Virtualization

[n2ize]

Hi. I am interested in setting up at least one virtual machine on my Fedora 21 system. I mainly want to use it for testing and running other Linux distros i,e, Ubuntu, etc. as well as older/newer Fedora distro's on my system. I would preferably like to go 100% open source with respect to the virtualization software. I was doing some prelimanary reading and it seems there are quite a number of open source solutions available, some specific to Fedora and some more general Linux based solutions.

Since this is the first time I am doing this I wonder if others here can share their experiences with this. What did you use and how did it work out ? Is there any particular ystem(s) you would recommend or advise avoiding.

[KC2UGV]

Virtualbox. Unless you need headless, in which case it's a pain, and I'd go with OpenVZ.

[n2ize]

Since I am a beginner here explain what is meant by the term "headless" and I'll probably know right away if it's something I need or don;t need.

[NQ6U]

Since I am a beginner here explain what is meant by the term "headless" and I'll probably know right away if it's something I need or don;t need.

Head•less adj Lacking a head.

[KC2UGV]

Since I am a beginner here explain what is meant by the term "headless" and I'll probably know right away if it's something I need or don;t need.

If you need the VM to fire up with the machine, and not leave a window open the whole time.

[n2ize]

If you need the VM to fire up with the machine, and not leave a window open the whole time.

Sounds like my situation as I anticipate it. However, it will take more reading and understanding on my part before I can say for sure. There is a bit of a learning curve and as I gain familiarity I will have a better handle on exactly what I need and don't need. This is a new venture for me. But I think it will be fun.

BTW thanks for the suggestions. I will look at the options you suggested.

[NM5TF]

I 2nd the motion for VirtualBox....have used it for years running WIN apps rather than WINE....especially
if you really NEED to use Internet Exploder for something

VMWare is another good choice....

[n2ize]

I 2nd the motion for VirtualBox....have used it for years running WIN apps rather than WINE....especially
if you really NEED to use Internet Exploder for something

VMWare is another good choice....

Okay I'll give VirtualBox a close look. Since I have at least 3 windows/Linux dual boot systems I mainly want the virtual machines to run and test other Linux distros and also to run older apps that have broken under the newer Linux distros and are not likely to ever be fixed.

[ad4mg]

Okay I'll give VirtualBox a close look. Since I have at least 3 windows/Linux dual boot systems I mainly want the virtual machines to run and test other Linux distros and also to run older apps that have broken under the newer Linux distros and are not likely to ever be fixed.

Make sure to install the guest additions in the guest OS, you'll require the video drivers to run the guest OS in anything higher than 800x600. The correct extension pack for the version of VB you install is almost a necessity - it will provide USB2 support, among other things (shared machine folders, etc.). You can install the guest additions the first time you boot a new OS. That selection is on the "Device" tab of the window VB is running in. The program will download the .iso file for you. Extension packs are available for download on the Oracle VM Virtualbox site:
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

I've had great luck running numerous Windows OS's and Linux flavors in VB. If you have the spare RAM to give, the VM is happier with an ample amount of memory assigned to it! Ditto for Video RAM.

Oh, and not that it matters, I'm running VB in Ubuntu.

[N2CHX]

I third the Virtualbox suggestions, including installing the Guest Additions. It works well and is pretty well documented. I use it on this laptop to run Windows 7, for Windows software development.

[NM5TF]

+ 10 to both Luke & Kelli for the mention of the guest additions....they are a must for VB....

some good info here:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch01.html#intro-installing

and here:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch03.html#settings-usb

and here for the guest additions:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html#guestadditions

have used it under Ubuntu, Debian & Mint with no problems....have NOT used it
under Fedora yet, but don't expect any problems......YMMV of course...

[N8XE]

We have been using OpenVZ here at work in a pilot type role. We are considering setting up virtual environments for all development staff since all of our code gets deployed on Linux servers.

I wish they would just give us Linux laptops. It would make our jobs SOOOO much easier. But our desktop support doesn't know how to support Linux. Sigh...

Jason N8XE

[n2ize]

It sounds like Virtualbox is a good way to go. However, I heard some "good" news. Several people have reported that the "latest and the greatest" i.e. Fedora 21 also breaks VirtualBox (among numerous other things I mentioned in another thread). Fortunately there seems to be a workaround so I'm going to try VirtualBox anyway and see how things go.

[n2ize]

+ 10 to both Luke & Kelli for the mention of the guest additions....they are a must for VB....


have used it under Ubuntu, Debian & Mint with no problems....have NOT used it
under Fedora yet, but don't expect any problems......YMMV of course...

See my post above about the infamous Fedora 21 release. F21 has to be one of the worst releases in a while since it seems to break everything. Fortunately there seems to be a fix for VB.

[n2ize]

+ 10 to both Luke & Kelli for the mention of the guest additions....they are a must for VB....

some good info here:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch01.html#intro-installing

and here:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch03.html#settings-usb

and here for the guest additions:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html#guestadditions

have used it under Ubuntu, Debian & Mint with no problems....have NOT used it
under Fedora yet, but don't expect any problems......YMMV of course...

Thanks for the liknks. So far they are very helpful. I'll see if I can get it running over the weekend. At present I am familiarizing myself with the terminology to help smooth out the learning curve.

[w6tmi]

I haven't used fedora much, except if I need a quicky live CD/dvd boot. I typically use Centos, since I use that at work typically. With that, I use qemu/kvm. KVM is virtualization built into the kernel. QEMU is the machine emulation portion of it. libvirt, virt-manager are services and programs to manage it.

It allows for remote management, image manipulation, virtual network management etc.

Also allows for headless, but it basically uses VNC, or an X server. (I usually install cygwin/X anyway)

Edit to add - I've pretty much been able to boot any Linux, and any version of Windows. Run a Windows lab includes 2 DCs and 2 workstations. System is 16GB amd FX-8150. Although it's starting to puke when I put a load on it, so replacing with a dell pizza box server when I could run a pair of cat5e's to the garage. (runs too noisy and hot)


Wasn't too successful with a Hackintosh.