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OpenSolaris Host - Virtual Box - Windows Guest
By David Stewart (Intel) (83 posts) on May 16, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Having seen a great demo and presentation this week about the new VirtualBox 1.6 release, I have been enjoying trying out the various combinations to see which ones I like more.
Today I tried out the Solaris version of VirtualBox on my OpenSolaris 2008.05 laptop.
My laptop is a Sony VAIO, a Centrino Pro processor based system. The first decision you need to make is whether you need to download the 32 bit or the 64 bit version. They recommend using the command isainfo -k in a terminal window to see which mode Solaris is running in. Solaris has a single distribution for both 32 bit and 64-bit capable CPUs, and at runtime, it picks the best mode. Since my system supports EM64T (extended memory 64 technology), OpenSolaris is running in 64 bit mode, so I downloaded that one.
After the download and untar, the instructions for installing the package are quite straightforward.
One small criticism is that you need to launch VirtualBox from the command line; it should install something in the Gnome desktop menus.
Once I launched VirtualBox, I was able to define a new Windows guest, give it around 1GB of memory (I am running with 2GB on the laptop), point the CD-ROM at the .iso file of Windows XP, and boot away. The install went flawlessly, and I was able to bring up Windows XP just fine. Also installing the Windows Guest extensions worked fine as well.
Networking and audio came through from Windows into Solaris, and since audio works in OpenSolaris, I was able to hear the Windows sounds just fine. Note that if you turn on seamless mode, you might not want to reboot your guest, as the display will be... um... interesting. Though this seems to happen with Windows as the host as well.
Of the two configurations I have tried (running OpenSolaris as a guest under Windows or running Windows as a guest under OpenSolaris), I actually think I prefer this one.
- I could probably live my whole life in OpenSolaris and just use windows for those few times I just can't get away from it (like running my company expense reporting tool).
- Shared clipboard seems to work better with an OpenSolaris host and a Windows guest. I think this must be because the guest extensions for Windows are a little more mature than Solaris guest extensions.
- Compiz, the 3D graphical desktop under Gnome is a lot cooler than the effects on Windows.
- I still need to figure out how to get my Windows guest to drill through the company firewall to set up a VPN connection, but I might have a website which explains how to do this.
- My 3945 wireless connection on OpenSolaris doesn't seem to want to stay as stable as the Windows wireless networking. Perhaps need an upgrade to 4965!
Categories: Graphics, Open Source, Virtualization
Comments (3) 
By Lost Drive Blog on May 17th, 2008 at 4:23 am
unknown: Once I launched VirtualBox, I was able to define a new Windows guest, give it around 1GB of memory (I am running with 2GB on the laptop), point the CD-ROM at the .iso file of Windows XP, and boot away. The install went flawlessly,
By Windows Vista Information on May 17th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
2008.05 laptop. My laptop is a Sony VAIO, a Centrino Pro processor based system. The first decision you need to make is whether you need to download the 32 bit or the 64 bit version. They recommend using the command isainfo -k in a terminal window..[more]. If I like the post, I will desperately collect it and treat it as my baby. You are right, I am here, because I love your post: (more…)
By Yahoo Warez Blog on May 17th, 2008 at 9:49 pm
2008.05 laptop. My laptop is a Sony VAIO, a Centrino Pro processor based system. The first decision you need to make is whether you need to download the 32 bit or the 64 bit version. They recommend using the command isainfo -k in a terminal window..[more]. If I like the post, I will desperately collect it and treat it as my baby. You are right, I am here, because I love your post: (more…)