No Internet on ArchLinux VM Install

[SkittleLinux18]

So, I tried to install ArchLinux 2008.6 on a VM on my laptop. I managed a successful install my second time around, but now I have no internet. In poking around the Arch forums, I discovered that it is impossible to set up an internet connection in Arch if using a VM because it is already connected via the host machine. When I was configuring my system during the install process, I skipped the internet connection config files for that very reason (maybe a mistake?).

Well, why don't I have internet then?

[Manchunian]

Can you post the contents of your /etc/rc.conf file? Do you have a static or dynamic connection? However, if they say in the forums it can't be done, that probably means it can't be done! Let's look at the file all the same - it's a good exercise!

[Jonathan183]

I have an Arch VM running in virtualbox running on an Arch host system ... don't ask why . Anyway looking at rc.conf in the vm I am running network deamon & connection is dhcp.

On the host system I have network deamon but also have vboxnet deamon running as well to allow vm's to get net access. Do you need to do the equivalent on your host system ?

[Manchunian]

I have an Arch VM running in virtualbox running on an Arch host system ... don't ask why

Why?...Sorry, had to do it!

[Jonathan183]

Why?...Sorry, had to do it!

well I guess I would have asked as well

I wanted to try using virtualbox and tried vms with Mint and Windows 2000. Both worked but rather slow ... so I thought I'd try Arch which works a bit faster - at least with Fluxbox it does. I wanted to try moto4lin and thought I would give it a try on a vm and that works as well . I also thought I could use it to check updates before I run pacman -Syu on my main system ... so far no breaks pacman has not let me down yet ...

Ed: I can also try things out like gmail account through thunderbird which works but I'm not entirely sure how secure it is ... Basically I can try things out in the vm and just blow the vm away if I encounter issues rather than data backup and fresh install.

[Manchunian]

pacman is the best software manager I've yet to use - including portage and apt-get. I tried using Shaman, but it's nowhere near as fast and seems to be not so reliable. It failed to install a dependancy last time I used it (I only wanted SuperTux for the kids) and then uninstalled the entire kde desktop when all I wanted it to do was uninstall SuperTux so that I could re-install it with pacman. Anyway, I love pacman. It's never let me down either.

[SkittleLinux18]

I have an Arch VM running in virtualbox running on an Arch host system ... don't ask why . Anyway looking at rc.conf in the vm I am running network deamon & connection is dhcp.

On the host system I have network deamon but also have vboxnet deamon running as well to allow vm's to get net access. Do you need to do the equivalent on your host system ?

That very well could be. I am definitely going to have to check the out. I won't really know what I am looking at, so I'll probably just post its contents right here. I just got home from my holiday trip. So I haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I will soon, though. Thanks, Jonathan183.

Ed: I can also try things out like gmail account through thunderbird which works but I'm not entirely sure how secure it is ... Basically I can try things out in the vm and just blow the vm away if I encounter issues rather than data backup and fresh install.

That's exactly why I use VM's, too. I like to test full system updates on VM's, and different setups and configs... so that if I break something, I just wipe the VM and start over... no loss. I actually use them on my Laptop more than anywhere because I have windows on there. I travel a lot, so I never know when I am going to need windows and won't have time for a linux workaround. Plus, I need my video games when I'm on the go like. They help to make long plane rides and car trips go by faster. Plus, this was I don't have to have an anti-vrius because I can browse the web on the VM, which takes up way less resources than anit-virus and anti-spyware programs... which I can't stand! Personally, I think the best VM to have on a windows computer, at least for my purposes, is Xubuntu. It's light-weight, yet still comes with plenty of programs and good stability.

pacman is the best software manager I've yet to use - including portage and apt-get. I tried using Shaman, but it's nowhere near as fast and seems to be not so reliable. It failed to install a dependancy last time I used it (I only wanted SuperTux for the kids) and then uninstalled the entire kde desktop when all I wanted it to do was uninstall SuperTux so that I could re-install it with pacman. Anyway, I love pacman. It's never let me down either.

Wow, you are getting me excited about Arch. As soon as I catch up from being out of town and have got some more rest from travelling, I'll dive back into that VM and get to work. Thanks for the help, you two! I'll be getting back, soon.

[Manchunian]

Yeah, you'll like Pacman. It's all command-line, but it's so fast 'n' sweet:

pacman -S something (To install a program)

pacman -Ss something (To look for something)

pacman -R something (To remove a program)

pacman -Syu (to do a complete system upgrade, a command I run everyday).

Just had the latest and greatest Gnome installed today. Swish!

[Thrillhouse]

In poking around the Arch forums, I discovered that it is impossible to set up an internet connection in Arch if using a VM because it is already connected via the host machine.

I don't think that's true. Before I moved to Arch, I tried it out in a VM and got an Internet connection just fine. Which virtualization software are you using?

I don't know if they've fixed it in any of the more recent install CDs but one of the things that Arch didn't do for you during installation, if you were behind a router (wireless or otherwise), was configure a default gateway for you. That was one of the main Internet problems I had during my first install.

pacman is the best software manager I've yet to use - including portage and apt-get. I tried using Shaman, but it's nowhere near as fast and seems to be not so reliable. It failed to install a dependancy last time I used it (I only wanted SuperTux for the kids) and then uninstalled the entire kde desktop when all I wanted it to do was uninstall SuperTux so that I could re-install it with pacman. Anyway, I love pacman. It's never let me down either.

Shaman is still a release candidate as far as I know but Arch will likely never have an officially supported front end to pacman. It has been discussed on the forums before but every time, the consensus is that it just doesn't fit in with the KISS philosophy. Besides, pacman is powerful enough to use from the command line; you just have to learn what each option does.

[Manchunian]

Shaman is still a release candidate as far as I know but Arch will likely never have an officially supported front end to pacman.

And long may it stay that way!