Installing Virtualbox on Fedora 10

Posted Tuesday, 17 November 2009 at 18:21 by Andrew Liu
Tagged: linux | fedora | virtualisation
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At time of writing, VirtualBox 2.1.4 is out, and this is the version I will install on my Fedora 10 box.  You can go to the download sections of VirtualBox at this url .  Many thanks to this post by Derek Hildreth for inspiration.  My walkthrough here follows Derek's closely, but with a few more bugs and tweaks that I encountered that I had to work around.

1. Get the right installation

I used the Fedora 9 ("Sulphur") / 10 ("Cambridge") option (i386).  Make sure you go the the above url, copy the right version, and use the given url (the url's may change from time to time).

$ wget http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/2.1.4/VirtualBox-2.1.4_42893_fedora9-1.i386.rpm
...
100%[======================================>] 34,508,694   404K/s   in 85s

2. Install required packages

You will also need some kernel development packages.  Depending on what is already on your system, the below output may differ to my output.

$ yum install make automake autoconf gcc kernel-devel dkms
Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit
fedora                                                   | 2.8 kB     00:00
updates                                                  | 2.3 kB     00:00
updates/primary_db                                       | 2.9 MB     00:04
Setting up Install Process
Parsing package install arguments
Package 1:make-3.81-14.fc10.i386 already installed and latest version
Package automake-1.10.1-2.noarch already installed and latest version
Package autoconf-2.63-1.fc10.noarch already installed and latest version
Package gcc-4.3.2-7.i386 already installed and latest version
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package dkms.noarch 0:2.0.19.1-1.fc10 set to be updated
---> Package kernel-devel.i686 0:2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10 set to be installed
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

================================================================================
 Package           Arch        Version                       Repository    Size
================================================================================
Installing:
 dkms              noarch      2.0.19.1-1.fc10               fedora        90 k
 kernel-devel      i686        2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10       updates      5.5 M

Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install      2 Package(s)
Update       0 Package(s)
Remove       0 Package(s)

Total download size: 5.6 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/2): dkms-2.0.19.1-1.fc10.noarch.rpm                   |  90 kB     00:00
(2/2): kernel-devel-2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.i686.rpm     | 5.5 MB     00:08
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                           653 kB/s | 5.6 MB     00:08
============================== Entering rpm code ===============================
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Installing     : kernel-devel                                             1/2
  Installing     : dkms                                                     2/2
=============================== Leaving rpm code ===============================

Installed:
  dkms.noarch 0:2.0.19.1-1.fc10   kernel-devel.i686 0:2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10

Complete!

I also needed the qt packages too.

$ yum install qt qt-x11

Loaded plugins: refresh-packagekit
Setting up Install Process
Parsing package install arguments
Resolving Dependencies
--> Running transaction check
---> Package qt-x11.i386 1:4.4.3-15.fc10 set to be updated
---> Package qt.i386 1:4.4.3-15.fc10 set to be updated
--> Finished Dependency Resolution

Dependencies Resolved

================================================================================
 Package         Arch          Version                   Repository        Size
================================================================================
Installing:
 qt              i386          1:4.4.3-15.fc10           updates          3.5 M
 qt-x11          i386          1:4.4.3-15.fc10           updates           13 M

Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install      2 Package(s)
Update       0 Package(s)
Remove       0 Package(s)

Total download size: 16 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
Downloading Packages:
(1/2): qt-4.4.3-15.fc10.i386.rpm                         | 3.5 MB     00:06
(2/2): qt-x11-4.4.3-15.fc10.i386.rpm                     |  13 MB     00:18
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                           651 kB/s |  16 MB     00:25
============================== Entering rpm code ===============================
Running rpm_check_debug
Running Transaction Test
Finished Transaction Test
Transaction Test Succeeded
Running Transaction
  Installing     : qt                                                       1/2
  Installing     : qt-x11                                                   2/2
=============================== Leaving rpm code ===============================

Installed:
  qt.i386 1:4.4.3-15.fc10              qt-x11.i386 1:4.4.3-15.fc10

Complete!

Unfortunately, the above failed, and after some investigation, I found an invalid symbolic link at "/lib/modules/2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i686/build".  This had to be fixed up (using some common sense).

$ ls -al /lib/modules/2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i686/
total 3040
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root   4096 2009-02-06 05:27 .
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root   4096 2009-03-25 14:05 ..
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     52 2009-02-06 05:27 build -> ../../../usr/src/kernels/2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i686
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2009-01-21 18:21 extra
drwxr-xr-x 9 root root   4096 2009-02-06 05:27 kernel
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 433925 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.alias
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 375886 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.alias.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   1571 2009-01-21 18:21 modules.block
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root     69 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.ccwmap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 368434 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.dep
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 466977 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.dep.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root    147 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.ieee1394map
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root    375 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.inputmap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  13391 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.isapnpmap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root     10 2009-01-21 18:21 modules.modesetting
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   1697 2009-01-21 18:21 modules.networking
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root     74 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.ofmap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  65894 2009-01-21 18:21 modules.order
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 289843 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.pcimap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   1135 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.seriomap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 144619 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.symbols
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 192499 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.symbols.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 643463 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.usbmap
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root      5 2009-02-06 05:27 source -> build
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2009-01-21 18:21 updates
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2009-02-06 05:27 vdso
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2009-01-21 18:21 weak-updates
$ cd /lib/modules/2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i686/
$ rm build
rm: remove symbolic link `build'? y
$ ln -s /usr/src/kernels/2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.i686 build
$ ls -al
total 3040
drwxr-xr-x 7 root root   4096 2009-03-25 14:15 .
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root   4096 2009-03-25 14:05 ..
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root     45 2009-03-25 14:15 build -> /usr/src/kernels/2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.i686
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2009-01-21 18:21 extra
drwxr-xr-x 9 root root   4096 2009-02-06 05:27 kernel
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 433925 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.alias
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 375886 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.alias.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   1571 2009-01-21 18:21 modules.block
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root     69 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.ccwmap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 368434 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.dep
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 466977 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.dep.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root    147 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.ieee1394map
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root    375 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.inputmap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  13391 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.isapnpmap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root     10 2009-01-21 18:21 modules.modesetting
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   1697 2009-01-21 18:21 modules.networking
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root     74 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.ofmap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root  65894 2009-01-21 18:21 modules.order
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 289843 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.pcimap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root   1135 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.seriomap
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 144619 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.symbols
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 192499 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.symbols.bin
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 643463 2009-02-06 05:27 modules.usbmap
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root      5 2009-02-06 05:27 source -> build
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2009-01-21 18:21 updates
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2009-02-06 05:27 vdso
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 2009-01-21 18:21 weak-updates

