before a host OS
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync crash. Consult your host OS documentation for details on this.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Raw hard disk access is for expert users only. Incorrect use
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync or use of an outdated configuration can lead to <emphasis
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync role="bold">total loss of data </emphasis>on the physical disk. Most
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync importantly, <emphasis>do not</emphasis> attempt to boot the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync partition with the currently running host operating system in a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest. This will lead to severe data corruption.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Raw hard disk access -- both for entire disks and individual
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync partitions -- is implemented as part of the VMDK image format support.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync As a result, you will need to create a special VMDK image file which
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync defines where the data will be stored. After creating such a special
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VMDK image, you can use it like a regular virtual disk image. For
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync example, you can use the Virtual Media Manager (<xref linkend="vdis" />)
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync or <computeroutput>VBoxManage</computeroutput> to assign the image to a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync virtual machine.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>While this variant is the simplest to set up, you must be aware
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync that this will give a guest operating system direct and full access to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync an <emphasis>entire physical disk</emphasis>. If your
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <emphasis>host</emphasis> operating system is also booted from this
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync disk, please take special care to not access the partition from the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest at all. On the positive side, the physical disk can be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync repartitioned in arbitrary ways without having to recreate the image
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync file that gives access to the raw disk.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To create an image that represents an entire physical hard disk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync (which will not contain any actual data, as this will all be stored on
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the physical disk), on a Linux host, use the command<screen>VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <code>/path/to/file.vmdk</code> (must be absolute), and all data will
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync be read and written from <code>/dev/sda</code>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>On a Windows host, instead of the above device specification,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync use e.g. <code>\\.\PhysicalDrive0</code>. On a Mac OS X host, instead
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync of the above device specification use e.g. <code>/dev/disk1</code>.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Note that on OS X you can only get access to an entire disk if no
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync volume is mounted from it.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Creating the image requires read/write access for the given
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync device. Read/write access is also later needed when using the image
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync from a virtual machine.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Just like with regular disk images, this does not automatically
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync register the newly created image in the internal registry of hard
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync disks. If you want this done automatically, add
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <code>-register</code>: <screen>VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync -rawdisk /dev/sda -register</screen>After registering, you can assign
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the newly created image to a virtual machine with e.g. <screen>VBoxManage storageattach WindowsXP --storagectl "IDE Controller"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync --port 0 --device 0 --type hdd --medium /path/to/file.vmdk</screen>When
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync this is done the selected virtual machine will boot from the specified
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync physical disk.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Access to individual physical hard disk partitions</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>This "raw partition support" is quite similar to the "full hard
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync disk" access described above. However, in this case, any partitioning
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync information will be stored inside the VMDK image, so you can e.g.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync install a different boot loader in the virtual hard disk without
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync affecting the host's partitioning information. While the guest will be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync able to <emphasis>see</emphasis> all partitions that exist on the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync physical disk, access will be filtered in that reading from partitions
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync for which no access is allowed the partitions will only yield zeroes,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and all writes to them are ignored.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To create a special image for raw partition support (which will
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync contain a small amount of data, as already mentioned), on a Linux
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync host, use the command<screen>VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>As you can see, the command is identical to the one for "full
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync hard disk" access, except for the additional
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>-partitions</computeroutput> parameter. This example
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync would create the image <code>/path/to/file.vmdk</code> (which, again,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync must be absolute), and partitions 1 and 5 of <code>/dev/sda</code>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync would be made accessible to the guest.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VirtualBox uses the same partition numbering as your Linux host.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync As a result, the numbers given in the above example would refer to the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync first primary partition and the first logical drive in the extended
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync partition, respectively.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>On a Windows host, instead of the above device specification,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync use e.g. <code>\\.\PhysicalDrive0</code>. On a Mac OS X host, instead
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync of the above device specification use e.g. <code>/dev/disk1</code>.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Note that on OS X you can only use partitions which are not mounted
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync (eject the respective volume first). Partition numbers are the same on
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Linux, Windows and Mac OS X hosts.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The numbers for the list of partitions can be taken from the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync output of<screen>VBoxManage internalcommands listpartitions -rawdisk /dev/sda</screen>The
