Using the Sun Java Communications Suite VirtualBox Image

This article contains the following sections:

Overview of the Communications Suite VirtualBox Image

The Communications Suite VirtualBox image is a simple and portable method for demonstrating Communications Suite 6 Update 1 features without the overhead of installation and configuration. This VirtualBox image is intended only for demonstration or evaluation purposes and not for production use.

The virtual machine contains a fully configured setup of Communications Suite 6 Update 1 in the example domain varrius.org. The domain varrius.org is a registered domain that belongs to Sun Microsystems, Inc. The VirtualBox image provides the following services:

• POP3
• IMAP
• SMTP
• Convergence Web Client
• Calendaring
• Instant Messaging
• Communications Express Web Client

These services are provided by the following Communications Suite 6 Update 1 components:

• Messaging Server 7 Update 1
• Instant Messaging 8
• Calendar Server 6.3
• Convergence 1 Update 1

Supporting infrastructure for these services includes the following components:

• Sun Java Systems Directory Server Enterprise Edition 6.X
• Sun Java Systems Application Server 9.1 Update 2
• Sun Java Systems Access Manager 7.X

VirtualBox Image Details

• Image Name: SunJava_Comms_Suite6u1_VBox
• Image Format: Data comprising a virtual disk image (VDI)
• Image Size: Approximately 10 GB

System Requirements

The Communications Suite 6 Update 1 VirtualBox image is provided for the Solaris platform only.

• OS: Solaris OS 10 update 6
• Memory: At least 2 GB RAM (Virtual Machine uses 1 GB RAM)
• Disk Space Required: 12 GB free space.

• VirtualBox Software: version 2.0.2 or better for Solaris OS 10 amd64 or x86

VirtualBox Image Contents

• A virtual disk image (VDI) for the virtual machine
• Sun Java Communications Suite 6 Update 1 distribution

Virtual Machine Details

• OS: Solaris OS 10 update 6
• Network Address Assignment: DHCP
• Hostname: chimaera.varrius.org
• Networking Type: NAT
• Solaris OS 10 Network Interface: pcn0 configured for DHCP
• A private DNS server to localize varrius.org

Special Note about Network Address Assignment

The virtual machine is configured to obtain its IP address via DHCP. This means that you might need to register the Ethernet address of this machine with your DHCP service.

In cases where a site is not configured to serve DHCP addresses, assign a permanent IP address to the Virtual Machine and modify Solaris OS 10 to update that information.

Downloading the VirtualBox Image

The VirtualBox image is available on the MediaCast Website, in five parts named: SunJava_Comms_Suite6_VBox-part-#, where '#' is a letter from '1' to '5'.

1. Download all five parts.
2. To verify data integrity, download the MD5 Checksums in SunJava_Comms_Suite6_md5.txt.
3. Unzip each of the zip images
4. On Solaris OS, use the cat command to concatenate the parts which were just unzipped into the desired VDI file:

   $ cat SunJava_Comms_Suite6_VBox.vdi-part-? > SunJava_Comms_Suite6_VBox.vdi
   

How to Use the Virtual Machine

1. Type VirtualBox to start the Virtual Box software.
2. Click New to create a new virtual machine.
3. Assign the new virtual machine a name and at least 1 GB of memory.
4. For Hard Disk, use the existing: SunJava_Comms_Suite6_VBox.vdi
5. Click Start to power the virtual machine.
6. Log in to the virtual machine as root without a password.
7. When prompted to set a new root password, set the root password to suit your site security policy.
8. Log in again and click the Firefox icon on the desktop. Several tabs appear.
   NOTE: The last tab in this sequence will be a blank tab.
9. The Start page contains more information on accessing the demonstration software.
   You are now on your way to evaluating your new Communications Suite 6 Update 1 deployment.

Known Issues

Memory / SWAP Allowance

In the current version of the Communications Suite 6 Update 1 VirtualBox image, the OS was configured without a swap partition.

For host machines with large amounts of memory, this is not a problem, since the host may be able to grant a large amount of virtual memory to the Guest VirtualBox image.

On smaller systems, the lack of memory and the absence of swap space will cause some services like the Web server to fail. Sites that experience this problem can correct it by creating a swap file internal to the guest machine.

Workaround

To add a 2 GB swap file to the system, open up a terminal and issue the following commands:

    $ mkfile -f 2g /swapfile 
    $ swap -a /swapfile
    $ printf "/swapfile\t-\t-\tswap\t-\tno\t-\n" >> /etc/vfstab
    $ reboot

VirtualBox Guest Additions not installed into guest

In the current version of the Communications Suite 6 Update 1 VirtualBox image, the Guest Additions were not installed.

Please refer to the VirtualBox Guest Additions in the Sun xVM VirtualBox User Manual to learn how to add the Guest Additions to this image.