VirtualBox on Vista with a Gentoo Guest

Gentoo Linux (presumably for Generation 2 Linux, though I could not find information on the name's origin, Gentoo Home Page) was a good idea with bad execution. If Linux is open source, why not download the sources (instead of pre-built binaries design to run on minimal systems) and custom build the software to match your system. It certainly sounds like the way an open source distribution should work.

The theory was good.

Gentoo's implementation of its ebuild/portage system is a bunch of confusing files, scripts and shell variables. When software is built, errors and warnings fly by ignored. For businesses, dozens of different executables on the same number of machines makes an administration and debugging nightmare. Even on identical hardware, there's no guarantee that any two builds will be the same. Not surprisingly, it is not possible for most hardware vendors to offer Gentoo support.

Even though Gentoo is not aimed at business, trails behind even the Slackware Linux in the market (PegaSoft Download Poll), and is struggling to keep going with site outages and internal quarrels ("Gentoo attempts to deal with developer conflicts",Linux.com), some small companies prefer to use Gentoo. If your number of servers is small, squeezing out a competitive amount of extra performance may be worth the risk of bad support and administration headaches.

In March 2008, I tried coLinux (coLinux Home Page), a version of Linux designed to run as a genuine Windows application ("Linux on Windows? Try coLinux", Lone Coder). coLinux worked well but it suffers from a lack of up-to-date root disk images. This month I decided to try out Sun's VirtualBox (VirtualBox Home Page). With a virtualized Linux running on the Windows desktop, developers get to use all their favorite Linux tools on Windows. With a more complex setup, they can simulate a remote server or create a development sandbox right on their own desktop.

Regardless if you think Gentoo is genius or madness, a manual install represents the ultimate challenge to boot Linux on VirtualBox.

This document assumes you have a basic understanding of setting up a Linux computer, such as how to build a kernel and how to format a disk partition. "Host" refers to the operating system running VirtualBox, in this case, Windows Vista. "Guest" refers to the operating system running within VirtualBox, in this case, Gentoo Linux. I use "gentoo #" as a root Gentoo prompt but your actual prompt may be a different one.

This article is based on documentation from several locations, including Softer Blue, and a lot of trial and error. This was my attempt to get Gentoo running: your results my vary.

1. Install The Virtualization Software

   VirtualBox is released under two different licenses. The pre-built binaries are for evaluation purpose or non-commercial use. The source code is released under an open source license. For prolonged use in a business setting, consider installing this open source (or OSE) version of VirtualBox. The main VirtualBox site does not provide the OSE binaries but they are available on third-party sites like http://vboxwin32.sourceforge.net.

   This document is based on the pre-built version of VirtualBox 3.0.8. VirtualBox and Gentoo are both being constantly updated, sometimes several times a week. Some of these instructions may vary slightly as new versions are released.

   Run VirtualBox and click on the "New" icon. If there's no "Gentoo" option, use OS Type Linux/Linux 2.6. Use the recommended base memory size. Follow the instructions, creating a new, dynamically expanding virtual disk a minimum of 8 gigabytes to be the primary hard disk.

   Figure: Screenshot of VirtualBox Disk Configuration Dialog

   There are a lot of other possibilities here, such as simulating multiple processors or having a second hard drive shared between different virtual machines. However, these settings above are suitable for most people.

   You have now created a space in which Gentoo will run but the space is still empty.

2. Preparing the disk

   Download Gentoo LiveCD. VirtualBox can actually boot off the ISO disk image so burning a LiveCD is optional. Remember that VirtualBox is (at the time of writing) a 32-bit i386 emulator only (not x86_64) so choose the correct download Live disk type. You can actually run programs compiled for x86_64 processors but some x86_64 install disks may detect a "i386" computer system and refuse to install.

   Put the LiveCD disk in your computer and start the virtual machine in VirtualBox. The virtual machine should load and VirtualBox will prompt you for a boot device. Chose the drive with the LiveCD (or the path to the ISO image file, if you didn't create a CD).

   Figure: Screenshot of Select Boot Device Dialog

   At the LiveCD boot: prompt, type gentoo-nofb (the kernel without a frame buffer, Wikipedia).

