Running VirtualBox VM in headless mode

Diarmuid O'Briain, diarmuid@obriain.com
<20/02/2016>, version 1.0

Last updated: 20-02-2016 09:42

VirtualBox allows for the running of the Virtual Machine (VM) in headless mode meaning that there is no emulation of graphics. The VM runs as a server and can be accessed via SSH. This reduces what the VM must emulate making it far more efficent. Assuming that VirtualBox is installed and a number of VMs exist.

List virtual machines

From the command prompt of the host (and without the VirtualBox grapical dashboard running), list the available VirtualBox VMs.

  ob@e550:~$ VBoxManage list vms
  "AsteriskNOW" {f26fad29-beff-40ff-a811-fa3ff2bb9f5e}
  "Debian8-i386" {17a05e94-e657-48dc-871b-51f7472a89ec}
  "Debian8-i386-CORE-VM" {dc2471a1-0a44-40df-afd7-0dd38774baea}
  "vCORE-4.8-i386" {698426cb-6d29-43ea-bd8b-80b373d202b5}
  "CORE-Switching" {c7e3e170-29ee-4620-89b5-d30dff2512c3}

Start VM in headless mode

Start the VM to run in headless mode in the background.

  ob@e550:~$ VBoxManage startvm Debian8-i386-CORE-VM --type headless
  Waiting for VM "Debian8-i386-CORE-VM" to power on...
  VM "Debian8-i386-CORE-VM" has been successfully started.
  
  ob@e550:~$ VBoxManage showvminfo Debian8-i386-CORE-VM | grep State
  State:           running (since 2016-02-19T15:46:35.817000000)

Get the VM IP Address

First get the MAC address of the VM, then look at the host Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) table to find the associated IP address.

  ob@e550:~$ vboxmanage showvminfo Debian8-i386-CORE-VM --details | grep 'NIC 1'
  NIC 1:           MAC: 0800279D3BDA, Attachment: Bridged Interface 'wlan0', Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny, Bandwidth group: none
  
  ob@e550:~$ arp
  Address                  HWtype  HWaddress           Flags Mask    Iface
  192.168.10.4             ether   08:00:27:9d:3b:da   C             wlan0
  smile-admin.localdomain  ether   f4:63:49:19:e4:82   C             wlan0
  192.168.10.5                     (incomplete)                      wlan0
  
  0800279D3BDA -->  08:00:27:9d:3b:da --> 192.168.10.4

Connect via SSH

It is now a simple matter of connecting to the IP address with SSH. If a graphical application needs to be ran, use the -X option for X11 forwarding. Here is an example of running the CORE Emulator dashboard.

  ob@e550:~$ ssh -X core@192.168.10.4
  core@192.168.10.4's password: xxxx
  
  The programs included with the Debian GNU/Linux system are free software; the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.
  
  Debian GNU/Linux comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent
  permitted by applicable law.
  Last login: Fri Feb 19 15:36:17 2016 from 192.168.10.2
  core@CORE-i386:~$ core

Power off VM

To power down a headless VM. Identify the VM from the running VMs.

  ob@e550:~$ vboxmanage list runningvms
  "Debian8-i386-CORE-VM" {dc2471a1-0a44-40df-afd7-0dd38774baea}

Power off the VM you wish to shutdown.

  ob@e550:~$ VBoxManage controlvm Debian8-i386-CORE-VM poweroff
  0%...10%...20%...30%...40%...50%...60%...70%...80%...90%...100%


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