HowTo: Setup Oracle Enterprise Linux VirtualBox Server

In order to continue my ramp up into all things Oracle, one of the first orders of business is to setup an Oracle Enterprise Linux server for hosting VirtualBox virtual machines.   This blog post is intended to help me capture the basic steps that I used to build an OEL VB demonstration server.

1. Download Oracle Enterprise Linux (OEL) ISO image from E-Delivery and burn it to a DVD.
2. Install OEL v5 and configure for my network.

3. Enable yum use of the public Oracle repository by adding the following to /etc/yum.conf

[el5_u5_base]

name=Enterprise Linux $releasever U5 - $basearch - base

baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/EnterpriseLinux/EL5/5/base/$basearch/

gpgcheck=1

enabled=1

[el5_addons]

name=Enterprise Linux $releasever - $basearch - addons

baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/EnterpriseLinux/EL5/addons/$basearch/

gpgcheck=1

enabled=1

[el5_oracle_addons]

name=Enterprise Linux $releasever - $basearch - oracle addons

baseurl=http://public-yum.oracle.com/repo/EnterpriseLinux/EL5/oracle_addons/$basearch/

gpgcheck=1

enabled=1

4. Install OEL PGP Key with the following.
     rpm --import http://public-yum.oracle.com/RPM-GPG-KEY-oracle-el5

5. Install requisite package for VirtualBox with the following.
     yum install SDL.i386 kernel-headers.i386 kernel-PAE-devel.i686 gcc.i386

6. Download VirtualBox install image for OEL5 from VirtualBox.org.

7. Install the downloaded VirtualBox image with the following.
     rpm -i VirtualBox*.rpm

8. Setup with the vb kernel driver by running the following.
     /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

9. [Optional] Remove gcc and requisite packages with the following.
     yum remove glibc-devel.i386 glibc-headers.i386 libgomp.i386 gcc.i386
10. [Optional] Disable SELinux by setting SELINUX=disabled in /etc/selinux/config.

11. [Optional] Disable the following un-necessary services.
     chkconfig --level 0123456 bluetooth off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 cups off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 gpm off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 hidd off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 hplip off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 isdn off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 nfslock off
     chkconfig --level 0123456 nfstat off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 pcscd off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 portmap off
     chkconfig --level 0123456 rcpgssd off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 restorecond off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 rhnsd off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 rpcgssd off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 rpcidmapd off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 sendmail off

     chkconfig --level 0123456 xfs off
12. Reboot with "init 6"

At this point the server is ready to be used as a VirtualBox server.  You can use the graphical display (e.g. VirtualBox) or the command line interface to add and manage your VirtualBox virtual machines.

Enjoy!

Brad

PS: As always, the sample scripts provided are for reference and are not supported in any way.