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync output lists the partition types and sizes to give the user enough
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync information to identify the partitions necessary for the guest.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Images which give access to individual partitions are specific
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to a particular host disk setup. You cannot transfer these images to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync another host; also, whenever the host partitioning changes, the image
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Creating the image requires read/write access for the given
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync device. Read/write access is also later needed when using the image
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync from a virtual machine. If this is not feasible, there is a special
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync variant for raw partition access (currently only available on Linux
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync hosts) that avoids having to give the current user access to the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync entire disk. To set up such an image, use<screen>VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync -rawdisk /dev/sda -partitions 1,5 -relative</screen>When used from a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync virtual machine, the image will then refer not to the entire disk, but
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync only to the individual partitions (in the example
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <code>/dev/sda1</code> and <code>/dev/sda5</code>). As a consequence,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync read/write access is only required for the affected partitions, not
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync for the entire disk. During creation however, read-only access to the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync entire disk is required to obtain the partitioning information.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>In some configurations it may be necessary to change the MBR
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync code of the created image, e.g. to replace the Linux boot loader that
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync is used on the host by another boot loader. This allows e.g. the guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to boot directly to Windows, while the host boots Linux from the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "same" disk. For this purpose the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>-mbr</computeroutput> parameter is provided. It
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync specifies a file name from which to take the MBR code. The partition
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync table is not modified at all, so a MBR file from a system with totally
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync different partitioning can be used. An example of this is<screen>VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync -rawdisk /dev/sda -partitions 1,5 -mbr winxp.mbr</screen>The modified
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync MBR will be stored inside the image, not on the host disk.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For each of the above variants, you can register the resulting
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync image for immediate use in VirtualBox by adding
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>-register</computeroutput> to the respective command
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync line. The image will then immediately appear in the list of registered
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync disk images. An example is<screen>VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk -filename /path/to/file.vmdk
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync -rawdisk /dev/sda -partitions 1,5 -relative -register</screen> which
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync creates an image referring to individual partitions, and registers it
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync when the image is successfully created.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring the hard disk vendor product data (VPD)</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VirtualBox reports vendor product data for its virtual hard disks
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync which consist of hard disk serial number, firmware revision and model
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync number. These can be changed using the following commands:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/ahci/0/Config/Port0/SerialNumber" "serial"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/ahci/0/Config/Port0/FirmwareRevision" "firmware"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/ahci/0/Config/Port0/ModelNumber" "model"</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The serial number is a 20 byte alphanumeric string, the firmware
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync revision an 8 byte alphanumeric string and the model number a 40 byte
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync alphanumeric string. Instead of "Port0" (referring to the first port),
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync specify the desired SATA hard disk port.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Additional three parameters are needed for CD/DVD drives to report
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the vendor product data:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/ahci/0/Config/Port0/ATAPIVendorId" "vendor"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/ahci/0/Config/Port0/ATAPIProductId" "product"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/ahci/0/Config/Port0/ATAPIRevision" "revision"</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The vendor id is an 8 byte alphanumeric string, the product id an
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 16 byte alphanumeric string and the revision a 4 byte alphanumeric
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync string. Instead of "Port0" (referring to the first port), specify the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync desired SATA hard disk port.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Launching more than 120 VMs on Solaris hosts</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Solaris hosts have a fixed number of IPC semaphores IDs per process
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync preventing users from starting more than 120 VMs. While trying to launch
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync more VMs you would be shown a "Cannot create IPC semaphore" error.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>In order to run more VMs, you will need to bump the semaphore ID
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync limit of the VBoxSVC process. Execute as root the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>prctl</computeroutput> command as shown below. The process
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync ID of VBoxSVC can be obtained using the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>ps</computeroutput> list command.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>prctl -r -n project.max-sem-ids -v 2048 <pid-of-VBoxSVC></screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Legacy commands for using serial ports</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Starting with version 1.4, VirtualBox provided support for virtual
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync serial ports, which, at the time, was rather complicated to set up with a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync sequence of <computeroutput>VBoxManage setextradata</computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync statements. Since version 1.5, that way of setting up serial ports is no
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync longer necessary and <emphasis>deprecated.</emphasis> To set up virtual
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync serial ports, use the methods now described in <xref
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For backwards compatibility, the old
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>setextradata</computeroutput> statements, whose
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync description is retained below from the old version of the manual, take