3. Run the RPM

Finally, install the RPM.  As before, your RPM filename may differ than that I have below.  ** WARNING ** - the below command takes a while to run.  The following output will result if your system cannot locate the kernel development source (see the relinking of the invalid symbolic link above - you may have a similar problem.

$ rpm --install VirtualBox-2.1.4_42893_fedora9-1.i386.rpm

Creating group 'vboxusers'. VM users must be member of that group!

No precompiled module for this kernel found -- trying to build one. Messages
emitted during module compilation will be logged to /var/log/vbox-install.log.

Compilation of the kernel module FAILED! VirtualBox will not start until this
problem is fixed. Please consult /var/log/vbox-install.log to find out why the
kernel module does not compile. Most probably the kernel sources are not found.
Install them and execute

  /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

as root.

If the development sources are in place, you should get the following output.

$ rpm --install VirtualBox-2.1.4_42893_fedora9-1.i386.rpm

Creating group 'vboxusers'. VM users must be member of that group!

No precompiled module for this kernel found -- trying to build one. Messages
emitted during module compilation will be logged to /var/log/vbox-install.log.

Success!

4. Installation

Ok, once here, we need to setup the VirtualBox drivers.

$ /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup
Stopping VirtualBox kernel module                          [  OK  ]
Recompiling VirtualBox kernel module                       [  OK  ]
Starting VirtualBox kernel module                          [  OK  ]

Which all points to a good installation.  Now we need to add someone (yourself) to the 'vboxusers' group.  Remember to turn off SELinux if you have this installed (my preference is just to turn it off as it tends to do more harm than good in my opinion).

$ usermod -G vboxusers -a aliu

Now run VirtualBox!

$ VirtualBox

5. Installing USB Support (Optional)

1 - create a new group called “usb”;
2 - locate file usbfs: in my case is /sys/bus/usb/drivers (I suggest to find the file with a usb device inserted);
3 - modify file /etc/fstab inserting a line containing the right path and the number corresponding the “usb” group :
none /sys/bus/usb/drivers usbfs devgid=503,devmode=664 0 0
4 - command mount -a;
5 - start VB and try…;

6. Errors To Look Out For

a. kernel-devel and kernel-headers versions to not match

Now this seems pretty normal in hindsight, but this got me stumped, and I spent a day scratching my head before it occurred to me.  Basically, because I installed Fedora 10 at some stage (obviously), and at some later point I installed the kernel-headers, Fedora had already released new kernel-header packages.  So I had the following versions installed at some point in time:

$ rpm -qa | grep kern
kerneloops-0.12-1.fc10.i386
kernel-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686
kernel-devel-2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.i686
kernel-headers-2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i386
kernel-2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i686
kernel-firmware-2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.noarch

Notice the different versions for 'kernel-headers' when compared to 'kernel-devel'?  Well, when installing VirtualBox, that naturally takes the headers to compile the necessary drivers.  Then when it tries to install.... it all falls apart....

$ /etc/init.d/vboxdrv restart
Stopping VirtualBox kernel module                          [  OK  ]
Starting VirtualBox kernel module                          [FAILED]
  (modprobe vboxdrv failed. Please use 'dmesg' to find out why)

And of course, you get an interesting message when running 'dmesg'.

$ dmesg

...

intel_rng: FWH not detected
vboxdrv: version magic '2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.i686 SMP mod_unload 686 4KSTACKS ' should be '2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i686 SMP mod_unload 686 4KSTACKS '
vboxdrv: version magic '2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.i686 SMP mod_unload 686 4KSTACKS ' should be '2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i686 SMP mod_unload 686 4KSTACKS ' 

The numbers differ oh so slightly, but enough for the compilation to complain and fail.  You need to update (or downgrade) the kernel-headers (or vice versa).  After complications trying to downgrade, I just ended up upgrading what was required (which was the kernel).

$ yum update kernel

This sounds nasty, but ended up being fairly painless.  Strangely enough, when I look at the kernel packages, there are multiples in place.

$ rpm -qa | grep kern
kernel-devel-2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.i686
kerneloops-0.12-1.fc10.i386
kernel-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686
kernel-firmware-2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.noarch
kernel-2.6.27.12-170.2.5.fc10.i686
kernel-2.6.27.19-170.2.35.fc10.i686

I think this is normal.... I'm not a kernel hacking expert by any means though.  I did have to reboot the server though (more as a safety precaution than anything else).  When it all came back online, the vboxdrv setup command worked!

Good Luck!

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