Which version of guest-editions and extension packs shall I installs

[satimis]

There are no "guest editions" for VirtualBox 5.1 or 5.2 as far as I know. There's just the Extension Pack.

The simplest and best method to install VB and keep it up to date is to follow the instructions at https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linu...xdistributions. First, purge any existing versions of VB you may have, then add the Oracle repo to your system as described in that link, update apt, then install the "virtualbox-5.2" package as you would anything else. You'll get prompted to install the matching Extension Pack when you open the VB manager, or maybe not until you start an existing VM. The manager will handle all the steps required.

When your system next upgrades VirtualBox, you'll be prompted to install the matching Extension Pack the next time you open the VB manager.

Hi,

Thanks for your advice and links.

I'll reinstall VirtualBox on both my PC for daily working as well as the spare PC after the arrival of the new 2TB SSD. I shall install Ubuntu 18.04 gnome desktop as Host.

I suppose the line to be added to /etc/apt/source.list will be

deb https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian bionic beaver contrib

Do I need hyphenating

bionic beaver

as;

bionic-beaver

?

Thanks

Regards
satimis

[Claus7]

Hello,

you need to type:
deb https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian bionic contrib

Regards!

[satimis]

Hello,

you need to type:
deb https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian bionic contrib

Regards!

Thanks

Regards
satimis

[satimis]

Hi all,

Now I have received the new Samsung 860 EVO 2TB SSD ordered previously.
(Samsung SSD 860 EVO SATA III 2.5 " 2TB (MZ-76E2T0BW))

I'll use it to replace the old 1TB SSD which has been running for about 10 years, almost fully occupied and leaving about 90GB free space.

Host - Ubuntu 18.04 gnome desktop (OS)
VirtualBox

1)
Installation of OS and Virtualbox

1a)
The installer will be on an USB drive. I suppose it doesn't need to format the new 2TB SSD manually. The installer will format it before installing the OS? If I'm wrong please correct me. Thanks

(Remark:
Sorry, I haven't built new PC for at lease 10 years)

1b)
I shall not manually create partitions on the 2TB SSD, except LVM created by the installer. The entire new SSD will be used for running OS, VirturalBox, VMs as well as for storage of daily working files. The old files will be stored on a 2TB WD Black Label HD on the same PC.

1c)
I shall follow the steps listed on;
Debian-based Linux distributions
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linu...xdistributions

to install VirtualBox, download on Oracle website

I'll download and install "Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.2.16.vbox-extension pack" on;
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

If I'm wrong please advise me. Thanks in advance

2)
For safety reason, before installation, I shall only connect the new 2TB SSD on the PC and all other drives will be disconnected.

Although following commands will list all HDs on the PC

⟫ hwinfo --disk

and

⟫ sudo fdisk -l

But to avoid making mistake, in acident, I prefer disconnecting all HDs leaving only the new 2TB SSD connected.

However I learned a bitter lessen before with this arrangement. All other drives after connected will not be mounted automatically at booting the PC. After booting up the PC, I have to mount them manually with following step;

On the (left vertical) menu
right-click (each drive) -> Open

Is there any solution?

3)
Migration of all VMs from the old 1TB SSD to the new 2TB SSD

Either
3a)
Export all VMs and import them to the VirtualBox Manager on the new 2TB SSD

OR
3b)
Copy/Paste or rsync all VMs including the folder "VirtualBox VMs" from the old 1TB SSD to the new 2TB SSD. Afterwards add the VMs to VirtualBox Manager manually, one by one?

On VirtualBox Manager
Machine -> Add

Which steps, 3a) or 3b) will be more reliable? Thanks

3c)
If selecting 3b) above, do I need to make any change on;
VM.vbox-prev
?

Please advise. Thanks

Any other advices would be appreciated.

Regards
satimis

[Claus7]

Hello,

some effort from my perspective to answer your questions:

Hi all,

Now I have received the new Samsung 860 EVO 2TB SSD ordered previously.
(Samsung SSD 860 EVO SATA III 2.5 " 2TB (MZ-76E2T0BW))

enjoy your brand new drive!

