[OpenIndiana-discuss] running VirtualBox headless

[Edward Ned Harvey (openindiana)]

> From: Jan Owoc [mailto:jsowoc at gmail.com]
> 
> I'm running a home NAS using OI 151a7 "server" (vs. "desktop"). I was
> thinking of running Ubuntu Server in a virtual machine on OI, ideally
> configured to startup/shutdown when OI starts/shuts down. I can
> connect a monitor to the machine, but it generally should run
> headless.
> 
> I found there is a very helpful entry on the wiki [1] describing most
> of the steps. Has anyone successfully installed VirtualBox on a
> headless OI and have any other tips before I dive in?
> 
> [1] http://wiki.openindiana.org/oi/7.2+VirtualBox

I do this quite a bit.  In fact, I'm a contributor to the wiki page you mentioned.  A long time ago, I tried doing this on "server" and found I couldn't get VirtualBox to install, or to run, or something like that.  So I switched to "desktop" and everything was smooth.  It was a long time ago and I don't recall details.  It could simply be that I hadn't yet figured out how to run headless, so I required X and gnome, and a desktop, and couldn't get that working.  Now that I think of it, I think that's the most likely truth.  Hopefully it will go smoothly for you.  I'm also the author of simplesmf, which is mentioned on that wiki page.  I have some updated scripts that haven't been committed to the project yet, but I think they're an improvement, so if interested, let me know and I'll provide.