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <emphasis>precedence</emphasis> over the new way of configuring serial
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync ports. As a result, if configuring serial ports the new way doesn't
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync work, make sure the VM in question does not have old configuration
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync data such as below still active.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The old sequence of configuring a serial port used the following 6
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync commands:</para><screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/serial/0/Config/IOBase" 0x3f8
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/serial/0/LUN#0/AttachedDriver/Driver" NamedPipe
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/serial/0/LUN#0/AttachedDriver/Config/Location" "\\.\pipe\vboxCOM1"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/serial/0/LUN#0/AttachedDriver/Config/IsServer" 1</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>This sets up a serial port in the guest with the default
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync settings for COM1 (IRQ 4, I/O address 0x3f8) and the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>Location</computeroutput> setting assumes that this
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync configuration is used on a Windows host, because the Windows named pipe
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync syntax is used. Keep in mind that on Windows hosts a named pipe must
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync always start with <computeroutput>\\.\pipe\</computeroutput>. On Linux the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync same config settings apply, except that the path name for the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>Location</computeroutput> can be chosen more freely. Local
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync domain sockets can be placed anywhere, provided the user running
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox has the permission to create a new file in the directory. The
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync final command above defines that VirtualBox acts as a server, i.e. it
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync creates the named pipe itself instead of connecting to an already existing
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync one.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Fine-tuning the VirtualBox NAT engine</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring the address of a NAT network interface</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>In NAT mode, the guest network interface is assigned to the IPv4
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync range <computeroutput>10.0.x.0/24</computeroutput> by default where
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>x</computeroutput> corresponds to the instance of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync NAT interface +2. So <computeroutput>x</computeroutput> is 2 when there
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync is only one NAT instance active. In that case the guest is assigned to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the address <computeroutput>10.0.2.15</computeroutput>, the gateway is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync set to <computeroutput>10.0.2.2</computeroutput> and the name server can
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync be found at <computeroutput>10.0.2.3</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>If, for any reason, the NAT network needs to be changed, this can
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync be achieved with the following command:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --natnet1 "192.168/16"</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>This command would reserve the network addresses from
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>192.168.254.254</computeroutput> for the first NAT
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync network instance of "VM name". The guest IP would be assigned to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>192.168.0.15</computeroutput> and the default gateway
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync could be found at <computeroutput>192.168.0.2</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring the boot server (next server) of a NAT network
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync interface</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For network booting in NAT mode, by default VirtualBox uses a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync built-in TFTP server at the IP address 10.0.2.3. This default behavior
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync should work fine for typical remote-booting scenarios. However, it is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync possible to change the boot server IP and the location of the boot image
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with the following commands: <screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --nattftpserver1 10.0.2.2
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --nattftpfile1 /srv/tftp/boot/MyPXEBoot.pxe</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The VirtualBox NAT stack performance is often determined by its
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync interaction with the host's TCP/IP stack and the size of several buffers
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>SO_SNDBUF</computeroutput>). For certain setups users
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync might want to adjust the buffer size for a better performance. This can
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync by achieved using the following commands (values are in kilobytes and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync can range from 8 to 1024): <screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --natsettings1 16000,128,128,0,0</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync This example illustrates tuning the NAT settings. The first parameter is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the MTU, then the size of the socket's send buffer and the size of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync socket's receive buffer, the initial size of the TCP send window, and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync lastly the initial size of the TCP receive window. Note that specifying
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync zero means fallback to the default value.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Each of these buffers has a default size of 64KB and default MTU
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync is 1500.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Binding NAT sockets to a specific interface</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>By default, VirtualBox's NAT engine will route TCP/IP packets
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync through the default interface assigned by the host's TCP/IP stack. (The
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync technical reason for this is that the NAT engine uses sockets for
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync communication.) If, for some reason, you want to change this behavior,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync you can tell the NAT engine to bind to a particular IP address instead.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Use the following command: <screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --natbindip1 "10.45.0.2"</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>After this, all outgoing traffic will be sent through the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync interface with the IP address 10.45.0.2. Please make sure that this
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync interface is up and running prior to this assignment.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The NAT engine by default offers the same DNS servers to the guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync that are configured on the host. In some scenarios, it can be desirable
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to hide the DNS server IPs from the guest, for example when this
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync information can change on the host due to expiring DHCP leases. In this