I'll use it to replace the old 1TB SSD which has been running for about 10 years, almost fully occupied and leaving about 90GB free space.

Host - Ubuntu 18.04 gnome desktop (OS)
VirtualBox

1)
Installation of OS and Virtualbox

1a)
The installer will be on an USB drive. I suppose it doesn't need to format the new 2TB SSD manually. The installer will format it before installing the OS? If I'm wrong please correct me. Thanks

(Remark:
Sorry, I haven't built new PC for at lease 10 years)

yes! By installing ubuntu, the hdd will be prepared by default.

1b)
I shall not manually create partitions on the 2TB SSD, except LVM created by the installer. The entire new SSD will be used for running OS, VirturalBox, VMs as well as for storage of daily working files. The old files will be stored on a 2TB WD Black Label HD on the same PC.

Since from question (2) you want to add a 2nd drive from storage, it would be advised to follow this link:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1252...nal-hard-drive

That way, first you install your os to your ssd, and then you add the hdd storage drive.

1c)
I shall follow the steps listed on;
Debian-based Linux distributions
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linu...xdistributions

to install VirtualBox, download on Oracle website

I'll download and install "Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.2.16.vbox-extension pack" on;
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

If I'm wrong please advise me. Thanks in advance

You could. If it does not work, you can remove any time the repository from synaptic package manager (settings->repositories->other software) and download VB from oracle's website.

2)
For safety reason, before installation, I shall only connect the new 2TB SSD on the PC and all other drives will be disconnected.

Although following commands will list all HDs on the PC

⟫ hwinfo --disk

and

⟫ sudo fdisk -l

But to avoid making mistake, in acident, I prefer disconnecting all HDs leaving only the new 2TB SSD connected.

However I learned a bitter lessen before with this arrangement. All other drives after connected will not be mounted automatically at booting the PC. After booting up the PC, I have to mount them manually with following step;

On the (left vertical) menu
right-click (each drive) -> Open

Is there any solution?

See above...

3)
Migration of all VMs from the old 1TB SSD to the new 2TB SSD

Either
3a)
Export all VMs and import them to the VirtualBox Manager on the new 2TB SSD

OR
3b)
Copy/Paste or rsync all VMs including the folder "VirtualBox VMs" from the old 1TB SSD to the new 2TB SSD. Afterwards add the VMs to VirtualBox Manager manually, one by one?

On VirtualBox Manager
Machine -> Add

Which steps, 3a) or 3b) will be more reliable? Thanks

3c)
If selecting 3b) above, do I need to make any change on;
VM.vbox-prev
?

Please advise. Thanks

Any other advices would be appreciated.

Regards
satimis

I did 3b without any problem, yet i)at the same computer though and ii)by leaving the folder "VirtualBox VMs" intact. By transferring (copy/paste) the folder "VirtualBox VMs" to the other computer it should work. You could test it easily, since you will have already a backup to your old disk.

Regards!

[satimis]

Hello,

some effort from my perspective to answer your questions:

.....

Hi,

Thanks for your help.

Performed following steps:
=====================

1)
Disconnected all drives on the PC, leaving only the new 2TB SSD connected.

Booted PC with Ubuntu18.04 USB installer and installed Ubuntu 18.04 gnome desktop. Installation went through without problem.

Reboot PC

Host - Ubuntu 18.04 Gnome desktop

$ sudo fdisk -l > fdisk_output_01.txt
(See file attached - fdisk_output_01.txt)

Disk /dev/sda: 1.8 TiB, 2000398934016 bytes, 3907029168 sectors

$ free -m

              total        used        free      shared  buff/cache   available
Mem:          32069        1777       28518         117        1774       30014
Swap:           975           0         975

Install bridge-utils
$ sudo apt install bridge-utils

$ ifconfig

enp2s0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.8.2  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.8.255
        inet6 fe80::441d:62c7:b0bf:2dbb  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether f0:79:59:65:2f:bb  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 19694  bytes 23264203 (23.2 MB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 7432  bytes 1147548 (1.1 MB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 1000  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 754  bytes 72755 (72.7 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 754  bytes 72755 (72.7 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

