VirtualBox on Ubuntu Server 12.04

[Marc-NJ]

I installed VirtualBox on my Ubuntu 12.04 LTS server and it works pretty well (along with phpvirtualbox for managing it). However, whenever I reboot/shut down my server, I get this:

Stopping VirtualBox kernel modules ...failed!
(Cannot unload module vboxdrv)

It doesn't seem to have any impact, but I just wanted to see if this was an issue, and if so, how I could solve it? Thanks!

[CharlesA]

You'd have to check the system or kernel log to see why it fails to unload the kernel module.

[nerdtron]

Why use virtualbox on the server for managing virtual machines? You'd be better off just install a desktop version of ubuntu and then install virtual box.
A better way to create and manage virtual machine is to install the ubuntu-virt-server on the server. Then on you desktop computer, install the the ubuntu-virt-manager to have a GUI way to manage the virtual machines.
See this link http://www.howtogeek.com/117635/how-...nes-on-ubuntu/

[CharlesA]

Why use virtualbox on the server for managing virtual machines? You'd be better off just install a desktop version of ubuntu and then install virtual box.
A better way to create and manage virtual machine is to install the ubuntu-virt-server on the server. Then on you desktop computer, install the the ubuntu-virt-manager to have a GUI way to manage the virtual machines.
See this link http://www.howtogeek.com/117635/how-...nes-on-ubuntu/

Or one of the variety of web based KVM management stuff.

I use Proxmox myself, but I'm a but.. unconventional.

[Marc-NJ]

You'd have to check the system or kernel log to see why it fails to unload the kernel module.

I know some Linux/Ubuntu stuff relatively well, and some stuff I don't know at all - could you provide some add'l information on how to do this (and what I should be looking for) or maybe point me in the right direction for some add'l guidance online? Thanks!

[Marc-NJ]

Why use virtualbox on the server for managing virtual machines? You'd be better off just install a desktop version of ubuntu and then install virtual box.
A better way to create and manage virtual machine is to install the ubuntu-virt-server on the server. Then on you desktop computer, install the the ubuntu-virt-manager to have a GUI way to manage the virtual machines.
See this link http://www.howtogeek.com/117635/how-...nes-on-ubuntu/

The reading I did online seemed to indicate that Windows OS's (as guest machines) worked better when run on VirtualBox (on an Ubuntu server) than anything else - is that not accurate?

I also don't use Ubuntu Desktop OS anywhere - just the server OS for some specific software and Windows OS for my workstations. Would you still recommend I get rid of VirtualBox and use ubuntu-virt-server? Can I run ubuntu-virt-manager on my Windows workstation?

Thanks!

[Marc-NJ]

Or one of the variety of web based KVM management stuff.

I use Proxmox myself, but I'm a but.. unconventional.

When you say web-based KVM management, you mean an alternative to ubuntu-virt-manager (presumably something I could run through a web browser on my Windows workstation) that ties into ubuntu-virt-server?

[CharlesA]

I know some Linux/Ubuntu stuff relatively well, and some stuff I don't know at all - could you provide some add'l information on how to do this (and what I should be looking for) or maybe point me in the right direction for some add'l guidance online? Thanks!

Check /var/log/kern.log or /var/log/syslog

It might tell you what happened but I'm not sure if the system logger was stopped before the error occurred or not.

The reading I did online seemed to indicate that Windows OS's (as guest machines) worked better when run on VirtualBox (on an Ubuntu server) than anything else - is that not accurate?

I also don't use Ubuntu Desktop OS anywhere - just the server OS for some specific software and Windows OS for my workstations. Would you still recommend I get rid of VirtualBox and use ubuntu-virt-server? Can I run ubuntu-virt-manager on my Windows workstation?

Thanks!

I migrated away from Virtual Box a couple years ago on the server side of things even tho I still use it for Desktop virtualization at times. I haven't noticed any real performance difference between it and KVM, but my Win7 VM is usually just sitting idle.

I would say use what works for you. I mostly migrated away because phpvirtualbox was no longer being developed but it looks like that has changed.

When you say web-based KVM management, you mean an alternative to ubuntu-virt-manager (presumably something I could run through a web browser on my Windows workstation) that ties into ubuntu-virt-server?

Yes. It would interact with kvm directly. Unfortunately I don't know enough about the different interfaces to tell you which to use if you really want to migrate away.

I've been using Proxmox: http://proxmox.com/ for a while now and it's been fine for me.

Personally if VirtualBox works, stick with it.