J
Jarret W. Buse
Guest
Run Debian and Fedora Together
Some may look at this article and say it is a typo. I assure you it is possible, but not in the way you imagine. Looking at Figure 1 you can see my Linux Mint System, but just above the Linux Mint menu bar is a Fedora menu bar. Yes, they are running together. In this example, you can load Debian and RPM packages on a single desktop. Keep in mind that the Virtual system is Sandboxed from the Host. The Virtual system cannot access the same data as the host. If you use a “Shared Directory” it is possible to share data.
FIGURE 1
I am doing this running VirtualBox. My main Operating System (OS) is Linux Mint. In this case, Linux Mint is my Host system. Any OS I run in VirtualBox will be my Virtual system.
The version of Fedora is version 20. I chose version 20 so I would not have to do as much installation of system files. For this to work on VirtualBox, the Virtual OS needs to be running X.ORG (version 1.14, or later would be best).
Another issue to keep in mind is that any Virtual system running will take up system resources. If your Host system is a 64-bit system it may be best to run a 32-bit Virtual system. If your system has enough RAM and processing power, you could try a 64-bit Virtual OS.
The trick with VirtualBox is to run it in Seamless Mode. Seamless Mode causes the Host wallpaper to be used and the Virtual system's menu bar only so it is better integrated together. To run Seamless Mode, the Virtual OS requires “Guest Additions” to be installed. Guest Additions are only available for the following systems:
NOTE: The above list is from Oracle's website and seems a little dated. Check www.virtualbox.org to check for an updated list.
Create a “New Machine” in VirtualBox and set up your desired OS. Install any apps you require then we can begin the real work.
Let's cover a few details on running two versions of Linux together. The Virtual OS must support XWindows. To check if your system runs XWindows, you need to open a terminal and use the command “xdpyinfo | less”. The first screen of information should show the information you require and if XWindows is not installed an error will occur. To install the Guest Additions, there are packages which need to be installed before running the Guest Additions install.
Try to install the following packages:
Once it is installed and running, you can then select “Devices” from the VirtualBox menu. Select “Insert Guest Additions CD image...” to load the Guest Additions.
Perform the installation of the Guest Additions and watch the terminal window closely. Any extra items needed should be shown in the text. If another requirement is needed, then you should install it as well.
Once installed, you need to shutdown the Virtual system and start it again. Once started, the Guest Additions should be enabled.
To make the Virtual system a seamless OS, you need to press the Host key (usually the right CTRL key) and “L”. When done, press HOST+L again to stop the Seamless Mode. As you can see in Figure 2, I have Lubuntu and Linux Mint running together. The Linux Mint menu is at the bottom and the Lubuntu menu bar is at the top of the screen.
FIGURE 2
NOTE: Lubuntu is not a Red Hat OS, but this shows you can use other Linux distros as well.
If things do not work, look over the following checklist:
To check the shortcut key of Host+L, open VirtualBox with all Sessions closed. Select “File” and then “Preferences”. Click on “Input” in the left pane. In the right pane, click on the “Virtual Machine” tab. The option for “Host key combination” shows the key used for the host Key (usually right CTRL). On the line “Switch to Seamless Mode”, the value should be set to your key combination (Host+L by default). If the keys are different, then use the keys set to go to Seamless Mode.
NOTE: The picture of the woman in Figure 1 and 2 is my wife of over 20 years. She is a signed model.
Some may look at this article and say it is a typo. I assure you it is possible, but not in the way you imagine. Looking at Figure 1 you can see my Linux Mint System, but just above the Linux Mint menu bar is a Fedora menu bar. Yes, they are running together. In this example, you can load Debian and RPM packages on a single desktop. Keep in mind that the Virtual system is Sandboxed from the Host. The Virtual system cannot access the same data as the host. If you use a “Shared Directory” it is possible to share data.
FIGURE 1
I am doing this running VirtualBox. My main Operating System (OS) is Linux Mint. In this case, Linux Mint is my Host system. Any OS I run in VirtualBox will be my Virtual system.
