:tags: vm
For those who are not yet running a Debian-based operation system we offer a
-`virtual machine`_ that can be used with `VirtualBox`_ to allow users to benefit
+`virtual machine`_ that can be used with `VirtualBox`_, allowing users to benefit
from a Debian-based research environment on other operating systems.
This virtual machine initially comes as a compact Debian installation that can,
once installed, be equipped with a large variety of neuroscience software with
Downloads
---------
-* `NeuroDebian 6.0.0 image (amd64)
+* NeuroDebian 6.0.0 image (32bit) [coming soon; leave a comment below if you
+ need it urgently]
+* `NeuroDebian 6.0.0 image (64bit)
<http://neuro.debian.net/debian/vm/neurodebian_6.0.0_amd64.zip>`_ [~570MB]
* `VirtualBox download page <http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads>`_ (Windows, Linux, Mac,
Solaris)
+
+Documentation
+-------------
+
+The virtual machine contains an installation of `Debian 6.0 (squeeze)`_ with a
+GNOME_ desktop environment. All installed software comes from standard Debian
+packages, or prospective Debian packages from NeuroDebian. This means that all
+contained software is readily available for any system running a Debian
+operating system (or a recent Ubuntu release). The virtual machine can be seen
+as a showcase of what Debian for neuroscience research feels like. Moreover,
+once downloaded this virtual machine can be kept up to date, just as any other
+Debian installation. Using convenient graphical package management tools users
+will benefit from security bug fixes provided by the Debian project for the
+whole operating system, as well as from software updates for
+neuroscience-related packages.
+
+.. _Debian 6.0 (squeeze): http://www.debian.org/releases/squeeze
+.. _GNOME: http://www.gnome.org/
+
+
Installation
-------------
+~~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The following video shows how to get the NeuroDebian virtual machine running
+on your machine. The installation is shown for Mac OS X. It should, however, be
+very similar on a Windows box. If you cannot watch the video, please take a
+look at the written instructions below.
+
+.. raw:: html
+
+ <iframe title="YouTube video player"
+ class="youtube-player"
+ type="text/html"
+ width="640"
+ height="375"
+ src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eqfjKV5XaTE?hd=1"
+ frameborder="0"></iframe>
First download and install a recent version of VirtualBox_. VirtualBox is a
virtualization software that is freely available for Windows, MacOS X, Solaris,
.. _VirtualBox: http://www.virtualbox.org
Next, download the most recent version of the NeuroDebian virtual machine from
-the `download page`_ (about 1GB download size). The machine is distributed as a
-`tar` file. Please extract this file, using appropriate software for your
-operating system. Every Linux system comes with the `tar` commandline utility,
-and potentially other graphical archivers that can extract this format. MacOS X
-users can simply double-click such file to extract it. Windows users can extract
-it with, for example, 7zip_.
-
-Once extracted, you'll find a directory with three files. Now start VirtualBox,
-and select "Import Appliance" from the file menu.
-
-.. _download page: http://neuro.debian.net/debian/vm
-.. _7zip: http://www.7-zip.org/
+the Downloads_ section. The machine is distributed as a zip file. Please
+extract this file, using appropriate software for your operating system.
+Once extracted, start VirtualBox and select "Import Appliance" from the file
+menu.
.. image:: pics/vm_import_app.jpg
-Next dialog will ask you to choose a virtual machine. Please navigate to the
-extracted NeuroDebian download and select the `NeuroDebian.ovf` file.
+The next dialog will ask you to choose a virtual machine. Please navigate to the
+extracted NeuroDebian download and select the `.ovf` file.
.. image:: pics/vm_import_wizard.jpg
-You can finish importing of NeuroDebian by clicking on *next* a couple of times. There
-is no need to change anything, as we will get through the settings in a second.
-Importing of the virtual machine will take a short while, as it is distributed in
-a compressed format that now gets extracted (total extracted size about 3.5
-GB). Once imported, the NeuroDebian virtual machine will appear in the list of
-available machines. Do **not** start it yet, but select NeuroDebian and hit the
-*Settings* button. In the following dialog you'll have a chance to configure
-the machine. You can assign the amount of RAM that should be made available to
-it (for serious fMRI data processing, please allow at least 2 GB). If you have
-a recent computer with multiple CPU cores, you can also decide how many cores
-should be used by the virtual machine. If you have a large screen you should
-increase the display memory to 32 MB in the *Display* settings.