   Once the Gentoo LiveCD is loaded and you have a Linux shell prompt, you need to format the disk simulated by VirtualBox. On the LiveCD I used, it was named /dev/hda (though it might be named /dev/sda in the future). You can probably function with one partition and use a swap file, but I followed the Softer Blue instructions and created three partitions (boot, root and swap partitions). Remember which partition is for which task as this will be important later. Use the fdisk command to create the partitions. Here's an example of the partitions:

   Linux Name  Mount Point Space       fdisk Partition
   /dev/hda1   /boot       40 MB       primary partition 1
   /dev/hda2   swap        2  GB       primary partition 2
   /dev/hda3   /           remainder   primary partition 3
   

   If you used "hda", like I had to, make all references to your /dev/hda partitions on the LiveCD as /dev/sda on your virtual machine. Grub, for example, will not recognize /dev/hda1 when booting up on your virtual machine. It must be /dev/sda1. The same with mounting drives on startup with /etc/fstab. If you do use the /dev/hda prefix, grub will show a message cannot open root device "hda1" and there will be a kernel panic when starting the virutal machine.

   Format the partitions with mke2fs (for ext2) or mke2fs -j (for ext3) as required (ext2fs Home Page)). Use mkswap to initialize the swap partition.

   gentoo # mke2fs /dev/hda1
   gentoo # mkswap /dev/hda2
   gentoo # mke2fs -j /dev/hda3
   

3. Create the basic Root Device and Portage Instance

   You now have a formatted but empty simulated hard drive for your Gentoo guest machine. In most Linux distributions, your install program would take care of this for you, as well as the network setup, assignment of the hostname and other basic configuration issues. Gentoo requires a manual configuration. See the Gentoo Linux x86 Handbook for general information on installing Gentoo.

   Figure: Fedora on VirtualBox - Don't Expect an Easy Gentoo Install

   Before starting, check the date and time make sure they are correct using the date command. Do this to avoid tar warnings on file dates.

   Mount the root partition on /mnt/gentoo. Download the stage3 compressed tar file from a Gentoo mirror. I used http://mirrors.kernel.org/gentoo. You can use the links text browser to select a mirror and save the tarball. Or use wget if you know the path.

   Move the compressed tar file to /mnt/gentoo and untar (tar xfpj) it to get your basic root file system image.

   Second, change directory to the /mnt/gentoo/usr directory. Download the latest portage tarball from the snapshots directory (it will contain "latest" in its name) from the same mirror site. Untar it to get your basic definitions for the Gentoo installer, emerge.

   Copy the resolv.conf file created by the LiveCD to your Gentoo virtual machine. This contains the basic DNS settings.

   gentoo # cp -L /etc/resolv.conf /mnt/gentoo/etc/
   

4. Enter the Non-Functioning Virtual Machine

   You have a rudimentary install of Gentoo but it is not able to boot yet. The next step is to enter the virtual machine, mounted by the LiveCD, and finish setting it up. You'll need to do this whenever you're trying to get the virtual machine working. First, boot the Live CD (if you're following these instructions in sequence they you've already done this) and then:

   gentoo # mount -t proc proc /mnt/gentoo/proc
   gentoo # mount /dev/hda3 /mnt/gentoo
   gentoo # mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/gentoo/boot
   gentoo # swapon /dev/hda2
   gentoo # chroot /mnt/gentoo /bin/bash
   

   (/mnt/gentoo may already mounted from step 3.)

   You are now inside the virtual machine while running of the Gentoo kernel provided by the LiveCD.

5. Basic Gentoo New Installation Setup

   Configure your timezone. For example,

   gentoo # cp /usr/share/zoneinfo/EST5EDT /etc/localtime
   gentoo # date
   

   Set your host and domain name. Depending on your LiveCD disk, you may not have vi/vim available so you'll have to use sed (or, possibly, the nano editor). So type carefully.

   gentoo # cd /etc
   gentoo # echo "127.0.0.1 gentoo.is.virtualized gentoo localhost" > hosts
   gentoo # sed -i -e 's/HOSTNAME.*/HOSTNAME="gentoo"/' conf.d/hostname
   gentoo # hostname gentoo
   gentoo # hostname -f
   gentoo.is.virtualized
   

