18.04 running very slow in Windows 10 Host VirtualBox

[Pranabesh]

Hi,

I'm running Ubuntu 18.04 desktop on Windows 10 VirtualBox (Oracle).

My details are as follows:

VirtualBox Version 5.2.18 r124319 (Qt5.6.2)
Guest Addition: 5.2.18

VM Configuaration:

RAM allocated: 8 GB
No. of CPU cores: 4
3D acceleration: On
VRAM allocated: 128 MB

Desktop used: Ubuntu Community 

Even with this configuration, the 18.04 response is very sluggish.
Earlier I had 17.04 and it was quite fast in the VM.

What I noticed that my $HOME is full like 100%. But I still have lots of space in the ext4, only 15% is used.

Attached are two screenshots showing the space, performance and FS.

Request if someone can help me to figure out what's wrong.

Thanks.

[TheFu]

http://blog.jdpfu.com/2012/09/14/sol...-in-virtualbox is old, but still relevant.
As for storage, please post the output from df -hT as text and use "code tags" so things line up. Text is always preferred over images here. ALWAYS. I can't read the posted image.

It also seems like the Guest VM has too many vCPUs and too much vRAM allocated, but without knowing the hostOS hardware it is hard to say. Virtual machines need to cooperate with the hostOS to get the best performance while leaving the hostOS with sufficient capabilities to manage VMs.

Lastly, every time a new kernel is installed inside a guest VM, you should re-install the guest additions. Same if you upgrade to a new version of virtualbox, then install new guest additions.

Use virtio drivers for the storage controller and networking.

It also helps if you use a lighter DE, not one that demands 3D accel.

Too bad you can't use KVM+libvirt for this. Much better hypervisor. Faster than all others, even commercial, with lower overheard for true virtual hardware emulation and the security that provides.

[Pranabesh]

http://blog.jdpfu.com/2012/09/14/sol...-in-virtualbox is old, but still relevant.
As for storage, please post the output from df -hT as text and use "code tags" so things line up. Text is always preferred over images here. ALWAYS. I can't read the posted image.

It also seems like the Guest VM has too many vCPUs and too much vRAM allocated, but without knowing the hostOS hardware it is hard to say. Virtual machines need to cooperate with the hostOS to get the best performance while leaving the hostOS with sufficient capabilities to manage VMs.

Lastly, every time a new kernel is installed inside a guest VM, you should re-install the guest additions. Same if you upgrade to a new version of virtualbox, then install new guest additions.

Use virtio drivers for the storage controller and networking.

It also helps if you use a lighter DE, not one that demands 3D accel.

Too bad you can't use KVM+libvirt for this. Much better hypervisor. Faster than all others, even commercial, with lower overheard for true virtual hardware emulation and the security that provides.

Hi,

Thanks for replying and your time.

I'm using an MSI laptop with logical 8-core CPU with 16 GB RAM and NVIDIA GeForce GTX1060 card running Windows 10 as the host OS. Relevant portions of my system specs are attached as text file for you to review.

I'd updated from Ubuntu 17.10 to 18.04 in the VirtualBox, and yes I've upgraded the GA to the latest one after upgrading to 18.04:

VirtualBox version: VirtualBox-5.2.18-124319
Ext Pack: Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.2.18
GA: VBoxGuestAdditions_5.2.18

These were upgraded just couple of days back. But no performance improvement noticed.

Also adding the summary of my machine spec, in case the attachment is unreadable:

------------------
System Information
------------------
                
         Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (10.0, Build 15063) (15063.rs2_release.170317-1834)
                 Language: English (Regional Setting: English)
      System Manufacturer: Micro-Star International Co., Ltd.
             System Model: GE62VR 7RF
                     BIOS: E16JBIMS.310
                Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-7700HQ CPU @ 2.80GHz (8 CPUs), ~2.8GHz
                   Memory: 16384MB RAM
      Available OS Memory: 16270MB RAM
                Page File: 14256MB used, 4445MB available




---------------
Display Devices
---------------
          Card name: Intel(R) HD Graphics 630
       Manufacturer: Intel Corporation
          Chip type: Intel(R) HD Graphics Family
           DAC type: Internal
        Device Type: Full Device
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_591B&SUBSYS_11D51462&REV_04
      Device Status: 0180200A [DN_DRIVER_LOADED|DN_STARTED|DN_DISABLEABLE|DN_NT_ENUMERATOR|DN_NT_DRIVER] 
Device Problem Code: No Problem
Driver Problem Code: Unknown
     Display Memory: 8262 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 128 MB
      Shared Memory: 8134 MB
       Current Mode: 1920 x 1080 (32 bit) (60Hz)
       Monitor Name: Generic PnP Monitor
      Monitor Model: unknown