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync case, you can tell the NAT engine to act as DNS proxy using the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync following command: <screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --natdnsproxy1 on</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Using the host's resolver as a DNS proxy in NAT mode</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For resolving network names, the DHCP server of the NAT engine
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync offers a list of registered DNS servers of the host. If for some reason
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync you need to hide this DNS server list and use the host's resolver
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync settings, thereby forcing the VirtualBox NAT engine to intercept DNS
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync requests and forward them to host's resolver, use the following command:
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --natdnshostresolver1 on</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Note that this setting is similar to the DNS proxy mode, however whereas
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the proxy mode just forwards DNS requests to the appropriate servers,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the resolver mode will interpret the DNS requests and use the host's DNS
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync API to query the information and return it to the guest.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring aliasing of the NAT engine</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>By default, the NAT core uses aliasing and uses random ports when
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync generating an alias for a connection. This works well for the most
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync protocols like SSH, FTP and so on. Though some protocols might need a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync more transparent behavior or may depend on the real port number the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync packet was sent from. It is possible to change the NAT mode via the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VBoxManage frontend with the following commands: <screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "VM name" --nataliasmode proxyonly</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and <screen>VBoxManage modifyvm "Linux Guest" --nataliasmode sameports</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync The first example disables aliasing and switches NAT into transparent
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync mode, the second example enforces preserving of port values. These modes
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync can be combined if necessary.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring the BIOS DMI information</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The DMI data VirtualBox provides to guests can be changed for a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync specific VM. Use the following commands to configure the DMI BIOS
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync information:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSVendor" "BIOS Vendor"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSVersion" "BIOS Version"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSReleaseDate" "BIOS Release Date"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSReleaseMajor" 1
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSReleaseMinor" 2
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSFirmwareMajor" 3
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiBIOSFirmwareMinor" 4
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemVendor" "System Vendor"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemProduct" "System Product"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemVersion" "System Version"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemSerial" "System Serial"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemSKU" "System SKU"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemFamily" "System Family"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemUuid"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "9852bf98-b83c-49db-a8de-182c42c7226b"</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>If a DMI string is not set, the default value of VirtualBox is used.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync To set an empty string use
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>"<EMPTY>"</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Note that in the above list, all quoted parameters (DmiBIOSVendor,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync DmiBIOSVersion but not DmiBIOSReleaseMajor) are expected to be strings. If
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync such a string is a valid number, the parameter is treated as number and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the VM will most probably refuse to start with an
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>VERR_CFGM_NOT_STRING</computeroutput> error. In that case,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync use <computeroutput>"string:<value>"</computeroutput>, for instance
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "VBoxInternal/Devices/pcbios/0/Config/DmiSystemSerial" "string:1234"</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Changing this information can be necessary to provide the DMI
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync information of the host to the guest to prevent Windows from asking for a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync new product key. On Linux hosts the DMI BIOS information can be obtained
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with <screen>dmidecode -t0</screen>and the DMI system information can be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync obtained with <screen>dmidecode -t1</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Fine-tuning timers and time synchronization</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring the guest time stamp counter (TSC) to reflect guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync execution</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>By default, VirtualBox keeps all sources of time visible to the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest synchronized to a single time source, the monotonic host time.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync This reflects the assumptions of many guest operating systems, which
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync expect all time sources to reflect "wall clock" time. In special
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync circumstances it may be useful however to make the TSC (time stamp
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync counter) in the guest reflect the time actually spent executing the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>This special TSC handling mode can be enabled on a per-VM basis,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and for best results must be used only in combination with hardware
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync virtualization. To enable this mode use the following command:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "VBoxInternal/TM/TSCTiedToExecution" 1</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To revert to the default TSC handling mode use:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "VBoxInternal/TM/TSCTiedToExecution"</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Note that if you use the special TSC handling mode with a guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync operating system which is very strict about the consistency of time
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync sources you may get a warning or error message about the timing
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync inconsistency. It may also cause clocks to become unreliable with some
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest operating systems depending on they use the TSC.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Accelerate or slow down the guest clock</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>For certain purposes it can be useful to accelerate or to slow
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync down the (virtual) guest clock. This can be achieved as follows:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "VBoxInternal/TM/WarpDrivePercentage" 200</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The above example will double the speed of the guest clock