   Update the portage directory for the most up-to-date version of available packages.

   gentoo # emerge --sync
   gentoo # emerge portage
   

6. Build the Kernel

   Now you need to build a Linux kernel for your virtual machine. Download the kernel sources.

   gentoo # emerge gentoo-sources
   

   Run menuconfig and edit the kernel settings.

   gentoo # make menuconfig
   

   Here are some recommended settings. The names may vary depending on your kernel version:

   • file systems / ext2 support (for the /boot partition) (on)
   • file systems / fusefs support (if you are using SSHFS) (on)
   • tickless system (on)
   • high resolution time (OFF)
   • symmetric multi-processing support (OFF)
   • machine check exception (OFF)
   • cpu type (use your host's CPU as reported by Windows Vista)
   • 64-bit memory and I/O (OFF)
   • high memory support (OFF)
   • power management support (on)
   • suspend to ram and standby (OFF)
   • hibernation (OFF)
   • serial ata and parallel ata drivers (on)
   • ata sff support (on)
   • intel esb, ich, piix3...support (on)
   • device drivers / network device support / amd pcnet32 pci support (on)
   • device drivers / network device support / intel pro/1000 gigabit eithernet (on - i think?)
   • device drives / MacIntosh device drives (OFF)
   • device drivers / virtualization (OFF)
   • graphic support / direct rendering manager (on)
   • mouse ps/2 mouse (on)
   
   

   Tip:For long tasks, like kernel building or using emerge to install large packages, consider turning off the console screen blanking feature to make it easier to monitor your progress: gentoo # setterm -powersave off -blank 0

   Install the new kernel on the /boot partition.

   gentoo # make && make modules_install
   gentoo # cp arch/i386/boot/bzImage /boot/kernel
   

   You'll need to boot the virtual machine to find out if the new kernel works, but there are more tasks to do before you can boot the kernel.

7. Other First-Time System Configuration

   Edit /etc/fstab and add the 3 partitions so they mount when the virtual machine starts. Remember to use /dev/sdaN not /dev/hdaN.

   The network configuration can be difficult. You can use NAT (or "IP masquerading", you can "get out" from the virtual machine but you can't "get into" it from the outside), or bridging. I'll discuss bridging in Part 16.

   For a basic setup, use NAT. As long as the drivers are loaded for your virtual network card, and you have DHCP installed (emerge dhcp), it should work automatically. This is the setting I used. If you need to configure the network, the file is /etc/conf.d/net.

   Enable the network card you have chosen to emulate in VirtualBox. It is better to configure it as a built-in kernel driver than a module. If your eth0 network device doesn't appear in ifconfig, it might be because the kernel module wasn't loaded. Use modprobe or rebuild your kernel with the driver built-in.

   Use /etc/init.d/net.eth0 start to start the network service after a reboot.

   Set your root password with passwd.

   Make sure /etc/conf.d/clock is set to the correct timezone.

8. Installing the Boot Loader (Grub)

   A boot loader will run your new kernel when the virtual machine starts (GNU Grub Home Page).

   gentoo # emerge grub
   

   Edit /boot/grub/grub.conf. Remember to use /dev/sdaN not /dev/hdaN.

   ---

   title=Gentoo
   root (hd0,0)
   kernel /boot/kernel root=/dev/sda3
   

   ---

   Run grub and install the bootloader with

   grub> root (hd0,0)
   grub> setup (hd0)
   grub> quit
   

   You should now be able to boot into your virtual machine. Stop the virtual machine with VirtualBox, remove the LiveCD from the computer's hard drive and try starting the virtual machine. If it fails, use the LiveCD and follow step 4 to chroot into the non-functioning virtual machine to do diagnostics and fix the configuration problems.

9. Installing Your Applications and VirtualBox Guest Additions

   At this point you are now running on your Gentoo in VirtualBox.

   Wish you had a mouse for your VirtualBox console window? Set it up now, if you would like to.

   gentoo # emerge gpm
   gentoo # /etc/init.d/gpm start
   gentoo # rc-update add gpm default
   

   Now if you click on your VirtualBox console, a dialog appears. Click on the "Capture" button to capture the mouse. Press the right Ctrl key to release the mouse, returning control to Windows Vista. This will give you basic copy-and-paste capabilities within the console but to copy to/from Windows, you'll need the VirtualBox Guest Additions. We'll enable those in this Part.

