How to install the Fermi Virtual Machine on a Mac using Virtual
Box
- A tutorial for the Fermi Solar Workshop 2012. v2
Introduction
The Fermi Virtual Machine is an image of a fully functional
Operating System. It comes with pre-installed copies of all the
software that will be demonstrated at the Fermi Solar Workshop
2012. The FermiVM is distributed as a single ISO image file that
you will install into a Virtualization Platform. These
instructions will guide users through the process of installing
Oracle Virtual Box, the chosen Virtualization platform for OSX
machines at this Workshop. If you have another Virtualization
platform such as a VMWare product then your setup process will be
similar, but is not explicitly supported by this tutorial. Good
Luck.
On a more technical note the FermiVM is an ISO image of the 32 or
64 bit variant of the Scientific Linux 6.2 operating system. SL6
is a variant of Red Hat Enterprises Linux (RHEL) and is the
primary Operating System supported by the Fermi Science Support
Center. FermiVM comes with the basic software packages you will
need to conduct your analysis of astrophysical phenomenon
including IDL, SSW, HEAsoft 12.6, and the Fermi ScienceTools.
Minimum System Requirements
- Dual Processer Core CPU
- More than 2 GB RAM
- 20 GB free storage space
Obtaining Virtual Box
We have set up a download of Oracle Virtual Box for both Windows
and Mac. The installation executables are available on the FERMI
FTP site: ftp://legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/glast/software/fermi_solar_workshop_2012/
You can Click
Here to download the OSX version.
Installing Virtual Box
The installation wizard is very straightforward and easy to use.
Simply install the full version of the player and choose directory
trees you feel are appropriate.
Obtaining the FermiVM ISO image
The FermiVM is distributed by the FSSC through it's FTP server: ftp://legacy.gsfc.nasa.gov/FTP/glast/software/fermi_solar_workshop_2012/
Here you will find 2 versions of FermiVM, one optimized for 32-bit
machines and one for 64-bit machines. The two are identical in all
other respects. For 64-bit machines download "FermiVM-64-1-7.iso"
and for 32-bit machines download "FermiVM-32-1-7.iso".
If you do not know what your system type is see below.
Determining System Type (32 vs 64 bit) MAC OSX
- Click the Apple menu
- Click "About this Mac"
- You should see a window with your system information.
Underneath "Mac OS X" you will see version information. Versions
10.5 and greater are 64-bit operating systems. Anything below
10.5 will be 32-bit.
For 64-bit machines download "FermiVM-64-1-7.iso" and for 32-bit machines download "FermiVM-32-1-7.iso".
Creating a new Fermi Virtual Machine
Note that this installation tutorial was created using version 1-6 of the Fermi-VM, and the current version is 1-7. There are no differences between the installation process for v1-6 and v1-7 other than the filename and label.
- Launch Virtual Box if you have not already done so. Click
"New".
- "New Virtual Machine Wizard" Click "Next" (On Macs this might
read "Continue")
- "VM Name and OS Type" Choose a name for your VM. We suggest
using the full name of the ISO you downloaded as it is
descriptive and will allow the organizers of the workshop to
quickly identify type and version should any bugs arise.
"FermiVM-32-1-5" and "FermiVM-64-1-5" are descriptive enough.
Now identify the OS and version. For "Operating System" select
"Linux." (Do not select MAC OS.) For "Version" select "Red Hat" or "Red Hat (64bit) if
you are using the 64 bit ISO. Click "Next".
- "Memory" Allocate a minimum of 2048MB of "Base Memory Size."
Feel free to allocate more if you wish. Click "Next"
- "Virtual Hard Disk" Check the "Start-up Disk" box and select
"Create new hard disk." Click "Next"
- "Welcome to the virtual disk creation wizard" Select "VDI" as
your File type. Click "Next"
- "Virtual disk storage details" Select "Dynamically allocated".
Click "Next"
- "Virtual disk file location and size" Under "Size" allocate a
minimum of 20 GB. No change to Location is necessary. Click
"Next"
- "Summary" Click "Create", Click "Create" again
- "Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager" You have created the Virtual
Machine, now you must install the FermiVM. Click "Settings" at
the top left
- "Settings" In the left hand column click "Storage." In the
"Storage Tree" area you should see "IDE Controller". Under that
you will see an icon of a disk named "Empty". Click "Empty".
- "Settings" In the Right hand column under "Attributes" click
the disk icon (the circle to the right). Select "Choose a virtual cd/disk file". Navigate
to and select the FermiVM ISO You dowloaded earlier. Click
"Open". Click "OK".
###################### A special note about Mouse Capture
########################
Interacting with Virtual Box will cause the program to "Capture"
your mouse and keyboard. That is, each action done by these
devices will only affect the Virtual Machine until you "release"
them through a special command. When you wish to interact with
your Host Operating System again press the "Right Ctrl" button
on Windows keyboards or the "Command" button on Mac Keyboards.
These are default and can be changed by the user. The current
release button is always indicated in the bottom right corner of
the VM Window.
############################################################################
- Click "Start" You are now installing the FermiVM. You will see
a number of pop-ups from VirtualBox. These are informative and
worth reading, but often repeat themselves so you may select
"Don't show this message again". Click "OK"
- "Clonezilla" Hit "return". When prompted enter "y" and hit
return. When prompted again enter "y" and hit return again. Do
not be afraid when prompted to allow overwriting the drive (Host
operating system will not be affected by this, in this one very
limited and particular case you do not need to heed the
warnings about losing all your data). The unpacking and
first boot process could take a large amount of time on
slower machines.
- When unpacking and installation is finished you will be
prompted to enter 0, 1, 2, 3 for various options. Enter "1"
[Reboot] and hit return. Hit enter when prompted about disc
tray.
- When you see the login screen you have successfully installed
the FermiVM. You should login to Fermi User with the password
fermipw. Enjoy.