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync while</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "VBoxInternal/TM/WarpDrivePercentage" 50</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>will halve the speed of the guest clock. Note that changing the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync rate of the virtual clock can confuse the guest and can even lead to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync abnormal guest behavior. For instance, a higher clock rate means shorter
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync timeouts for virtual devices with the result that a slightly increased
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync response time of a virtual device due to an increased host load can
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync cause guest failures. Note further that any time synchronization
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync mechanism will frequently try to resynchronize the guest clock with the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync reference clock (which is the host clock if the VirtualBox Guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Additions are active). Therefore any time synchronization should be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync disabled if the rate of the guest clock is changed as described above
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Tuning the Guest Additions time synchronization
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync parameters</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The VirtualBox Guest Additions ensure that the guest's system time
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync is synchronized with the host time. There are several parameters which
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync can be tuned. The parameters can be set for a specific VM using the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync following command:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <screen>VBoxManage guestproperty set VM_NAME "/VirtualBox/GuestAdd/VBoxService/PARAMETER" VALUE</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>where <computeroutput>PARAMETER</computeroutput> is one of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync following:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>--timesync-interval</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Specifies the interval at which to synchronize the time
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with the host. The default is 10000 ms (10 seconds).</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>--timesync-min-adjust</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The minimum absolute drift value measured in milliseconds
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to make adjustments for. The default is 1000 ms on OS/2 and 100
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync ms elsewhere.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>--timesync-latency-factor</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The factor to multiply the time query latency with to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync calculate the dynamic minimum adjust time. The default is 8
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync times, that means in detail: Measure the time it takes to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync determine the host time (the guest has to contact the VM host
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync service which may take some time), multiply this value by 8 and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync do an adjustment only if the time difference between host and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guest is bigger than this value. Don't do any time adjustment
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync otherwise.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>--timesync-max-latency</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The max host timer query latency to accept. The default is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 250 ms.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>--timesync-set-threshold</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The absolute drift threshold, given as milliseconds where
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to start setting the time instead of trying to smoothly adjust
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync it. The default is 20 minutes.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>--timesync-set-start</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Set the time when starting the time sync service.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>--timesync-set-on-restore 0|1</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Set the time after the VM was restored from a saved state
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync when passing 1 as parameter (default). Disable by passing 0.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync In the latter case, the time will be adjusted smoothly which
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync can take a long time.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>All these parameters can be specified as command line parameters
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to VBoxService as well.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring multiple host-only network interfaces on Solaris
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync hosts</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>By default VirtualBox provides you with one host-only network
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync interface. Adding more host-only network interfaces on Solaris hosts
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync requires manual configuration. Here's how to add two more host-only
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync network interfaces.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>You first need to stop all running VMs and unplumb all existing
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "vboxnet" interfaces. Execute the following commands as root:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Once you make sure all vboxnet interfaces are unplumbed, remove the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync driver using:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>rem_drv vboxnet</screen>then edit the file
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/platform/i86pc/kernel/drv/vboxnet.conf</computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and add a line for the new interfaces:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>name="vboxnet" parent="pseudo" instance=1;
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncname="vboxnet" parent="pseudo" instance=2;</screen>Add as many of these lines
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync as required and make sure "instance" number is uniquely incremented. Next
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync reload the vboxnet driver using:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>add_drv vboxnet</screen>Now plumb all the interfaces using
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>ifconfig vboxnetX plumb</computeroutput> (where X can be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 0, 1 or 2 in this case) and once plumbed you can then configure the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync interface like any other network interface.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To make your newly added interfaces' settings persistent across
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync reboots you will need to edit the files
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/etc/netmasks</computeroutput>, and if you are using NWAM
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>/etc/nwam/llp</computeroutput> and add the appropriate
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync entries to set the netmask and static IP for each of those interfaces. The
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox installer only updates these configuration files for the one
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "vboxnet0" interface it creates by default.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Configuring VirtualBox CoreDumper on Solaris hosts</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VirtualBox is capable of producing its own core files when things go
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync wrong and for more extensive debugging. Currently this is only available
