Service deployment & Usage over the cloud using Virtual Box.

Introduction –

This document provides an overview of features and enhancements included in Oracle VM VirtualBox. It is
intended solely to help you assess the business benefits of upgrading to Oracle VM VirtualBox and to plan your
IT projects.

Oracle VM VirtualBox is cross-platform virtualization software. It allows users to extend their existing computer
to run multiple operating systems including Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Oracle Solaris, at the
same time. Designed for IT professionals and developers, Oracle VM VirtualBox is ideal for testing, developing,
demonstrating, and deploying solutions across multiple platforms from one machine.

Requirements

A non-virtual computer with, ideally:

• Several cores

• More than 8 GB of memory

• Plenty of hard drive space

• Ubuntu 16 or later installed

• VirtualBox installed with the appropriate version Extension Pack

Deploying a Virtual Machine -
The IBM® Cloud Orchestrator Self-Service Catalog provides a default offering that you can use to deploy a
single virtual server by using OpenStack Nova.

Before we begin--

• Resources such as images, flavors, keys, and networks, must be defined in the OpenStack environment.
Otherwise, the virtual machine cannot be deployed.
• Images must be stored within OpenStack Glance.
• Flavors and networks must be defined in OpenStack.
• Keys must be registered with a project.
• For tasks such as processing user data or metadata, the image must be prepared to include the cloud-
init package.
• Assign the region and availability zone to the project

Procedure -

1. Log in to the Self-service user interface as an End User.

2. In the menu bar, click SELF-SERVICE CATALOG.
3. Click Deploy cloud services > Deploy single virtual server. The Deploy single virtual server page
opens.
4. Select the region where the virtual server must be deployed to.
5. Click Next.
6. Enter the virtual server details:

a.) Specify a Server Name.

b.) Select an image, availability zone, and flavor from the drop-down menus. Select the network by
selecting the check box beside the network name.

Managing a Virtual Machine-

• Deploying a virtual machine - The IBM Cloud Orchestrator Self-Service Catalog provides a default
offering that you can use to deploy a single virtual server by using OpenStack Nova.

• Managing virtual instances - Virtual machine instances represent the servers (virtual machines) that are
running in the OpenStack backend of IBM Cloud Orchestrator.
Managing Resources - Use the RESOURCES tab to manage your assigned resources.

a.) Resource types including domains, virtual machines, and volumes.

b.) Working with resources
c.) Managing virtual resources
d.) Working with heat templates and stacks

e.) Managing key pairs

f.) Working with volumes

Using Self-Services –
Use the IBM® Cloud Orchestrator Self-service user interface to request resources, monitor the status of your
requests, and do additional tasks related to resources.

a.) Viewing the dashboard

b.) Submitting a self-service request
c.) Viewing the status of your requests and actions
d.) Managing resources
e.) Managing the inbox

Working with self-service –

IBM® Cloud Orchestrator provides an intuitive Self-service user interface, where you can use the Self-Service
Catalog to request resources. For example, you can deploy virtual machines, add volumes, or manage key pairs.
From this interface, you can also monitor your requests and manage your resources.
 a.) Using self-service - Use the IBM Cloud Orchestrator Self-service user interface to request resources,
monitor the status of your requests, and do additional tasks related to resources.
b.) Designing a self-service - A Service Designer can manage the artifacts in the Self-Service Catalogs, and
use them to customize the IBM Cloud Orchestrator environment. A Service Designer is a user with
the catalogs editor role.

Using VirtualBox as a cloud computing server -

When I was pursuing my undergraduate degree in IT, one of my favorite classes taught me about how cloud
computing services worked behind the scenes. The best part was the group project I spent far too much time on.
The class was split up into teams and given computers and networking equipment. Each team had to use these to
create an AWS-like service on the local network to allow the creation and use of virtual machines over the
network.

the automated creation of VMs with scripting, easy networking of virtual machines to allow SSH connections,
and the ability to display VMs over the network using RDP.
Part O: Installing VirtualBox and Extension Pack on the Command Line

Part 1: Creating and Deleting a VirtualBox VM using “VBoxManage”

• The first step is creating an XML virtual machine definition file.

• The second step is setting a few basic options on the VM such as CPU, RAM, VRAM, and setting time
to UTC.

• The third step is to create a virtual hard drive and storage controller and then attach the storage to
the VM.
 • The fourth step, technically optional, is to add an IDE controller to the virtual machine and attach an
ISO file to be booted at startup.

• Finally, you can start the VM.

Part 2: Enabling RDP access for a VirtualBox VM

To create an RDP-ready VM, start by following Part 1 but DO NOT power on or delete the VM.

• With the VM created and ready to be powered on, modify the VM settings to enable RDP access.

• Now start the VM headless (without a window).

• Now, from a different computer on the same network, attempt an RDP connection with software
like Remmina Remote Desktop Client. Again, I blacked out an error on the image below, but as
you can see, the RDP server is working and shows what you would see on a booted VM.
Part 3: Additional Considerations-