Nagios Virtual Server Monitoring in 15 Minutes - Intro

Nagios allows you to graphically monitor your virtual servers from a single web page. No longer will you have to load each individual website or web service in order to verify consistent operation. Nagios can be downloaded directly from their website at:

http://www.nagios.com

On the Nagios homepage is a link to a 15 minute tutorial, which is relatively straight forward, and works like a charm. My next blog post will cover the same material that is included in their 15 minute tutorial. In this post I want to briefly discuss which guest operating system to use for maximum stability. I highly recommend Ubuntu JeOS for your virtual OS specifically because the kernel works flawlessly with the host operating system. To recap, I currently use Debian Etch as my host OS, and with JeOS as the guest the host CPU load is only active when the guest is actually processing data. I previously used Debian Etch also as the guest OS, and it would have a constant CPU load on the host. This was not at all desirable, and with a quick transition to JeOS the problem was swiftly resolved.

The first step to get Nagios up and running in a VirtualBox guest OS is to install a clean JeOS in a new guest OS.

Step 2 is setting up Nagios. You can follow the 15 minute tutorial on their website, which is indeed perfect, but I will also post the procedures asap.

Debian VirtualBox Guest OS Causes High and Constant Host CPU Load

For the longest time I was using Debian for my guest operating system, and was relatively frustrated that the host OS always had a constant CPU load of over 20%. I tried many times to compile a custom kernel to resolve this issue, and in the end I decided to switch to a new OS. At first I though Ubuntu server edition was the way to go, but when I was installing the system there was all these gnome, and other graphical components being installed. What is the purpose of openoffice files in a terminal based OS? Overall Ubuntu JeOS is the way to go! It will only install the base Ubuntu system, comparable to how Debian can be configure during the installation process. The kernel used in JeOS does not cause the host to have a constant CPU load, therefore I am overwhelmingly satisfied with its performance.

If you are experiencing high host CPU load with your guest OS, I recommend experimenting with different kernels, and possible switching to a different OS if you cannot resolve the issue. There is no reason your host CPU load should be high when the guest is not processing any data. JeOS is the way to go

GOS-live-2.0.0-beta1 VirtualBox VDI Image

I added GOS back to VirtLinux, in its new beta state. It appears stable, and is up to date as of 1/21/2008. Overall I like the look and feel of the system, and may end up using it as the host OS on my laptop. I anticipate much to come from this Ubuntu based Linux distribution.

http://www.virtlinux.com/downloads.html

VirtualBox Creation on Network Drive via SSHFS - VirtLinux

As previously posted there have been great difficulties transferring VirtualBox .vdi images from my my host machine to my guest server. I first tried mounting a remote directory via sshfs, and then copying the .vdi image via VBoxManage clonevdi, but nothing there. Now the current method involved mounting a remote directory via sshfs, and then creating a guest OS directly on the remote server. I have re-added DebianLAMP to the VirtLinux lineup, and it is now available on the specialty page.

http://www.virtlinux.com

PXE Network Boot VirtualBox

VirtualBox is capable of network boot, and is practically indistinguishable in configuration as compared to a real machine. To PXE boot a VirtualBox guest OS open the settings of a guest OS:

Click the advanced tab:

The advanced page looks like the following:

To enable PXE boot you have to configure the following section:

To enable PXE boot click the following check box:

Then use the up and down arrows to set the priority of the network boot feature.

You can create a guest OS that has no hard drive; there is no need for one. In such a configuration make network boot the first on the list.

VirtualBox Windows Vista - Host Network Bridge and Tap

VirtualBox is well equipped for a Windows environment. Most of its features have a mechanism for automatic installation and setup. To get your guest OS, in Windows Vista, to have a real IP address from your router you first need a network bridge and tap. Open the VirtualBox manager:

Then select a guest OS and open its settings. Then click the network tab:

Then click the add network tap button:

It doesn’t matter what the name is Then adjust your guest OS networking adapter accordingly.

Now open your Windows Vista network configurations manager:

This screenshot is what your network configurations should be after everything is done. To achieve this simply select both the VirtualBox tap, that was previously created, and bridge it to your LAN connection. Select both by click on each adapter while pressing the shift key. Then right click on either of the two highlighted icons and select “bridge”. This will automatically create a bridge between the tap and your real host networking adapter. Wham bam, now you can select a real static IP in your VirtualBox guest OS on a Windows Vista system

Windows Completely Integrated with Linux - VirtualBox Guest OS

I as the vast majority of people grew up with Windows. I had programs that would only run on Windows; for example Napster. Napster requires Windows Media Player because of the DRM (Digital Rights Management) software embedded in the music.

Then I switched to Linux because of Stability reasons. I wanted a system that would work, without needing a restart, for months on end. I wanted a system that could run on a Pentium 2 processor, with 256 megabytes of RAM. Linux was the answer, and it ran extremely well on my first server that had a Pentium 2 processor running at 300 Megahertz. Windows XP is not capable of running on such a low power system, but Linux runs just fine!!!

My current server I also use for blogging, and miscellaneous surfing. It is technically the most powerful machine I have ever owned. While there are many more upgrade I can implement, its current configuration is relatively powerful:

• AMD Athlon 64 x2  @ 1.9 Ghz
• 3 Gigabytes of RAM
• 3 RAID1 160 Gigabyte hard drives (1 SATA, 2 PATA)
• ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard

With this system I have over 1 Gigabyte of RAM left over after Linux, my Virtual Server, and Windows have completely loaded. There is much potential for Virtual OS environments, as it makes for compartmentalization and organizational ease. Also you can have your guest OS .vdi images on your /home partition, allowing the formatting and upgrade of the root “/” partition as easy as a default Linux installation.

I have my Virtual web server running a Debian LAMP setup with 512 Megabytes of allocated RAM. If obviously is utilizing a network tap to the host system. For more information about VirtualBox guest OS host networking see:

http://www.bgevolution.com/blog/index.php/virtualbox-host-networking-script-versus-interfaces/

I have my Windows guest OS running Windows XP, with 1024 Megabytes of allocated RAM. It also utilizes a network tap, but technically this is not really necessary. I use Windows in seamless mode for certain Windows only applications (Napster), and primarily for Windows Firefox and Internet Explorer. My Debian Host OS is 64 bit, and since Macromedia Flash does not have a 64 bit compilation, the 32 bit Windows XP comes in handy rather than installing a 32 bit Debian environment and associated applications.