The latest articles on DEV Community by Halton (@halton-zhou). https://dev.to/halton-zhou https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3563370%2F5c95e776-c37f-450a-a0a3-2b0de4397a61.png https://dev.to/halton-zhou en Halton Tue, 14 Oct 2025 01:27:24 +0000 https://dev.to/halton-zhou/basic-provision-virtualbox-ubuntu-vm-server-on-macos-46lk https://dev.to/halton-zhou/basic-provision-virtualbox-ubuntu-vm-server-on-macos-46lk <h2> This is when I open the VirtualBox Ubuntu Server Command UI, it's only the command. </h2> <p>by default<br> Username: vboxuser</p> <h3> update and install openssh-server </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>sudo apt update sudo apt install openssh-server -y </code></pre> </div> <h3> check if ssh is running </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>sudo systemctl status ssh </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fnbk76ud9puint4a83vfw.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fnbk76ud9puint4a83vfw.png" alt=" " width="800" height="145"></a></p> <h3> it shows ssh not started, run below commands </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>sudo systemctl enable ssh sudo systemctl start ssh </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fizccjznfuqiuk030jtk5.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fizccjznfuqiuk030jtk5.png" alt=" " width="800" height="189"></a></p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F90dfylfvvarpjnuxarft.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F90dfylfvvarpjnuxarft.png" alt=" " width="800" height="340"></a></p> <h3> confirm it’s listening </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>sudo ss -tlnp | grep ssh </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fa1ohd2j9pzvtw2gqnbuk.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fa1ohd2j9pzvtw2gqnbuk.png" alt=" " width="800" height="54"></a></p> <h3> now, the configuration inside the VM linux is done </h3> <h1> Now it's MacOS terminal turn </h1> <h3> open local MacOS terminal run command, to list all the virtualbox VMs </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>VBoxManage list vms </code></pre> </div> <h3> note that we are currently configuring the VM with name "ubuntu24-server2" </h3> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fqj2ek285wray9akxt6jb.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fqj2ek285wray9akxt6jb.png" alt=" " width="800" height="364"></a><br> </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>VBoxManage showvminfo "ubuntu24-server2" | grep -A3 "NIC 1" </code></pre> </div> <h3> no ssh rules been added to this VM yet </h3> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F4ua6gkvjq9p7z6mjrsg8.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F4ua6gkvjq9p7z6mjrsg8.png" alt=" " width="800" height="112"></a></p> <h3> check port 2222, it’s being occupied by another VM </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>lsof -iTCP:2222 -sTCP:LISTEN </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fszx9yt4tymqtukv7blaj.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fszx9yt4tymqtukv7blaj.png" alt=" " width="800" height="54"></a></p> <h3> check port 2223, it’s free, let’s use 2223 </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>lsof -iTCP:2223 -sTCP:LISTEN </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fnqtfisc5x8ho3rz5i8qj.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fnqtfisc5x8ho3rz5i8qj.png" alt=" " width="800" height="58"></a></p> <h3> add rule to "ubuntu24-server2", but it failed, because "ubuntu24-server2"  is running now </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>VBoxManage modifyvm "ubuntu24-server2"  --natpf1 "ssh,tcp,,2223,,22" </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F5wqwzlvixxt0s7bmc4vv.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F5wqwzlvixxt0s7bmc4vv.png" alt=" " width="800" height="83"></a></p> <h3> show running VMs </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>VBoxManage list runningvms </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Faykcuvy0n9f14ri4qzsr.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Faykcuvy0n9f14ri4qzsr.png" alt=" " width="800" height="141"></a></p> <h3> shutdown the running "ubuntu24-server2" </h3> <p><br>  </p> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>VBoxManage controlvm "ubuntu24-server2" acpipowerbutton </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Favmp758de7un2g7rx801.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Favmp758de7un2g7rx801.png" alt=" " width="800" height="76"></a></p> <h3> add rule to "ubuntu24-server2", again, it successed </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>VBoxManage modifyvm "ubuntu24-server2"  --natpf1 "ssh_dummy_name,tcp,,2223,,22" VBoxManage showvminfo "ubuntu24-server2" | grep -A3 "NIC 1" </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fddqxrcgtxjgfbky2mvfv.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fddqxrcgtxjgfbky2mvfv.png" alt=" " width="800" height="148"></a></p> <h3> start the "ubuntu24-server2" VM, the VM will be running on the backend </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>VBoxManage startvm "ubuntu24-server2" --type headless </code></pre> </div> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fzai6nxvh7z0h38iilddn.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fzai6nxvh7z0h38iilddn.png" alt=" " width="800" height="126"></a></p> <p>What it means: VBoxManage startvm → starts a VM from the command line (instead of clicking “Start” in the VirtualBox GUI).</p> <p>--type headless → tells VirtualBox NOT to open the graphical console window.</p> <p>The VM runs entirely in the background (no window, no dummy terminal)</p> <h3> using SSH to connect to the VM server </h3> <div class="highlight js-code-highlight"> <pre class="highlight plaintext"><code>ssh -p 2223 &lt;user&gt;@127.0.0.1 </code></pre> </div> <h3> type yes and enter your username &amp; password, you are all set </h3> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fj7a46b8wz7vbmx908r4s.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fj7a46b8wz7vbmx908r4s.png" alt=" " width="800" height="709"></a></p> beginners ubuntu virtualmachine