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This tutorial will explain how to create the "virtual machine" using the "virtual machine player" in order to run the practical exercises.

 

What is a "virtual machine"? A virtual machine is literally one computer operating system and its applications running on top of another operating system. It is a way of using Linux with MacOSX and Windows for example. But is can also be used to run one version of Linux on another version of Linux. Often called "appliances", virtual machines are useful for providing complete environments for certain applications so that no software needs to be installed on the host computer.

What is a "virtual machine player"? A virtual machine player is an application that is used to run or 'play' the virtual machine. This is typically either 'VirtualBox' or 'VMplayer'. Mac users may be familiar with 'Parallels' which is also a virtual machine (VM) player. The VM player software needs to be installed on the host computer before the virtual machine can be used.

Why use a "virtual machine"?. Virtual machines are very useful for training. All of the software and training materials for OpenIFS and Metview are loaded into the virtual machine. There is no need to install software/files on your own computer. OpenIFS user workshop create the workshop case studies using virtual machines so that we can deliver training remotely. We have examples of virtual machines from previous workshops. For more information please contact openifs-support@ecmwf.int.

Before you start

This tutorial assumes you have already downloaded one of the OpenIFS/Metview virtual machines. The virtual machines have been used for the OpenIFS workshops.

If you do not have a virtual machine and would like to try one, please contact openifs-support@ecmwf.int.

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The VirtualBox user documentation page has more information about creating and using virtual machines.

It includes a FAQ and HowTo articles on various topics.

Information about VirtualBox is also available on the openSUSE website.

Creating the virtual machine

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vboxsf                 47936  0
vboxvideo              12669  1
vboxguest             293037  6 vboxsf
drm                   335594  3 vboxvideo

Uninstall guest additions by:

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sudo zypper rm virtualbox-guest-kmp-default virtualbox-guest-tools virtualbox-guest-x11

This will prompt for the root password 'metv1ew!'

Install steps

These steps use the Mac OSX version of VirtualBox. Other systems may be slightly different.

  1. Start up the virtual machine (VM) and let it start up fully.

  2. First check that the necessary kernel files are installed:

    Code Block
    zypper search kernel-devel

    If not, install them with the command:

    Code Block
    sudo zypper install kernel-devel

    The installation needs to be done as the root user. This command will prompt for the root password 'metv1ew!'

    The 'make' and 'gcc' packages are also required but these are normally available by default in the OpenIFS virtual machine.

  3. With the virtual machine as the active window, select the 'Devices' menu and the 'Install guest additions CD image..



    A popup window should appear in the virtual machine showing the CD.

  4. In the virtual machine, open a Terminal window from the openSUSE icon and 'Applications' menu


     

  5. In the Terminal, change to the directory where the VBoxAdditions CD was mounted. This will be under the /run/media directory, followed by the username.

    Code Block
    titlee.g.
    cd /run/media/openifs/VBOXADDITIONS_4.3.34_104062

    (older systems may use /var/run/media instead).

  6. To start the installation of the Guest Additions, type the following in the Terminal:

    Code Block
    sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

    This will prompt for the root password, usually 'metv1ew!'

    Info

    The installation may report that Guest Additions is already installed and ask you to confirm.

    The installation only takes a few minutes.

  7. Reboot the virtual machine for the changes to take effect.

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Info

Please note that the user 'openifs' does not exist on the earlier OpenIFS Virtual Machines.

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Check that the Settings for the VM are set to 'Bidirectional'. Also, when the VM is running, check that the menu option "Devices" -> "Drag'n'Drop" is also set to Bidirectional.

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The name 'shared_folder' should be the same as the name of the shared_folder in the VM Settings panel. 

Shared folders stop working after kernel update

If a system update has updated the kernel files and shared folders have stopped working, reinstall the Guest Additions software. Guest Additions adds files to the kernel and these must be reinstalled if the kernel is changed.