ELS Howto: ELS as a VirtualPC Guest

Synopsis

This document outlines the process of setting up the Elemental Linux Server (ELS) to run as a guest operating system under Microsoft's VirtualPC virtualiztion software.

Prerequisites

Before starting, you should have VirtualPC installed on a supported host operating system. You will also need to download an ISO image of the installation CD from the ELS distribution site.

Installation

1. Use the VirtualPC New Virtual Machine Wizard to create a new virtual machine with the following properties.
   • Select 'Other' as the operating system.
   • Allocate at least 16 MB of base memory.
   • Create a virtual hard disk with at least 504 MB of space.
2. Boot the newly created virtual machine and let it fail to find a boot device.
3. Select Capture ISO Image... from Virtual PC's CD menu and browse to the ELS ISO image.
4. Select Ctrl+Alt+Del from the Action menu to reboot the virtual machine.
5. Start the virtual machine and follow the ELS installation instructions.

Configuration

This section explains how to configure ELS to work with the emulated hardware devices presented by VirtualPC.

1. Correct the system time by enabling the rtc_local start-up script (e.g. chmod +x /etc/init.d/rtc_local.)
2. When configuring networking, use the tulip kernel module to work with the DEC 21140 emulated NIC.

Note

The clock correction is necessary because VirtualBox keeps the emulated Real Time Clock (RTC) set to local time and the ELS system expects the RTC to be set to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). If rtc_local is not enabled, the system time will always be off.

Additional Information

For additional help with VirtualBox, please refer to the documentation and community support on the VirtualBox web site.

A concise list of emulated hardware devices can be found within the VirtualPC article on Wikipedia.