   Create an /etc/portage/package.use file with the requirements for Network Time Protocol (if you want NTP...this may be redundant if your Windows Vista desktop is configured to use NTP already):

   echo "net-misc/ntp caps" >> /etc/portage/package.use

   Update /etc/make.conf for the VirtualBox guest additions and global USE flags for Gnome (Gnome Home Page) and KDE (K Desktop Environment Home Page):

   ---

   INPUT_DEVICES="keyboard virtualbox evdev"
   VIDEO_CARDS="virtualbox"
   USE="qt3 qt4 arts kde X dbus gtk hal gnome truetype"
   

   ---

   Update your minimal software configuration for the changes in USE flags (this may take a while):

   gentoo # emerge -avN world  # (Any time the USE entry changes)
   

   Add the following to /etc/portage/package.keywords for the guest additions and Eclipse (if you want Eclipse):

   ---

   # GUEST ADDITIONS
   =app-emulation/virtualbox-guest-additions-3.0.8
   =x11-drivers/xf86-input-virtualbox-3.0.8
   =x11-drivers/xf86-video-virtualbox-3.0.8
   # ECLIPSE
   dev-java/eclipse-ecj
   dev-util/eclipse-sdk
   =dev-java/junit-4.4*
   =dev-java/ant-core-1.7*
   =dev-java/sat4j-core-2.0*
   =dev-java/ant-eclipse-ecj-3.4*
   =dev-java/swt-3.4*
   =dev-java/ant-1.7*
   =dev-java/javatoolkit-0.3*
   =dev-java/sat4j-pseudo-2.0*
   =dev-java/asm-3.1*
   =dev-java/ant-apache-bcel-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-junit-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-apache-bsf-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-commons-net-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-apache-log4j-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-nodeps-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-commons-logging-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-swing-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-javamail-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-antlr-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-trax-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-apache-resolver-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-jdepend-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-apache-regexp-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-apache-oro-1.7*
   =dev-java/ant-jsch-1.7*
   

   ---

   The problem of setting up X Windows requires a little explanation. VirtualBox has the ability to create a miniature Gentoo desktop drawn within the VirtualBox window (where your text console currently resides). This occurs automatically with some Linux installations like Fedora (see Figure).

   VirtualBox Guest Additions are software patches that need to be installed on the virtual machine to make X Windows, shared folders, the mouse and keyboard work with improved features and more seamless integration with the host operating system.

   The basic instructions are located at the VirtualBox Gentoo as Guest WIKI.

   Add the following to /etc/portage/package.keywords as described above, changing the version number: 3.0.8 should be replaced with your version number of VirtualBox.

   gentoo # emerge virtualbox-guest-additions xf86-input-virtualbox xf86-video-virtualbox
   gentoo # rc-update add virtualbox-guest-additions default
   

   Gentoo reported a value when starting the guest additions. In fact, they started successfully.

   gentoo # /etc/init.d/virtualbox-guest-additions  --verbose start
    * Caching service dependencies ...                                                      [ ok ]
    * Starting VirtualBox guest additions ...
    *      Loading kernel modules and creating devices
    *      Starting the vboxadd system service
    * Failed to start VirtualBox guest additions
   gentoo # ps -ef | grep vbox
   root      3482     1  0 09:23 ?        00:00:02 /usr/sbin/vboxadd-service
   root      4010  3603  0 13:44 pts/3    00:00:00 grep --colour=auto vbox
   

   I viewed the virtualbox-guest-additions start script and confirmed that vboxadd-service was the last program started by the guest additions.

   The next step is to configure X Windows.

   gentoo # cd /etc/X11/    
   gentoo # cp xorg.conf.example xorg.conf
   

   Edit the xorg.conf file, commenting out the Device and InputDevice sections, adding the configurations for the VirtualBox devices.

