Installing X and virtualbox

[cdburgess75]

Thanks for the help on the repos:  Here is a quick dirty virtual box with a vncserver to manage ---this install works on version: OPNsense 15.1.12-amd64   (don't forget to allow ports for vnc:5001)  **This is not complete but close,  any suggestions would be helpful.

1. change repo:

goto /usr/local/etc/pkg/repo/FreeBSD.conf and change the value "no" to "yes"


2. install pkg:

pkg update -f
pkg install -fy xorg
pkg install -fy mate-desktop
pkg install -fy mate
pkg install -fy slim
pkg install -fy virtualbox-ose
pkg install -fy virtualbox-ose-additions
pkg install -fy vboxtool
pkg install -fy tightvnc

3.file changes:

cp -p /etc/rc.conf /etc/rc.conf-old
cp -p /etc/rc.conf /root
echo 'apache24_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'mysql_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'dbus_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'hald_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'slim_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'vboxguest_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'vbox_service="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'vboxnet_enable="YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'vboxservice_flags="--disable-timesync"' >> /etc/rc.conf
echo 'vboxheadless_enable=“YES"' >> /etc/rc.conf
cp -p /boot/loader.conf /boot/loader.conf-old
cp -p /boot/loader.conf /root
echo "kldload vboxdrv" >> /boot/loader.conf
echo "kldload vboxguest" >> /boot/loader.conf
echo "kldload vboxnetflt" >> /boot/loader.conf
echo "kldload vboxnetadp" >> /boot/loader.conf
echo "exec ck-launch-session mate-session" > /root/.xinitrc

4. Allow ports for vnc:5001 in firewall Rules section
run: "vncserver" to set password
login: with a vnc client and run "VirtualBox &" from command line in X windows

[weust]

So you converted a firewall/router into a desktop?

[franco]

I really don't recommend pulling in X11 without building your own packages on top of our ports tree. We turn it off to keep the system slim, and this turning off will have bad side effects with packages from FreeBSD that have it turned on. Any pkg-upgrade can potentially destroy your OPNsense system. Use with great care.

[cdburgess75]

Thanks for the heads up.  I truly did not want to install X, however I could not get vbox working in headless mode.  But headless mode is the goal, and that will be all CLI.  I will continue to work toward this and keep the post updated.  The point of this is to host (hypervisor) some applications (vm's for spam filters/etc) for small businesses.  Definitely not a desktop weust    

[weust]

If you're installing X on a firewall you might as well be calling it a desktop.

You're headless part doesn't make any sense at all.
Detach a VM and it's headless.

[cdburgess75]

weust, 

While any VM started from the VirtualBox Manager is capable of running virtual machines remotely, it is not convenient to have to run the full-fledged GUI if you never want to have VMs displayed locally in the first place. In particular, if you are running server hardware whose only purpose is to host VMs, and all your VMs are supposed to run remotely over VRDP, then it is pointless to have a graphical user interface on the server at all -- especially since, on a Linux/BSD/Solaris host, the VirtualBox manager comes with dependencies on the Qt and SDL libraries. This is inconvenient if you would rather not have the X Window system on your server at all.

VirtualBox therefore comes with yet another front-end called VBoxHeadless, which produces no visible output on the host at all, but instead only delivers VRDP data. This front-end has no dependencies on the X Window system on Linux/BSD/Solaris hosts.

You can call it whatever you like weust.  This firewall not in production dude, relax!

[weust]

I am relaxed. Messing with your head does that

The way you describe virtual box sounds like it's a pile of crap which you can even remotely manage.

[franco]

Guys, keep it cool.

[cdburgess75]

I copied from their documentation.  Tell me about it though! I can't really find another hypervisor on FreeBSD that I am comfortable with yet.  Virtualbox works though,  it's simple to use.  I don't use it for production systems though.  I have been watching bhyve progress and it looks promising. But that's beyond the scope of this. My goal is to run a hypervisor on CLI only (no X). Just jumping through the hoops of learning. Stop messing with me, I'm delicate

[franco]

I've tested bhyve a couple of times and even managed to start an operational OPNsense inside it. Hopefully, we'll use it for testing/QA mid-term, but I can also see use cases for adding a GUI package for managing virtual instances / VMs in OPNsense itself.

FYI, there is a tool called iohyve https://github.com/pr1ntf/iohyve which wraps around bhyve (and ZFS) to make it simple to use...

[cdburgess75]

That is awesome.  You may have just pointed me in the right direction man,  thanks.