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vbox-service-template

vbox-service-template is an init.d script template for running a VirtualBox machine as a service.

Sending a stop command to the service will either save the state of the VM (hibernate) or send the ACPI Power Button signal to the VM and wait for it to self-terminate (powerbutton).

Some more context and howto information can be found here: http://www.glump.net/howto/virtualbox_as_a_service

Installation

Make a copy of the script as /etc/init.d/vbox-NAME and follow the instructions in the comments in the script. Make sure you set the x bit on the file to make it executable.

To mark the service for automatic start at boot time:

  • Ubuntu: update-rc.d vbox-NAME defaults 90 (The '90' is to make sure it starts after the VirtualBox core services.
  • Fedora: chkconfig vbox-NAME on

To remove the service from the boot process:

  • Ubuntu: update-rc.d -f vbox-NAME remove
  • Fedora: chkconfig vbox-NAME off

Additionally, if you are going to shut down your computer while a VM is running you should tell VirtualBox how to handle shutdown. Create or edit /etc/default/virtualbox:

SHUTDOWN_USERS="user1 user2" # space-delimited list of users who might have runnings vms
SHUTDOWN=savestate # if any are found, suspend them to disk

Usage

Start

service vbox-NAME start

Start and wait for the VM to be reachable on the network

service vbox-NAME start-wait

Stop (hibernate or power button -- see config lines in script)

service vbox-NAME stop

Restart

service vbox-NAME restart

Restart and wait for the VM to be reachable on the network

service vbox-NAME restart-wait

Display status

service vbox-NAME status