   ---

   #Section "InputDevice"
   #    Identifier "Mouse2"
   #    Driver     "mouse"
   #    Option     "Protocol"      "MouseMan"
   #    Option     "Device"        "/dev/mouse2"
   #EndSection
   
   Section "InputDevice"
       Identifier "Mouse0"
       Driver "vboxmouse"
       Option "Protocol" "PS/2"
       Option "Device" "/dev/input/mice"
       Option "ZAxisMapping" "4 5 6 7"
   EndSection
   
   [...more lines in between...]
   
   Section "Device"
   
   # The Identifier must be present.
   
       Identifier "Card0"
       Driver "vboxvideo"
   
   #    Identifier "Generic VGA"
   
   [...]
   
   Section "Screen"
   
       Identifier  "Screen 1"
       Device      "Card0"  # Use VirtualBox
   [...]
   
   Section "ServerLayout"
   
       InputDevice "Mouse0" "CorePointer"  # Use VirtualBox
   [...]
   

   Comment out any of the other examples.

   This should allow you to start X Windows, using the VirtualBox window as you display. Unset DISPLAY (if it exists) and start a basic X Windows desktop with the command "startx".

   Configuring a Gnome or KDE desktop is beyond the scope of this article. Look at the Gentoo documentation (Gnome Config HOWTO and the KDE Config HOWTO).

   Although having a miniature desktop looks interesting, what I really wanted was my real desktop to display both my Vista and Gentoo windows. This would use my full screen to its greatest advantage.

   First, install the basic X Windows environment on Gentoo (this will take a while as there are a lot of files to build).

   gentoo # emerge gnome-light kde konsole kedit
   gentoo # env-update && source /etc/profile
   

   Once X Windows is built, install an X Windows display package for Windows. This type of software will enhance Windows and manage your Gentoo X applications. There are two popular alternatives: Cygwin/X and Xming.

   X Windows with Cygwin/X

   

   To use Cygwin as your display device, go to the Cygwin home page and download the Cygwin installer. After you start the installer, make sure you install the basic X Windows packages as described in the Cygwin/X documentation (Cygwin/X User Guide/Installing): usually xinit, xserver plus some optional packages. Don't worry about fonts: these will come from Gentoo.

   Get your Windows Vista IP number by opening a command prompt and type ipconfig. In the virtual machine, redirect X Windows to use Cgywin with export DISPLAY="windows_ip:0" at your Gentoo prompt.

   Start Cygwin and then start X Windows (e.g. startxwin.bat). Close Cygwin's xterm window (the one that appears in order to verify X is running) and then run a virtual machine X application to see if it works.

   gentoo # konsole &
   

   Tip: for bridged networking, the virtual machine will appear as another computer to Cygwin. To permit the virtual host to connect, install "xhost" and run: cygwin # export DISPLAY="your_windows_host_ip:0" cygwin # xhost + This can be placed within your Cygwin .bash_profile file so that it runs each time you start Cygwin.

   
   

   X Windows with Xming

   

   Xming (Xming Home Page) is a stand-alone X Windows server for Windows. You might chose Xming if you don't want to install the Cygwin environment. Download and run the Xming installer and install XLaunch and Xming. You don't need to install SSH.

   Get your Windows Vista IP number by opening a command prompt and type ipconfig. In the virtual machine, redirect X Windows to use Cgywin with export DISPLAY="windows_ip:0" at your Gentoo prompt.

   Run XLaunch and use the default settings except be sure to turn off access control. Then run a virtual machine X application to see if it works.

   gentoo # konsole &
   

   Congratulations! You have X Windows cohabiting with Windows Vista.

10. Adding Standard X Windows Fonts

    Gentoo installs a minimal set of fonts by default. Add some additional font sets to give you some options for reducing your eyestrain.

    gentoo # emerge media-fonts/corefonts
    gentoo # emerge media-fonts/ttf-bitstream-vera
    gentoo # emerge media-fonts/font-bh-ttf
    gentoo # emerge media-fonts/terminus-font
    gentoo # emerge media-fonts/artwiz-aleczapka-en
    gentoo # emerge media-fonts/dejavu
    gentoo # emerge media-fonts/freefonts
    gentoo # emerge media-fonts/unifont 	
    

    Two other possibilities are media-fonts/arkpandora and media-fonts/liberation-fonts: these are alternatives to the corefonts. There are other fonts sets as well, including international fonts.