Add following line at the bottom of /etc/apt/sources.list

deb https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian bionic contrib

$ wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/..._vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

OK

$ wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

OK

$ sudo apt-get update

Hit:1 http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic InRelease
Hit:2 http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-updates InRelease                           
Hit:3 http://hk.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-backports InRelease                         
Get:4 https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian bionic InRelease [4,429 B]                                 
Get:5 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu bionic-security InRelease [83.2 kB]                           
Get:6 https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian bionic/contrib amd64 Packages [1,440 B]
Fetched 89.1 kB in 1s (71.6 kB/s)                                     
Reading package lists... Done
N: Skipping acquire of configured file 'contrib/binary-i386/Packages' as repository 'https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian bionic InRelease' doesn't support architecture 'i386'

$ sudo apt-get install virtualbox-5.2

Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
.....
Setting up gcc-7 (7.3.0-16ubuntu3) ...
Setting up gcc (4:7.3.0-3ubuntu2) ...
Setting up libqt5printsupport5:amd64 (5.9.5+dfsg-0ubuntu1) ...
Setting up libqt5opengl5:amd64 (5.9.5+dfsg-0ubuntu1) ...
Setting up libqt5svg5:amd64 (5.9.5-0ubuntu1) ...
Setting up virtualbox-5.2 (5.2.16-123759~Ubuntu~bionic) ...
Adding group `vboxusers' (GID 127) ...
Done.
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.27-3ubuntu1) ...

VirtualBox Manager installed

VirtualBox Graphical User Intertace
Version 5.2.16 r123759(Qt5.9.5)

Please refer to following photos attached

screenshot01_vbox_manager.png
screenshot02_vbox_manager.png

Download and install extension pack;
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
Download it on

VirtualBox 5.2.16 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack
     All supported platforms

Please see;
screenshot_install_extension_pack.png

-> Install
Installation went through successfully

Rebooted PC

Host Unable to set static IP address. After setting static IP address, Host can't connect Internet (ping yahoo.com fails)

I have encountered similar problem on installing all Ubuntu18.04 VMs in the past. Following document helped me out.

How to Enable /etc/rc.local with Systemd
https://www.linuxbabe.com/linux-serv...l-with-systemd

Shall I do the same on the Host? Thanks


2)
Shut down PC and reconnected the old 1TB SSD.

Started PC and booted Ubuntu 18.04 on the new 2TB SSD. Copy "Virtualbox VMs" folder including all VMs (about 70 VMs) from the old SSD to new SSD. It took about 1hr and 15min to finish.

Started VirtualBox Manager

-> Open
/home/satimis/VirtualBox VMs/VM1/VM1.vbox

-> Open

Settings
Network -> Adapter 1
Attached to" [Bridged Adapter]
Name: [enp2s0]

Please see;
screenshot_change_network_settings.png

VM1
$ ifconfig

br0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.8.79  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.8.255
        inet6 fe80::a00:27ff:fed9:8f44  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether 08:00:27:d9:8f:44  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 188  bytes 495628 (495.6 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 243  bytes 29079 (29.0 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

enp0s3: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.8.3  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.8.255
        ether 08:00:27:d9:8f:44  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 478  bytes 517370 (517.3 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 272  bytes 39457 (39.4 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 1000  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 85  bytes 6670 (6.6 KB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 85  bytes 6670 (6.6 KB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

$ cat /etc/network/interfaces

# interfaces(5) file used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8)
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet manual

# add bridge ports
auto br0
iface br0 inet static
        address         192.168.8.79
        dns-nameservers 218.xxx.xx.xxx 219.xx.xxx.xx
        network         192.168.8.0
        netmask         255.255.255.0
        broadcast       192.168.8.255
        gateway         192.168.8.1
        bridge_ports    enp0s3
        bridge_fd       9
        bridge_hello    2
        bridge_maxage   12
        bridge_stop     off

Tried adding another VM (VM2), also successful. It may take me another day or 2 to finish adding all VMs to this new SSD.

