Networking doesn't work because modprobe vboxnetflt fails

[Alkis Georgopoulos]

Binary package hint: virtualbox-ose

This is very similar to bug #314650 but since that was filed against an older vbox version and marked as "fixed released", I'm opening a new one.

virtualbox-ose: 3.1.6-dfsg-2ubuntu2 (Lucid), using kernel linux-image-2.6.32-21-generic-pae.

$ sudo service virtualbox-ose start
 * Starting VirtualBox kernel modules
 * modprobe vboxnetflt failed. Please use 'dmesg' to find out why [fail]

$ dmesg | tail -n 1
[ 7853.014417] vboxguest: exports duplicate symbol RTMemExecFree (owned by vboxdrv)

$ sudo insmod /lib/modules/2.6.32-21-generic-pae/updates/dkms/vboxnetflt.ko

After using insmod instead of modprobe, everything works fine. So until the problem is correctly resolved, a workaround is to insert this function in /etc/init.d/virtualbox-ose:

modprobe()
{
 local module

 test -n "$1" || return 1
 if ! /sbin/modprobe "$1" > /dev/null 2>&1; then
  module=$(find /lib/modules/`uname -r` -name "$1\.*" 2>/dev/null)
  if [ -f "$module" ]; then
   insmod "$module"
   return $?
  else
   return 1
  fi
 fi
 return 0
}

[Felix Geyer (debfx)]

Please remove the virtualbox-ose-guest-dkms package.
vboxdrv and vboxguest seem to conflict with each other as both export the symbol RTMemExecFree.
It makes no sense to have virtualbox-ose-dkms and virtualbox-ose-guest-dkms installed
at the same time so I'll make them conflict with each other.

[Alkis Georgopoulos (alkisg)]

After removing virtualbox-ose-guest-dkms it's working fine (I can't remember when/why I installed virtualbox-ose-guest-utils on my host, though).

Thank you.

[Daniel Richard G. (skunk)]

Felix, please reconsider making v-o-dkms and v-o-guest-dkms conflict with each other. At my site, we have a standard Ubuntu image that can be "ghosted" onto a system via a PXE-booted utility. The image not only contains the VirtualBox application, it is downloaded onto VirtualBox machines as often as real hardware.

It is enormously convenient to have a single image that can both host virtual machines, and run in a virtual machine (with extensions) itself. This worked without a problem in Karmic. Would it be possible to make the driver and guest modules compatible with each other? Isn't it just a matter of renaming the offending symbol?

[Felix Geyer (debfx)]

Looking at the source code renaming the symbol isn't that easy and is something that should be done upstream.
Making the packages conflict is better than doing nothing.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package virtualbox-ose - 3.2.0-dfsg-1ubuntu1

---------------
virtualbox-ose (3.2.0-dfsg-1ubuntu1) maverick; urgency=low

  * Merge from Debian unstable, remaining changes:
    - Set x11 backport switch to "lucid".
    - VirtualBox should go in Accessories, not in System tools. (LP: #288590)
      - debian/virtualbox-ose-qt.files/virtualbox-ose.desktop
    - Add Apport hook.
      - debian/virtualbox-ose.files/source_virtualbox-ose.py
      - debian/virtualbox-ose.install
    - Drop *-source packages.
  * Drop u03-fix-cpu-lockup.dpatch, fixed upstream.
  * Remove Launchpad integration as (non-packaging) bugs should be reported
    upstream.

virtualbox-ose (3.2.0-dfsg-1) unstable; urgency=low

  [ Felix Geyer ]
  * New upstream release.
  * Add 23-remove-invalid-chars-check.patch to remove a check for invalid
    characters in the build path since kBuild is now able to handle those.
  * Fix FTBFS when building without arch-all packages.

  [ Michael Meskes ]
  * Changed order of some commands to make sure links are created inside
    the source tarball not outside.

virtualbox-ose (3.1.53-dfsg-1) experimental; urgency=low

  * New upstream release 3.2.0 Beta 3.
  * Add build-dependencies required by new upstream version.
  * Adapt 18-system-xorg.dpatch to new upstream version.
  * Update to new upstream release of vdfuse.
  * Build vdfuse with -Wl,--as-needed.
  * Install vbox PAM module.
  * Drop 17-disable-help-contents.dpatch and 20-hide-help-buttons.dpatch
    as VirtualBox can download the manual.
  * Enable VDE networking.
  * Enable VNC server in VBoxHeadless.
  * Don't build VBoxBFE as it's not installed anyway.
  * Hide the update menu item and settings page instead of disabling them.
  * Make both dkms packages conflict with each other as the kernel modules
    export the same symbol. (LP: #571574)
  * Switch from dpatch to quilt patching system.
  * Convert debian/rules to dh7.
  * Use dkms debhelper script.

virtualbox-ose (3.1.8-dfsg-1) unstable; urgency=low

  * New upstream version (LP: #578723).
    - Fixes vboxsf file systems not being mounted while booting on Ubuntu.
      (LP: #530179)
  * Adapt 18-system-xorg.dpatch and 06-xsession.dpatch to new upstream version.
  * Use upstream 50-vboxmouse.conf instead of our own.
  * Add libxrandr-dev to build-dependencies.
  * Don't load the kernel modules in the guest utils init script as they are
    loaded automatically.
  * Drop 15-wined3d-guest-addition.dpatch as the Windows guest additions
    provide Direct3D acceleration.

virtualbox-ose (3.1.6-dfsg-3) unstable; urgency=low

  * Move 10-vboxmouse.conf to 50-vboxmouse.conf and install it in
    /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d.
  * Use substvar from new xsfbs.mk.
 -- Felix Geyer <email address hidden> Tue, 25 May 2010 22:51:39 +0200

[phl (ubuntu-leledy)]

Felix, please reconsider making v-o-dkms and v-o-guest-dkms conflict with each other: I second that wish.

For me it's also a must have: single image used either as host or guest.

Of course, not both roles are played at the same time by an instance of the OS !

So, i'd like both dkms kernel modules installed, and the useful kernel modules loaded only on demand: host-dkms when the virtualbox applicaton is started, and guest when linux kernel finds itself running on a virtual machine provided by virtualbox.

Tks for a solution or a hint to find a by-pass.

Ph.L.

[Felix Geyer (debfx)]

> Felix, please reconsider making v-o-dkms and v-o-guest-dkms conflict
> with each other: I second that wish.
You won't be able to load either of the kernel modules when both packages are installed.
The package conflict just represents how it is.

> So, i'd like both dkms kernel modules installed, and the useful kernel
> modules loaded only on demand
You need to convince Oracle to fix the kernel modules.

[Daniel Richard G. (skunk)]

The underlying conflict between the vboxdrv and vboxguest modules appears to have been addressed as of 4.0.6, according to the upstream bug tracker.

Could a backports release be in order?