11. Creating Shared Directories (Folders)

    Creating a shared directory--one that can be accessed by both Windows and Gentoo--is essential to work with data files using applications on both systems. This eliminates the problem of copying files into and out of Gentoo to make them accessible to Gentoo's applications.

    The VirtualBox guest additions permit a directory sharing between Windows and Gentoo. For example, sharing your Windows (and/or Cygwin) home directories.

    Stop the virtual machine. In the Settings / Shared Folders section, create any shared folders you want Windows to share with Gentoo.

    

    Start the virtual machine. Create a mount point (for example, /mnt/windows). Check to see if the shared folders are accessible by mounting them.

    gentoo # mkdir /mnt/windows
    gentoo # mount -t vboxsf virtualbox_sharename /mnt/windows
    gentoo # umount /mnt/windows
    

    I will explain how to automatically mount these directories on startup in Part 14 below.

12. Install Core Applications

    Remember that using emerge may take a long time (possibly hours or days, depending on your computer and Internet connection) to install everything. Again, you may want to disable the console screen saver if you have not done so already.

    These are some suggestions for software or web development tools:

    gentoo # emerge lynx                     # text web browser
    gentoo # emerge slocate                  # GNU locate command
    gentoo # emerge app-arch/p7zip           # 7-zip archiver
    gentoo # emerge zoo                      # file archiver
    gentoo # USE="cli" emerge php            # PHP language
    gentoo # emerge dev-lang/gnat-gcc        # GCC Ada
    gentoo # emerge dev-java/sun-jdk         # Sun java
    gentoo # emerge ruby                     # Ruby language
    gentoo # emerge htmltidy                 # HTML verifier
    gentoo # emerge cvs                      # a source control systems
    gentoo # emerge subversion               # another source control system
    gentoo # emerge dev-util/git             # still another source control system
    gentoo # emerge sys-fs/sshfs-fuse        # mount via SSH(requires fusefs in kernel)
    gentoo # emerge postgres                 # an open source database
    gentoo # emerge mysql                    # open source version of mysql
    gentoo # emerge gvim                     # vi-based graphical editor
    gentoo # emerge anjuta                   # Gnome desktop IDE
    gentoo # emerge kdevelop                 # KDE desktop IDE
    gentoo # emerge konquerer                # a web and file browser
    gentoo # emerge bsh                      # Java shell
    gentoo # emerge wipe                     # secure file removal
    gentoo # emerge curl                     # file transfers
    gentoo # emerge unison                   # file transfers
    gentoo # emerge mailx                    # text mail reader
    gentoo # emerge pine                     # text mail reader
    gentoo # emerge traceroute               # network diagnostic command
    gentoo # emerge net-misc/ntp             # NTP to update your clock
    gentoo # emerge mc                       # Midnight Commander
    

    Use emerge --search PACKAGE to see if package names containing the phrase "PACKAGE" are available, where package is the name you are interested in.

    To install Sun's Eclipse IDE, there's some manual changes required. Read the Eclipse on Gentoo Wiki at http://www.gentoo-wiki.info/Eclipse.

    [KB: Updated 09/10/20]: Note: It may be easier simply to download a pre-built version of Eclipse for x86 Linux than try to use emerge. The following instructions attempt to do it the hard way:

    gentoo # emerge layman
    gentoo # layman --fetch
    gentoo # layman --add java-overlay
    gentoo # emerge eclipse-sdk
    

    Eclipse will fail with the URL you need to use to get the old version of java. Download the Java bin file using Firefox in Vista and move the file to the directory shared with Gentoo (in this example, /mnt/windows).

    gentoo # mv /mnt/windows/j2sdk-1_4_2_19-linux-i586.bin /usr/portage/distfiles/
    gentoo # emerge eclipse-sdk
    

    To finish Eclipse, enable "Classic Update" in the preferneces.

    When you're done installing applications, you may need to edit some /etc configuration files. Gentoo will install multiple versions. emerge will show warnings about this. Run dispatch-conf to see the differences: usually merging is the best option but you may want to keep one file but not another.