The version of Fedora is version 20. I chose version 20 so I would not have to do as much installation of system files. For this to work on VirtualBox, the Virtual OS needs to be running X.ORG (version 1.14, or later would be best).
Another issue to keep in mind is that any Virtual system running will take up system resources. If your Host system is a 64-bit system it may be best to run a 32-bit Virtual system. If your system has enough RAM and processing power, you could try a 64-bit Virtual OS.
The trick with VirtualBox is to run it in Seamless Mode. Seamless Mode causes the Host wallpaper to be used and the Virtual system's menu bar only so it is better integrated together. To run Seamless Mode, the Virtual OS requires “Guest Additions” to be installed. Guest Additions are only available for the following systems:
- Windows 8
- Windows 7
- Windows Vista
- Windows 2000
- Windows XP
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2008
- Windows Server 2003
- Windows NT
- Ubuntu 5.10 / 6.06 Desktop / 7.04 – 12.10
- Debian 6.0 – 7.0
- Debian 5.0
- Debian 4.0
- Debian 3.1
- SUSE 9/10.0
- openSUSE 10.3
- openSUSE 11.0-11.3
- Mandriva 2008
- Mandriva 2009.0/2009.1
- Mandrake 10.1
- Fedora Core 1/4/5/6
- Fedora 7-15
- Oracle Linux 4-6
- RHEL6
- RHEL5, CentOS 5 (32/64-bit)
- RHEL4, CentOS 4 (32/64-bit)
- RHEL3, OEL3, CentOS 3 (32/64-bit)
- Xandros 4
- ArchLinux
- Solaris 10 5.08 and later
- Solaris 11
- OpenSolaris 2008.05 and later
- FreeBSD
- OS/2 2.0 and later (32-bit)
NOTE: The above list is from Oracle's website and seems a little dated. Check www.virtualbox.org to check for an updated list.
Create a “New Machine” in VirtualBox and set up your desired OS. Install any apps you require then we can begin the real work.
Let's cover a few details on running two versions of Linux together. The Virtual OS must support XWindows. To check if your system runs XWindows, you need to open a terminal and use the command “xdpyinfo | less”. The first screen of information should show the information you require and if XWindows is not installed an error will occur. To install the Guest Additions, there are packages which need to be installed before running the Guest Additions install.
Try to install the following packages:
- make (yum install make, apt-get install make)
- gcc (yum install gcc, apt-get install gcc)
- system update (yum update, apt-get update)
Once it is installed and running, you can then select “Devices” from the VirtualBox menu. Select “Insert Guest Additions CD image...” to load the Guest Additions.
Perform the installation of the Guest Additions and watch the terminal window closely. Any extra items needed should be shown in the text. If another requirement is needed, then you should install it as well.
Once installed, you need to shutdown the Virtual system and start it again. Once started, the Guest Additions should be enabled.
To make the Virtual system a seamless OS, you need to press the Host key (usually the right CTRL key) and “L”. When done, press HOST+L again to stop the Seamless Mode. As you can see in Figure 2, I have Lubuntu and Linux Mint running together. The Linux Mint menu is at the bottom and the Lubuntu menu bar is at the top of the screen.
FIGURE 2
NOTE: Lubuntu is not a Red Hat OS, but this shows you can use other Linux distros as well.
If things do not work, look over the following checklist:
- Virtual OS must be running XWindows
- Guest Additions must be installed. If needed, reinstall Guest Additions and watch the messages for any errors and correct them before installing Guest Additions again
- Check VirtualBox to make sure that Seamless Mode is started with Host+L
To check the shortcut key of Host+L, open VirtualBox with all Sessions closed. Select “File” and then “Preferences”. Click on “Input” in the left pane. In the right pane, click on the “Virtual Machine” tab. The option for “Host key combination” shows the key used for the host Key (usually right CTRL). On the line “Switch to Seamless Mode”, the value should be set to your key combination (Host+L by default). If the keys are different, then use the keys set to go to Seamless Mode.
NOTE: The picture of the woman in Figure 1 and 2 is my wife of over 20 years. She is a signed model.