          Card name: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
       Manufacturer: NVIDIA
          Chip type: GeForce GTX 1060
           DAC type: Integrated RAMDAC
        Device Type: Full Device
         Device Key: Enum\PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_1C20&SUBSYS_11D51462&REV_A1
      Device Status: 0180200A [DN_DRIVER_LOADED|DN_STARTED|DN_DISABLEABLE|DN_NT_ENUMERATOR|DN_NT_DRIVER] 
Device Problem Code: No Problem
Driver Problem Code: Unknown
     Display Memory: 14180 MB
   Dedicated Memory: 6046 MB
      Shared Memory: 8134 MB




-------------
Sound Devices
-------------
            Description: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
 Default Sound Playback: Yes
 Default Voice Playback: Yes
            Hardware ID: HDAUDIO\FUNC_01&VEN_10EC&DEV_0899&SUBSYS_146211D5&REV_1000
        Manufacturer ID: 1
             Product ID: 100
                   Type: WDM
            Driver Name: RTKVHD64.sys
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.8233 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
            WHQL Logo'd: Yes
          Date and Size: 15-08-2017 12:00:00 AM, 5899752 bytes
            Other Files: 
        Driver Provider: Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
         HW Accel Level: Basic
              Cap Flags: 0xF1F
    Min/Max Sample Rate: 100, 200000
Static/Strm HW Mix Bufs: 1, 0
 Static/Strm HW 3D Bufs: 0, 0
              HW Memory: 0
       Voice Management: No
 EAX(tm) 2.0 Listen/Src: No, No
   I3DL2(tm) Listen/Src: No, No
Sensaura(tm) ZoomFX(tm): No


---------------------
Sound Capture Devices
---------------------
            Description: Microphone (Realtek High Definition Audio)
  Default Sound Capture: Yes
  Default Voice Capture: Yes
            Driver Name: RTKVHD64.sys
         Driver Version: 6.00.0001.8233 (English)
      Driver Attributes: Final Retail
          Date and Size: 8/27/2017 13:30:30, 5899752 bytes
              Cap Flags: 0x1
           Format Flags: 0xFFFFF




------------------------
Disk & DVD/CD-ROM Drives
------------------------
      Drive: C:
 Free Space: 106.1 GB
Total Space: 242.9 GB
File System: NTFS
      Model: HFS128G39MNC-3510A


      Drive: D:
 Free Space: 680.3 GB
Total Space: 884.3 GB
File System: NTFS
      Model: HGST HTS721010A9E630


      Drive: F:
 Free Space: 50.7 GB
Total Space: 51.2 GB
File System: NTFS
      Model: HGST HTS721010A9E630


      Drive: G:
 Free Space: 984.1 GB
Total Space: 1907.7 GB
File System: NTFS
      Model: Seagate BUP Slim BL SCSI Disk Device


      Drive: E:
      Model: HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GUD0N
     Driver: c:\windows\system32\drivers\cdrom.sys, 10.00.15063.0000 (English), 3/19/2017 02:26:25, 160256 bytes

The output of the df command is as follows:

Filesystem     Type      Size  Used Avail Use% Mounted on
udev           devtmpfs  3.9G     0  3.9G   0% /dev
tmpfs          tmpfs     798M  1.7M  797M   1% /run
/dev/sda1      ext4      149G   26G  116G  18% /
tmpfs          tmpfs     3.9G     0  3.9G   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs          tmpfs     5.0M  4.0K  5.0M   1% /run/lock
tmpfs          tmpfs     3.9G     0  3.9G   0% /sys/fs/cgroup
/dev/loop1     squashfs  640K  640K     0 100% /snap/nano-editor/1
/dev/loop4     squashfs  161M  161M     0 100% /snap/mailspring/242
/dev/loop5     squashfs  8.8M  8.8M     0 100% /snap/communitheme/358
/dev/loop6     squashfs   11M   11M     0 100% /snap/communitheme/742
/dev/loop7     squashfs  141M  141M     0 100% /snap/gnome-3-26-1604/59
/dev/loop9     squashfs  2.4M  2.4M     0 100% /snap/gnome-calculator/170
/dev/loop10    squashfs  5.0M  5.0M     0 100% /snap/canonical-livepatch/39
/dev/loop11    squashfs   15M   15M     0 100% /snap/gnome-logs/37
/dev/loop12    squashfs  140M  140M     0 100% /snap/gnome-3-26-1604/64
/dev/loop13    squashfs  3.8M  3.8M     0 100% /snap/gnome-system-monitor/39
/dev/loop14    squashfs  5.0M  5.0M     0 100% /snap/canonical-livepatch/41
/dev/loop8     squashfs   87M   87M     0 100% /snap/core/5145
/dev/loop0     squashfs   87M   87M     0 100% /snap/core/4917
/dev/loop2     squashfs  161M  161M     0 100% /snap/mailspring/244
/dev/loop3     squashfs  459M  459M     0 100% /snap/intellij-idea-community/71
/dev/loop15    squashfs  227M  227M     0 100% /snap/pycharm-community/76
/dev/loop16    squashfs   13M   13M     0 100% /snap/gnome-characters/103
/dev/loop17    squashfs  141M  141M     0 100% /snap/gnome-3-26-1604/70
/dev/loop18    squashfs   13M   13M     0 100% /snap/gnome-characters/96
/dev/loop20    squashfs   15M   15M     0 100% /snap/gnome-logs/34
/dev/loop19    squashfs  114M  114M     0 100% /snap/vscode/50
/dev/loop21    squashfs  3.8M  3.8M     0 100% /snap/gnome-system-monitor/51
/dev/loop22    squashfs  157M  157M     0 100% /snap/mailspring/216
/dev/loop23    squashfs  2.4M  2.4M     0 100% /snap/gnome-calculator/180
/dev/loop24    squashfs   13M   13M     0 100% /snap/gnome-characters/86
/dev/loop25    squashfs  2.4M  2.4M     0 100% /snap/gnome-calculator/167
/dev/loop26    squashfs   11M   11M     0 100% /snap/communitheme/575
/dev/loop27    squashfs   22M   22M     0 100% /snap/gnome-logs/31
/dev/loop28    squashfs   87M   87M     0 100% /snap/core/4650
/dev/loop29    squashfs  5.0M  5.0M     0 100% /snap/canonical-livepatch/42
/dev/loop30    squashfs  3.8M  3.8M     0 100% /snap/gnome-system-monitor/41
W2UShared      vboxsf     50G  1.4G   49G   3% /media/sf_W2UShared
tmpfs          tmpfs     798M   12K  798M   1% /run/user/120
tmpfs          tmpfs     798M   32K  798M   1% /run/user/1000
/dev/sr0       iso9660    56M   56M     0 100% /media/pranabesh/VBox_GAs_5.2.18

Kindly review and let me know if there is something I need to change for a better performing Guest.

Thanks.

[TheFu]

Follow the instructions in the link already provided.
I've seen Core i7 machines behave poorly in virtualbox before, which should never happen.
The instructions were written to solve exactly that issue.

[Pranabesh]

Hi,

I followed all the instructions mentioned in that link.
However, the response of the Ubuntu guest is still very slow in my machine.

Regards.

[TheFu]

Hi,

I followed all the instructions mentioned in that link.
However, the response of the Ubuntu guest is still very slow in my machine.

Regards.

Before we look at other issues, please prove that claim.

[mastiffman93]

I don't think the problem lies in (or any Guest OS, for that matter) Ubuntu. Case in point, if you create live boot media using the 18.04 image, and boot from that media, it run at comparable speeds, to every other recent version of Ubuntu; furthermore, I'm running a 64 bit windows 10, as my Host, and trying to install Windows XP SP3 64 bit, from an ISO I have; I"m not a fast typist, this response has, at this time, already been about 45 minutes, in the making; so, it got to the part, where I told it to install, to the 80 GB virtual drive, that I set aside for it, that was about an hour ago, and it's thus far, only 45% done.

[vasilis-vlachoudis]

I am having the same issue since several months now. For an unknown reason Virtualbox became very slow to the point that it is unusable.
Even after upgrading my host to 18.10 the issue still remains and for all clients (Windows 10, Ubuntu, Fedora etc...). How can I debug it?

[SeijiSensei]

Have you tried building a machine with ordinary packages rather than all those snaps?

[pedro-clemo]

Short version:

Have you tried uninstalling VirtialBox Guest Additions to see if it makes a difference? If not, please see below...

Long version:

I've had the same issue with Ubuntu 18.04 host and Ubuntu 18.04 guest.

The guest machine (has loads of RAM/resources etc and been running without issue for ages) was getting so slow to the point this week it was just totally unusable.

Decided it must have been something I've done so built another Ubuntu 18.04 guest and noticed at the point of installing VirtualBox Guest Additions (as well as some required dependencies), things started to fall apart. The new guest was also slow the the point of being useless. I uninstalled VB Guest Additions and it was lightening fast again.

So a few days later (after ensuring all packages were up-to-date) I tried again and the guest was instantly near-unresponsive so uninstalled GA again and it's been fine ever since.

To uninstall VirtualBox Guest Additions I did:

Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD Image
Cancel Auto-Run if it's offered
Note the mount point (e.g. /media/{user}/VBox_GAs_5.2.18)
Run in Terminal: sudo sh /media/{user}/VBox_GAs_5.2.18/VBoxLinuxAdditions.run uninstall

(Can easily be put back by running the CD again.)

Both host and guest are Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS (4.15.0-44-generic kernel)
VirtualBox is 5.2.18_Ubuntu r123745
VirtualBox Extension Pack is 5.2.18r124319