    Finally, check your /etc/init.d services to choose which services run at startup. Some may not be applicable to a virtual machine.

    gentoo # rc-update show
    gentoo # rc-udpate add hald default
    gentoo # rc-update add dbus default
    gentoo # rc-update vixie-cron default
    

    (Other versions of Linux may use chkconfig or a similar command.)

13. Accessing Remote Directories

    Create a new account for yourself using adduser, if you have not already done so.

    If you are doing development and you need to work with other computers, you could simply use SSH to log into the remote computer and edit files with at the shell prompt. A better way would be to share the directories with your virtual machine so you can edit the files directly with your X Windows based tools.

    There are several methods you can use to accomplish this:

    • NFS - It's clunky. It's old. It's insecure. Export the remote Linux directory using NFS and mount it with mount -t nfs.

    • Samba - You can mount a Windows share on Linux using mount -t smbfs (if you've enabled smbfs in the kernel) or use smbmount.

    • SSHFS - Use SSHFS to mount directories over the SSH protocol. This is also a safer alternative over using NFS on an insecure network (like the Internet) and it doesn't require any root access. If you've installed SSHFS, you can log into your non-root user account and mount a home directory on a computer called "REMOTE_COMPUTER" onto a directory called "dev" in your local home this way:

      gentoo $ sshfs ken@REMOTE_COMPUTER: ~/dev
      

      The directory can be unmounted with fusermount -u ~/dev.

      Using SSHFS over the Internet may take one or two seconds to update a file, creating false file update warnings in some editors.

    Alternatively, maybe a remote mounted directory is not required:

    • ssh -Y - This tunnels X application displays back to your desktop. But this requires the X application to be installed on the remote computer, and it defeats the usefulness of your Gentoo virtual machine.

    • unison - Synchronize the files on the remote computer using a tool like unison or rsync.

    • subversion - User your source control system, checking out the files to the remote computer using a tool like cvs or subversion or git.

    There are other methods as well but this is beyond the scope of this document.

14. Automating Your Startup Process

    You cannot mount your shared Windows directories at boot time using /etc/fstab. The shared directories require the VirtualBox guest additions and these run after the fstab is processed. Instead, you need to add necessary mount commands to your /etc/conf.d/local.start file (the Gentoo equivalent to rc.local) which is executed after the guest additions are installed.

    Also, use local.start adjust the time on startup.

    ---

    /bin/mount -t vboxsf kburtch /mnt/windows  # Mount kburtch VB share
    /usr/sbin/ntpd -q                          # Update the clock
    

    ---

    Update the startup process to mount any SSHFS directories in your .bash_profile in your home directory:

    ---

    # No screen blanking when logging into the main console
    
    if [ `tty` = "/dev/tty1" ] ; then
       setterm -powersave off -blank 0
    fi
    
    # If mount folder "dev" in my home directory is empty, mount remote home directory
    # onto it (assumes "dev" exists)
    
    if [ -d ~/dev ] ; then
       TMP=`ls -l ~/dev | wc -l`
       if [ $TMP -lt 2 ] ; then
          echo "Mounting dev..."
          sshfs ken@REMOTE_COMPUTER: ~/dev
       fi
    fi
    

    ---

    Log into your home account and verify it worked:

    gentoo # su - ken
    Mounting dev...
    gentoo $ df
    Filesystem           1K-blocks      Used Available Use% Mounted on
    /dev/sda3              7122792   4533864   2227108  68% /
    udev                     10240       136     10104   2% /dev
    /dev/sda1                99521      8807     85575  10% /boot
    shm                     182888         0    182888   0% /dev/shm
    kburtch              302077948  74804484 227273464  25% /mnt/windows
    ken@REMOTE_COMPUTER:  57803996  39441360  15426356  72% /home/ken/dev
    

    Add settings for all users to /etc/profile, the global shell profile file. Add the lines (as required) to the end of the file:

    ---

    # Direct X to use Windows' Cygwin/X display
    
    export DISPLAY=YOUR_WINDOWS_IP_HERE:0
    

    ---

    On Windows Vista, you can automatically start VirtualBox by adding a shortcut to it in the startup directory C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

    Alternatively, you can try turning VirtualBox into a Windows Vista service. Instructions are at http://thelivedevil.com/virtualbox/how-to-run-virtualbox-as-service-in-windows/.

