same VirtualBox for all users?

bongo_zg · December 2, 2010, 1:41pm

So, on OpenSuse 11.3 I installed VirtualBox, and I would like to put other account to be able to start virtual os-es, but… I would like to have them 2-3 and that other users see them when they start VirtualBox and that they can start them, but not to add new one…

is this possibble?

knurpht · December 2, 2010, 2:22pm

Yep, very possible. Simply add the users that you want to give access to the VM’s to the ‘vboxusers’ group, using Yast2-User and Group Management.

BoloMarkIII · December 2, 2010, 4:02pm

By default VirtualBox places its files in a hidden .VirtualBox folder in your user /home directory.
Better to change those settings and place the files in a folder all users can access.

bongo_zg · December 2, 2010, 4:04pm

tnx…

but, for example, I installed virtualBox as a root, and then added another user…
and another user does not see virtual machine created by root

bongo_zg · December 2, 2010, 4:14pm

I changed default folder and it’s group and permissions (I didn’t changed owner), but it is still the same

please_try_again · December 2, 2010, 4:16pm

Replace /srv/vbox in the example below with the path where you installed your virtual machines and run this command as root:

find /srv/vbox -type d -exec chmod 775 "{}" ";" -exec chown "root:vboxusers" "{}" ";" ; find /srv/vbox -type f -exec chmod 664 "{}" ";" -exec chown "root:vboxusers" "{}" ";"'

write an alias in /root/.alias if you have to run it often:

alias vboxperm='find /srv/vbox -type d -exec chmod 775 "{}" ";" -exec chown "root:vboxusers" "{}" ";" ; find /srv/vbox -type f -exec chmod 664 "{}" ";" -exec chown "root:vboxusers" "{}" ";"'

knurpht · December 2, 2010, 4:22pm

You install Vbox as root, that’s all. Configuration is done on user level.

You have to place the Virtual Disks and the Virtual Machines in a folder that has has ‘rwx’ for the owning group vboxusers. Ditto for the VDI’s and the VM’s.
Now, for each user, you configure VBox to use the VM’s and VDI’s. If you know how to do that for one user, the others are the same. This creates an individual config of Vbox for each user, though all use the same VM’s and VDI’s. Yet one user can run a VM full screen as a default, an other user runs the same VM scaled by default.

bongo_zg · December 2, 2010, 4:46pm

hm, does it means that root created one virtual disk (.vdi), but all users will have to create their own virtual machines?

please_try_again · December 2, 2010, 4:59pm

Nope. As explained by Knurpht above and as done by the command I provided in my previous post, members of the vboxusers group should have read/write/execute access to the VDI directory and read/write access to virtual machines as well as to other files (.xml and logs).

bongo_zg · December 2, 2010, 6:08pm

it’s still not working…

as I understod, default disk and machine folder should be the same for all users, all those files should be at some folder accessible for all (I use /opt/virtualBox), and all files/folders shoul be in vboxusers group, and all should have rw rights (inside the group)…

please_try_again · December 2, 2010, 7:15pm

It does work. Open a terminal, type

su -l

then copy/paste/execute these 2 commands:

find /opt/virtualBox -type d -exec chmod 775 "{}" ";" -exec chown "root:vboxusers" "{}" ";"
find /opt/virtualBox -type f -exec chmod 664 "{}" ";" -exec chown "root:vboxusers" "{}" ";"

bongo_zg · December 3, 2010, 9:55am

it’s all the same :grr:…

so, I created virtual machine under the root and set up a default folders on the same shareable place (/opt/virtualBox) for all accounts… and set up properties by your script…
and when I start virtualBox (as an non-root user) I should see virtual machines available… but I don’t… and I need to create a new machine using existing .vdi

knurpht · December 3, 2010, 10:03am

I have a partition mounted on /VM
In there folders VDI and Machines
They are owned by me (but that does not matter) as user, vboxusers as the group, and are RWX for the group vboxusers
That’s all.

oldcpu · December 3, 2010, 11:27am

Its not enough to change the folder permissions. You also need to change a permission of some other file(s).

On our family laptop (Dell Studio 1537) I have a /home/virtual directory (or something like that name) created, and in that directory I have the virtual box .vdi file(s). I changed the permissions such that each user can access the virual box in that directory. But it was not straight forward.

I am NOT at a Linux PC right now, nor indeed I am not anywhere close to our laptop right now, so I can not give you specifics. But it IS a simple permissions issue (simple that is, once one knows the exact change).

I’ll try to remember to look at what I changed (for permissions) this weekend.

please_try_again · December 3, 2010, 12:49pm

Yep … but I’m going to tell you why it still doesn’t work. By using the commands I provided, you’re changing directories and files access rights and ownership in /opt/VirtualBox. This is right and that’s what we want. However, there is another file you didn’t change, the one which includes the user configuration of the VirtualBox interface and the entries of the existing virtual machines. So please do the following (in this order):

as root (not necessary … but anyway).

run VirtualBox, create/setup your virtual machine(s).
exit VirtualBox
execute the two commands I provided in the other post in a terminal, to set access rights and ownership.
Now copy the file /root/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml to your user (as well as other users) .VirtualBox directory, overwriting the one which might already exist there.

cp /root/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml /home/paul/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml
cp /root/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml /home/john/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml
cp /root/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml /home/martha/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml

etc, paul, john, martha beeing example users (I guess you have other ones).

change the ownership of this file to each user respectively. In the following example, the users are in the primary group users (which is default but not mandatory):

chown paul:users /home/paul/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml
chown john:users /home/john/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml
chown martha:users /home/martha/.VirtualBox/VirtualBox.xml

Now, as user paul, john, martha or whoever, start VirtualBox and you (as well as others) will be able to use the virtual machines you created as root.

bongo_zg · December 3, 2010, 6:27pm

it’s working now

tnx for big efforts

question…
could I put those .xml files (in home folders) to be read-only because users should be able just to start virtual machine, but not to change them?

also…
how could I start virtual machine and log off and to continue working on machine in linux under the another account? (to shift accounts while virtual machine is still on on some F1-F7 screen?)

please_try_again · December 3, 2010, 8:32pm

No. They have to be writable as any config file.

Hmmm …

you can switch to console with CTRL-ALT-F1
start X on another screen with startx – :1
start VirtualBox and get in fullscreen with <RightAlt-F>
switch to your first Xsession with CTRL-ALT-F7
swtich to Windows with CTRL-ALT-F8 (at least on my system)

However the VirtualBox user is not going to change “on the fly” while VirtualBox is running.

bongo_zg · December 3, 2010, 11:29pm

yes…
it’s working now…

now, I need to adjust a screen size (I have 24" screen with 1920*1080), but screen on virtual machine does not support that…
on wich subforum should I post this?
or someone have some tips?

(currently, it allows 1600*1200 pixels)

gogalthorp · December 4, 2010, 4:30am

Did you install the addons for the guest OS? You need to add the video and other drivers to get the most from the guest. I’m not sure that such a high res is supported but if it is you need the addons.

Such questions are best asked on a VirtualBox forum.