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync on Solaris hosts.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The VirtualBox CoreDumper can be enabled using the following
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync command:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" VBoxInternal2/CoreDumpEnabled 1</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>You can specify which directory to use for core dumps with this
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync command:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" VBoxInternal2/CoreDumpDir <path-to-directory></screen>Make
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync sure the directory you specify is on a volume with sufficient free space
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and that the VirtualBox process has sufficient permissions to write files
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to this directory. If you skip this command and don't specify any core
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync dump directory, the current directory of the VirtualBox executable will be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync used (which would most likely fail when writing cores as they are
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync protected with root permissions). It is recommended you explicity set a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync core dump directory.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>You must specify when the VirtualBox CoreDumper should be triggered.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync This is done using the following commands:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" VBoxInternal2/CoreDumpReplaceSystemDump 1
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsyncVBoxManage setextradata "VM name" VBoxInternal2/CoreDumpLive 1</screen>At
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync least one of the above two commands will have to be provided if you have
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync enabled the VirtualBox CoreDumper.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Setting <computeroutput>CoreDumpReplaceSystemDump</computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync sets up the VM to override the host's core dumping mechanism and in the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync event of any crash only the VirtualBox CoreDumper would produce the core
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync file.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Setting <computeroutput>CoreDumpLive</computeroutput> sets up the VM
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync to produce cores whenever the VM receives a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>SIGUSR2</computeroutput> signal. After producing the core
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync file, the VM will not be terminated and will continue to run. You can then
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync take cores of the VM process using:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>kill -s SIGUSR2 <VM-process-id></screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Core files produced by the VirtualBox CoreDumper are of the form
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>core.vb.<ProcessName>.<ProcessID></computeroutput>,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync e.g.<computeroutput>core.vb.VBoxHeadless.11321</computeroutput>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>There are several advanced customization settings for locking down
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the GUI, that is, removing some features that the user should not
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync see.<screen>VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/Customizations OPTION[,OPTION...]</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>where <computeroutput>OPTION</computeroutput> is one of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync following keywords:<glosslist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>noSelector</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Don't allow to start the VM selector GUI. Trying to do so
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync will show a window containing a proper error message.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>noMenuBar</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The VM windows will not contain a menu bar.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>noStatusBar</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The VM windows will not contain a status bar.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To disable any GUI customization do <screen>VBoxManage setextradata global GUI/Customizations</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>To disable all host key combinations, open the global settings and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync change the host key to <emphasis>None</emphasis>. This might be useful
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync when using VirtualBox in a kiosk mode.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Furthermore, you can disallow certain actions when terminating a VM
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync from the GUI. To disallow specific actions, type:</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" GUI/RestrictedCloseActions OPTION[,OPTION...]</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>where <computeroutput>OPTION</computeroutput> is one of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync following keywords:<glosslist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>SaveState</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Don't allow the user to save the VM state plus terminate the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>Shutdown</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Don't allow the user to shutdown the VM by sending the ACPI
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync power off event to the guest.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>PowerOff</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Don't allow the user to power off the VM.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <glossterm><computeroutput>Restore</computeroutput></glossterm>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Don't allow the user to return to the last snapshot when
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync powering off the VM.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossdef>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </glossentry>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Combinations of all of these options are allowed. If all options are
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync specified, the VM cannot be shut down from the GUI.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <title>Starting <computeroutput>vboxwebsrv</computeroutput>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync automatically</title>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><computeroutput>vboxwebsrv</computeroutput> is used for controlling
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox remotely. As the client base using this interface is growing,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync we added start scripts for the various operation systems we support. The
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync following describes how to use them. <itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>On Mac OS X, launchd is used. An example configuration file
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync can be found in
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist</computeroutput>.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync It has to be enabled by changing the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>false</computeroutput>. To manually start the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync service use the following command: <screen>launchctl load ~/Library/LaunchAgents/org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist</screen>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync For additional information on how launchd services could be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync url="http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPSystemStartup/BPSystemStartup.html">http://developer.apple.com/mac/library/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPSystemStartup/BPSystemStartup.html</ulink></literal>.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>