    Add updatedb (for slocate) to your crontab to update the locate database on a daily basis.

15. Try It Out

    Create a new account for yourself using adduser and switch to the account with the su command.

    To run a new terminal session:

    gentoo $ konsole &
    

    or

    gentoo $ gnome-terminal &
    

    Tip: Create a new profile with the colours and fonts of your choice (bitstream vera sans mono is a good choice for a terminal font) then you can add --window-with-profile="YOUR_PROFILE_NAME to Gnome terminal or --profile="YOUR_PROFILE_NAME in the KDE Konsole terminal. Now you can do something like opening two different tabs at once, with different colors, one running the screen terminal utility and one logging into a different computer gentoo $ gnome-terminal --geometry="95x45" \ --window-with-profile="PROFILE_NAME1" --command="screen" \ --tab-with-profile="PROFILE_NAME2" --command="ssh USER@MACHINE" & I recommend putting frequently used commands into a shell script or a shell alias to make it easy to set up your work environment.

    To start a file browser (without the full desktop):

    gentoo $ /usr/bin/nautilus --browser --no-desktop &
    

    Without --no-desktop, Gnome's Nautilus browser will attempt to open a whole Gentoo desktop over top of Vista's desktop, which is probably not what you want. Nautilus can also be used to browse your remote directory mounted with SSHFS and open files using your Gentoo machine.

    If you prefer KDE, you can try running Konqueror for the same tasks but for some reason Konqueror didn't show my SSHFS mounted folder.

    To start an Integrated Development Environment (IDE):

    gentoo $ kdevelop &
    

    or

    gentoo $ anjuta &
    

    or

    gentoo $ /usr/lib/eclipse-3.4/eclipse &
    

16. Upgrading to Bridged Networking

    This virtual machine was configured using NAT (ie. IP masquerading) so that, to the outside world, Gentoo looks like a part of your host machine. If you used bridging instead, Gentoo will look like a separate computer. This will allow your Windows computer to access the virtual guest over the network.

    In VirtualBox, Bridged networking is an option under settings / networking. Change the setting from "NAT" to "Bridged". Restart the Gentoo virtual machine.

    On the Gentoo virtual machine, start the SSH service. Check your new IP address (if you're not using DHCP, you may have have the configure the Gentoo networking settings.

    gentoo # /etc/init.d/sshd start
    [...some things happen...]
    gentoo # ifconfig
    eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 08:00:27:f0:9f:27  
              inet addr:192.168.1.123  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
              inet6 addr: fe80::a00:27ff:fef0:9f27/64 Scope:Link
    [...some other things displayed...]
    

    Try logging in.

    cygwin $ ssh ken@192.168.1.123
    The authenticity of host '192.168.1.123 (192.168.1.123)' can't be established.
    RSA key fingerprint is 8b:4f:bc:94:0f:ee:17:fa:d4:2f:65:e4:78:19:9a:56.
    Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)? yes
    Warning: Permanently added '192.168.1.123' (RSA) to the list of known hosts.
    Password:
    
    Mounting dev home directory as ~/dev...
    gentoo $
    

    Now you'll be able to open remote desktops, run a web server, or perform other server computer tasks. For a developer, this is like having your own private sandbox to work with.

    To direct X Windows to use your Windows desktop, remember to disable the X security settings (or, at least, to authorize access by the Gentoo IP number since it now appears to Windows to be different computer on the network.

17. Next Steps

    Sound is also possible with VirtualBox. It emulates one or more common sound cards. You'll need to install support for the sound card in your Gentoo kernel and rebuild the kernel. Then install sound support in Gentoo. See Gentoo Alsa Sound Guide.

Conclusions

To install Fedora Linux on a Windows Vista computer running VirtualBox took, perhaps, 1 hour. To install Gentoo took closer to a full week but I ended up with a virtual machine custom-built for my CPU. Maybe it proved my Linux skills but, like installing Gentoo on a server computer, I have to question whether the advantages are worth the costs.

October 17, 2009