To interact with VirtualBox, Veewee
executes shell-commands through the 'VboxManage' command. The
virtualbox gem library proved to be less stable.
To simulate the typing, Veewee uses the VBoxManage command:
$ VBoxManage controlvm 'myubuntu' keyboardputscancode <keycode>
Scancodes are injected directly from the keyboard buffer with this command. Because this buffer is small, Veewee can't type fast(er). This is why you'll notice a delay before Veewee types the commands. Speeding it up would make the keyboard buffer lose keystrokes.
VirtualBox supports a wide variety of Guest Operating Systems. The
table below is a partial list of a few of the popular os_types. For
a complete list run the virtualbox command: VBoxManage list ostypes
| OS_TYPE_ID | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
| ArchLinux_64 | Arch Linux (64 bit) |
| ArchLinux | Arch Linux |
| Debian_64 | Debian (64 bit) |
| Debian | Debian |
| Fedora_64 | Fedora (64 bit) |
| Fedora | Fedora |
| FreeBSD_64 | FreeBSD (64 bit) |
| FreeBSD | FreeBSD |
| Gentoo_64 | Gentoo (64 bit) |
| Gentoo | Gentoo |
| MacOS_64 | Mac OS X (64 bit) |
| MacOS | Mac OS X |
| OpenSUSE_64 | openSUSE (64 bit) |
| Other | Other/Unknown (32bit) |
| RedHat_64 | CentOS (64 bit) |
| RedHat | CentOS |
| RedHat_64 | Red Hat (64 bit) |
| RedHat | Red Hat |
| Ubuntu_64 | Ubuntu (64 bit) |
| Ubuntu | Ubuntu |
| Windows2012_64 | Windows 2012 (64 bit) |
| Windows81_64 | Windows 8.1 (64 bit) |
| Windows81 | Windows 8.1 |
| Windows8 | Windows 8 |
Virtualbox creates default VM settings for a new Guest Machine
based on the internal os_type. For example, 64bit machines are setup
with IO_APIC on so that guest machines can utilize multiple CPU's. 32bit
Machines have IO_APIC off by default, even though modern 32-bit systems
have good support for SMP.
Therefore this, and other settings can be overridden within
the definion.rb file, by using an array similar to:
:virtualbox => {
:vm_options => [
# Some example settings
'audio' => 'null', # Enable Audio by setting host to null driver
'audiocontroller' => 'hda', # Use simulated Intel HD audio
'ioapic' => 'on', # APIC is necessary for symmetric multiprocessor (SMP) support
'rtcuseutc' => 'on', # UTC internal time
'usb' => 'on',
'mouse' => 'usbtablet', # Enable absolute pointing device
'usbwebcam' => 'on',
'accelerate3d' => 'on', # Necessary for X to start the Unity desktop in Ubuntu 12.10+ -- Useful for 12.04, although can slow the VM if host hardware lacks good 3D support
'clipboard' => 'bidirectional' # Useful for clipboard sharing between host & guest
'nonrotational' => 'on' # Useful for guest OS's like Windows, so disk utilities aren't run
# A Full list of settings can be found here: http://virtualbox.org/manual/ch08.html#idp51057568
# Or generated based on the current settings of a virtualbox guest, such a machine named: myubuntu
# VBoxManage showvminfo --machinereadable 'myubuntu'
]
}