Where's the VirtualBox 'Devices' Menu?

[RoadHazard]

Several times the VirtualBox manual refers to the 'Devices' menu, particularly around section 3.3.2. Call me stupid, but I see no Devices menu on my installation, and I'd really like to tweak some of the settings that it describes there. Is there a secret to making it appear, or is the manual just out of date with the software?

 

[pirateghost]

The full client and the web GUI are different things...

 

[RoadHazard]

Ah-ha. Thanks.

So that prompts another question. How/where do I get access to this "full client" of which you speak? I'm using phpVirtualBox now because that's what the FreeNAS pbi installs, and until very recently I considered that to be the de facto standard interface to VirtualBox.

 

[pirateghost]

Ah-ha. Thanks.

So that prompts another question. How/where do I get access to this "full client" of which you speak? I'm using phpVirtualBox now because that's what the FreeNAS pbi installs, and until very recently I considered that to be the de facto standard interface to VirtualBox.

With virtualbox installed on freenas jail, there is no full client. The full client is when you install it on your PC.

 

[RoadHazard]

That might also answer my real question, which is: Does it make sense to install VirtualBox's optional Direct3D support when the Windows guest OS is hosted in a headless FreeNAS system?

I've been trying to accelerate the sluggish video and screen updates on my virtual PC, and was greatly encouraged by the VirtualBox manual's discussions of its Direct3D support. My FreeNAS system does have a decent 3D graphics card in it, although FreeNAS itself doesn't care. If that card could accelerate the virtual PC, great. However, I'm slowly catching on to the fact that many VirtualBox installations are on "normal" PCs with an attached screen/keyboard/mouse, not a headless machine like mine. I'm wondering if this magical Direct3D support really only applies to PCs and not headless servers.

In other words, if I'm accessing my virtual PC remotely using VNC or TeamViewer, it's always going to be very slooow.

Thoughts?

 

[pirateghost]

Virtualbox was never intended to be run as a server. It was always a desktop type 2 hypervisor.

 

[Robert Trevellyan]

In other words, if I'm accessing my virtual PC remotely using VNC or TeamViewer, it's always going to be very slooow.

You might get better performance using Windows Remote Desktop, which works as a virtual display device, unlike VNC and similar technologies, which poll the display buffer for changes.

 

[RoadHazard]

Thanks, I think I'll ditch VNC in favor of an RDP-based alternative.

But either way, I'm guessing that 3D acceleration and fancy video cards aren't an option for me. That's for VirtuxBox installations running on "normal" PCs only, not headless systems like mine, yes?

 

[pirateghost]

Thanks, I think I'll ditch VNC in favor of an RDP-based alternative.

But either way, I'm guessing that 3D acceleration and fancy video cards aren't an option for me. That's for VirtuxBox installations running on "normal" PCs only, not headless systems like mine, yes?

Correct.