virtualbox.org

OpenBSD 4.2 & the new(May 1, 2008) 4.3 both will install and run as GUEST OS.
OpenBSD 4.2 in VirtualBox(1.5.6) and in Sun xVM VirtualBox(1.6)
OpenBSD 4.3 in Sun xVM VirtualBox(1.6)

Both only work in text mode. I cannot get X11 to run.
Part(all?) of this issue is that the vboxvideo driver is not available.

OpenBSD 4.3 dumps core a LOT; way too much for what is (supposedly) one of the most stable and secure *nix OS on planet Earth. Also I have not had even one successful build as user or root. They all fail at some point in the make|build process. None of the failures seem to be related beyond "Segmentation Fault" -core dumped result.
I don't have any prior experience with *BSD so part of the problem c/b (p/i) here|me.
But been using Linux since last century; lotsa builds ... so if a "real" install of OpenBSD is this buggy, I will toss *BSD to the loons however, since SVB 1.6 has multiple issues on multiple fronts, I have to wager the bet on the side of SVB being the one causing trouble.

Anyone else using *BSD, esp. OpenBSD, as a GUEST?
...your experience?


(note:
Current setup is using WinXPx64 as HOST.
X -configure *always* aborts so I am designating the "vga" driver which does not work or something else is killing the server(not in log).
)

I can't even install OpenBSD 4.3 in VirtualBox Vista x64 SP1 here!

Hi, I wish I had seen your post before. Is there any trick on how you installed.

I posted my install problems here: http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?t=8021

syllopsium wrote:I can't even install OpenBSD 4.3 in VirtualBox Vista x64 SP1 here!

Same here. OpenBSD 4.2, 4.3, FreeBSD, and NetBSD all lock up very early in the installer.

I'm running FreeBSD 7.0 as a guest under VirtualBox 1.5.6 on host Windows XP sp2 and it installed like charm. Networking works just perfect. I tested also bridging. I had to change network adapter to Intel PRO however. X also works. Didn't check sound.

kimec wrote:I'm running FreeBSD 7.0 as a guest under VirtualBox 1.5.6 on host Windows XP sp2 and it installed like charm. Networking works just perfect. I tested also bridging. I had to change network adapter to Intel PRO however. X also works. Didn't check sound.

Were you able to install with a different network adapter, or did network just not work?

If I recall correctly networking worked trough NAT also with default network adapter but I couldn't bridge the VirtualBox and physical interface under Windows.

I was struggling with OpenBSD 4.3 on VirtualBox as well - have finally got it to work. I also have X working (fvwm).

Running X -configure was dying on my system.

Heres what I hope is the secret sauce for everyone:

/usr/X11R6/bin/xorgconfig

Run through the rather exhaustive list of questions and at the end you should get a xorg.conf that works.

Enjoy,
John

vertex_vr4 wrote:Heres what I hope is the secret sauce for everyone:

/usr/X11R6/bin/xorgconfig

I can't get that far. My install is blowing up right at the start of the installation. Complete lockup.

See http://www.nabble.com/Bug-reports-regar ... 07184.html and http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/639.

The Segfaults that you (and most everyone else) sees regularly while trying to run OpenBSD as a guest are a result of incorrect cpu register handling and poor x86 emulation on behalf of VirtualBox. OpenBSD's strong security record is partially a result of the fundamental goal of correctness, which means that OpenBSD is much less tolerant of flaky or out-of-spec hardware, whether that hardware is real or virtual.

Which is really unfortunate, because a thin, BSD-based operating system is especially good for things like embedded systems, and having a virtualized system to use for development and QA is a great thing.

The problem here is that the system that VirtualBox is emulating, is just not "real" enough to fool OpenBSD, particularly if VT-x is not turned on or not supported by the host processor. Hopefully, the 2.0 rewrite that Sun is doing will help to fix this.

I have had limited success using the -norawr0 option to VBoxHeadless and VBoxSDL (this is sufficient to get OpenBSD 4.3 to install on my non-VT-x hardware), but OpenBSD still throws random segfaults and other nasty behavior, when put under any sort of load (try rebuilding the system, for instance) -- in practice, it is pretty unusable... and it's completely useless for any sort of QA or other testing work.

I haven't really put NetBSD through its paces on either of my vbox builds yet (Sun's non-free one, and a fresh SVN build), but I'm not optimistic -- it also requires the -norawr0 option to even install.
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toxxic wrote:
>The Segfaults that you (and most everyone else) sees regularly while trying to run OpenBSD as a guest are a result of incorrect cpu register handling and poor x86 emulation on behalf of VirtualBox.

If you know specific details or patterns of x86 instructions that are failing in VirtualBox, then *please* add this to the bug report, as it will solve problems earlier.

-Technologov

If you want to run OpenBSD, then use a cpu with VT-x or AMD-V. We are aware of issues in the software virtualization mode, but have no plans to fix them. There is currently not enough customer demand to warrant the time and effort to investigate this.

sandervl wrote:If you want to run OpenBSD, then use a cpu with VT-x or AMD-V. We are aware of issues in the software virtualization mode, but have no plans to fix them.

Sounds like that would be a good point to start attacking the VM server.

A lot of minor "issues" eventually turn into vulnerabilities.

sandervl wrote: There is currently not enough customer demand to warrant the time and effort to investigate this.

Just adding my polite request to the "demand".

fhj52 wrote:Both only work in text mode. I cannot get X11 to run.

That's what happened when I installed it. It worked as a guest just fine, but only in text mode. X wouldn't start and I didn't spend too much time on it. I did use it to SSH out to another machine, that was cool!

winlinux wrote:

fhj52 wrote:Both only work in text mode. I cannot get X11 to run.

That's what happened when I installed it. It worked as a guest just fine, but only in text mode. X wouldn't start and I didn't spend too much time on it. I did use it to SSH out to another machine, that was cool!

Well, OpenBSD 4.4 and VirtualBox 2.1 are released. I'll give 'em another shot.
If there is some change, I'll post. (for better ...or worse)