To purchase a new SSD is simple and straightforwards. just paying its price. But to replace the old SSD with it takes lengthy time and effort, even without problem encountered.

Regards
satimis

[Claus7]

Hello,

Hi,

Thanks for your help.

you are welcome. I just provide some info.

Install bridge-utils
$ sudo apt install bridge-utils

I did not have to install such a package for my systems (host and guest network) to work.

Host Unable to set static IP address. After setting static IP address, Host can't connect Internet (ping yahoo.com fails)

I have encountered similar problem on installing all Ubuntu18.04 VMs in the past. Following document helped me out.

How to Enable /etc/rc.local with Systemd
https://www.linuxbabe.com/linux-serv...l-with-systemd

Shall I do the same on the Host? Thanks

I do not know. Have you checked the connection of host, before trying to install vb and machines? If it is working, I think that you can avoid this step altogether and just install host, then install vb and then add the machines.

2)
Tried adding another VM (VM2), also successful. It may take me another day or 2 to finish adding all VMs to this new SSD.

To purchase a new SSD is simple and straightforwards. just paying its price. But to replace the old SSD with it takes lengthy time and effort, even without problem encountered.

Regards
satimis

Nice that things are working! So, even transferring machines from one drive to the other it is working. It might take some time, yet this is not a process done every day.

Regards!

[satimis]

I did not have to install such a package for my systems (host and guest network) to work.

Hi,

I'll try to remove it later to check what will happen.

I do not know. Have you checked the connection of host, before trying to install vb and machines? If it is working, I think that you can avoid this step altogether and just install host, then install vb and then add the machines.

Yes, Host can connect Internet with IP address assigned by router. Also VMs can connect to Internet. Yes, I'll leave it

Continue:-
Reconnected all other drives;
Say;
Drive1 - 250G SSD running Ubuntu 16.04 and KVM
Drive2 - for data storage as well as KVM guest images
Drive3 - for data storage only
Drive4 - old 1TB SSD
Drive5 - new 2TB SSD

But KVM guests on Drive1 can't be started.

Warning

Error starting domain: Cannot access storage file '/media/satimis/eee0a8e0-4ac5-433e-b6e0-9cbf67916666/KVM_Guests/ubuntu1804pc1a02.qcow2' (as uid:64055, gid:129): No such file or directory

because Drive2 couldn't be mounted automatically. I have to start 'File' -> right-click to mount and open it then KVM guests can be started.

But the most strange thing which I have to sort out FIRST is;
After connecting Drive1, Ubuntu 18.04 only boots to a dark screen. I have tried ample times with the same result.

Ubuntu 16.04 on Drive4 can be booted and works without problem.

Any suggestion to sort out this strange thing?


Edit-1
====
Re: because Drive2 couldn't be mounted automatically. I have to start 'File' -> right-click to mount and open it then KVM guests can be started.

Following the steps on your suggested link on Post #15

How do I add an additional hard drive?
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1252...nal-hard-drive

I solved the problem.

Thanks


Edit-2
=====
bridge-utils is for setting static IP address. All VMs of VirtualBox and guests of KVM here are running at static IP address, NOT NAT, so that other users on the internal network can use/share their applications/resource.


Regards
satimis

[ajgreeny]

The problem shown in your final attached image of post 16 suggests your guest VM is using a bridged network; try changing that to the default NAT network in the VM's settings and it may work fine.

[satimis]

The problem shown in your final attached image of post 16 suggests your guest VM is using a bridged network; try changing that to the default NAT network in the VM's settings and it may work fine.

Hi,

Thanks. Please explain in more detail.

"final attached image of post 16" refers to a VM of VirtualBox which was running on Drive4 (the old 1TB SSD) previously but now it is NOT running. Would it cause a dark screen on booting Ubuntu 18.04 running on Drive5-new 2TB SSD?

Regards
satimis