+You can finish importing of NeuroDebian by clicking on *next* a couple of
+times. There is no need to change anything, as we will get through the
+settings in a second. Importing of the virtual machine will take a short
+while, as it is distributed in a compressed format that now gets extracted
+(total extracted size about 2 GB). Once imported, the NeuroDebian virtual
+machine will appear in the list of available machines. Do **not** start it yet,
+but select NeuroDebian and hit the *Settings* button. In the following dialog
+you'll have a chance to configure the machine. You can assign the amount of RAM
+that should be made available to it (for serious fMRI data processing, please
+allow at least 2 GB). If you have a recent computer with multiple CPU cores,
+you can also decide how many cores should be used by the virtual machine. If
+you have a large screen you should increase the display memory to 32 MB in the
+*Display* settings.
.. image:: pics/vm_add_host_folder.jpg
However, most important is the *Shared Folders* setup. Shared folders allow the
virtual machine to access the local harddrive of the host computer. This is an
easy way to access data on the computer without duplicating it or using the
-network to access it. The virtual machine is preconfigured to access a shared folder named
-labeled "host". Click on the *add* button to select a folder that shall be
-accessible by the machine (e.g. your home directory) and put "host" as the
-folder name. Note, the folder name is simply a label. Your directory will not
-be renamed.
+network to access it. The virtual machine is preconfigured to access a shared
+folder named labeled "host". Click on the *add* button to select a folder that
+shall be accessible by the machine (e.g. your home directory) and put "host" as
+the folder name. Note, the folder name is simply a label. Your directory will
+not be renamed.
.. image:: pics/vm_host_folder.jpg
Finally, close the settings dialog. You have now completed the setup, and you
can start the virtual machine by hitting the *Start* button. A new window will
appear showing the boot process. After a short while the NeuroDebian desktop
-will appear. You can now explore the system. The virtual machine is connected
+will appear, and a setup wizard will guide your through the final steps of the
+configuration. You can now explore the system. The virtual machine is connected
with your host computer, and shares its Internet connection. Via this
connection you can update the contained software packages at any time.
-.. warning::
-
- VirtualBox might offer you to upgrade the "guest additions" to version 3.1.2.
- Do **not** do this, since that version is broken, and after the upgrade you
- will now longer be able to use the mouse inside the virtual machine.
-
.. image:: pics/vm_settings.jpg
The virtual machine logs yourself in automatically. The name of the virtual
is also `neurodebian`. In most cases, however, you should not be forced to type
the password, since `sudo` is configured to work without it.
-Enjoy!
+.. note::
+ For increased security you might want to change the default password. You can
+ do so by opening a terminal window and running the ``passwd`` command.
-Details
--------
+Working with the virtual machine
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-The virtual machine contains an installation of `Debian 5.0 (lenny)`_ with a
-GNOME_ desktop environment. All installed software comes from standard Debian
-packages, or prospective Debian packages from NeuroDebian -- no custom
-installations whatsoever. This means that all contained software is readily
-available for any system running a Debian operating system (or a recent Ubuntu
-release). The virtual machine can be seen as a showcase of what Debian for
-neuroscience research feels like. Moreover, once downloaded this virtual
-machine can be kept up to date, just as any other Debian installation. Using
-convenient graphical package management tools users will benefit from security
-bugfixes provided by the Debian project for the whole operating system, as well
-as from software updates for neuroscience-related packages.
-
-.. _Debian 5.0 (lenny): http://www.debian.org/releases/stable
-.. _GNOME: http://www.gnome.org/
+The next video is a demonstration of some basic desktop integration features.
+It shows how to use the virtual machine in full-screen and seamless mode, shared
+folder access, software installation, as well as suspending and resuming the
+virtual machine.
+.. raw:: html
+ <iframe title="YouTube video player"
+ class="youtube-player"
+ type="text/html"
+ width="640"
+ height="375"
+ src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/OV7fYSEoOeQ?hd=1"
+ frameborder="0"></iframe>
-Troubleshooting
----------------
-
-There is no network connectivity.
-
- If the virtual machine cannot access the internet, but the host computer can,
- it might be necessary to re-establish the network connection. To do this,
- please click on the `network manager` icon in the virtual machine's system
- tray (upper right corner of the desktop) and select `Wired Network`. After a
- few seconds the network should become available.
+Troubleshooting
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I cannot hear sounds played in the virtual machine.
- Sorry, but audio is not (yet) preconfigured properly. If you want to have that
- fixed, please drop us a note.
+ By default the sound is muted. To enable playback launch the mixer applet by
+ clicking on the mixer icon in the task bar. Unmute the master volume control.
+ Now click on the "Volume control" to load the channel mixer dialog. Unmute
+ the "Master" and "PCM" channels and raise the volume as desired. You should
+ now be able to hear sounds played within the virtual machines through your
+ host computer's speakers.
projects / neurodebian.git / commitdiff