[GH-ISSUE #1] Is it possible to run a vb created by me? #1

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opened 2026-02-25 21:32:22 +03:00 by kerem · 3 comments

kerem commented

2026-02-25 21:32:22 +03:00

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Originally created by @tengpeng on GitHub (Jun 14, 2014).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/clue/docker-phpvirtualbox/issues/1

I am new to docker, and phpvirtualbox.

I have an vb image on my vps. I'd like to run the virtual box on my vps by docker-phpvirtulabox. How to achieve this?

Originally created by @tengpeng on GitHub (Jun 14, 2014). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/clue/docker-phpvirtualbox/issues/1 I am new to docker, and phpvirtualbox. I have an vb image on my vps. I'd like to run the virtual box on my vps by docker-phpvirtulabox. How to achieve this?

kerem

2026-02-25 21:32:22 +03:00

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kerem commented

2026-02-25 21:32:22 +03:00

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@clue commented on GitHub (Jun 14, 2014):

I am new to docker, and phpvirtualbox.

No worries, arguably this is one of the more complex docker setups, so let's try to clear up some things first :)

VirtualBox (VB) can run on one or more of your physical machines (bare metal). VirtualBox is used to start several isolated virtual machines (VMs). It's usually not a good idea to install VirtualBox within a VM.

VirtualBox comes with a graphical user interface (GUI) that can be launched if you've installed VirtualBox on a desktop system. For obvious reasons, this does not work in case you have installed VirtualBox on a headless server system with no graphical interface.

This is where PHPVirtualBox comes into play. PHPVirtualBox is a web-based GUI that mimics the native VirtualBox GUI, but can easily be accessed from any machine.

For this to work PHPVirtualBox is exposed through a webserver so its web interface can be accessed by any number of clients. This is one of the things this docker image offers. PHPVirtualBox and VirtualBox do not have to run on the same physical machine (which makes sense if you want to manage several VirtualBox machines).

So on the other side, PHPVirtualBox needs to connect to your running VirtualBox instances. And this is where things get a bit tricky. VirtualBox comes with a vboxwebsrv program that exposes its services (a SOAP-API) to the network. As per the README, you can either configure each host to run the vboxwebsrv program or you can rely on the clue/vboxwesrv docker image to do the work for you.

Once your vboxwebsrv instances are running (or are being managed through clue/vboxwebsrv), you have to inform the PHPVirtualBox of which addresses they're running on. This can be done by exposing environment variables or by linking your running clue/vboxwebsrv containers to the clue/phpvirtualbox container.

I have an vb image on my vps. I'd like to run the virtual box on my vps by docker-phpvirtulabox.

It's very unlikely you'll want to run VirtualBox on your VPS (which is a VM). Also, this docker image doesn't run VirtualBox per se, it merely uses one or more running instances.

I hope things are a bit clearer now with the above description. Otherwise, please feel free to ask back so we can work towards a better README.

@clue commented on GitHub (Jun 14, 2014): > I am new to docker, and phpvirtualbox. No worries, arguably this is one of the more complex docker setups, so let's try to clear up some things first :) VirtualBox (VB) can run on one or more of your physical machines (bare metal). VirtualBox is used to start several isolated virtual machines (VMs). It's usually not a good idea to install VirtualBox _within_ a VM. VirtualBox comes with a graphical user interface (GUI) that can be launched if you've installed VirtualBox on a desktop system. For obvious reasons, this does not work in case you have installed VirtualBox on a headless server system with no graphical interface. This is where PHPVirtualBox comes into play. PHPVirtualBox is a web-based GUI that mimics the native VirtualBox GUI, but can easily be accessed from any machine. For this to work PHPVirtualBox is exposed through a webserver so its web interface can be accessed by any number of clients. This is one of the things this docker image offers. PHPVirtualBox and VirtualBox do not have to run on the same physical machine (which makes sense if you want to manage several VirtualBox machines). So on the other side, PHPVirtualBox needs to connect to your running VirtualBox instances. And this is where things get a bit tricky. VirtualBox comes with a `vboxwebsrv` program that exposes its services (a SOAP-API) to the network. As per the README, you can either configure each host to run the `vboxwebsrv` program or you can rely on the clue/vboxwesrv docker image to do the work for you. Once your `vboxwebsrv` instances are running (or are being managed through clue/vboxwebsrv), you have to inform the PHPVirtualBox of which addresses they're running on. This can be done by exposing environment variables or by linking your running clue/vboxwebsrv containers to the clue/phpvirtualbox container. > I have an vb image on my vps. I'd like to run the virtual box on my vps by docker-phpvirtulabox. It's very unlikely you'll want to run VirtualBox on your VPS (which is a VM). Also, this docker image doesn't run VirtualBox per se, it merely uses one or more running instances. I hope things are a bit clearer now with the above description. Otherwise, please feel free to ask back so we can work towards a better README.

kerem commented

2026-02-25 21:32:22 +03:00

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@tengpeng commented on GitHub (Jun 18, 2014):

I have not expect such an answer with thoughtful detail. Thanks ! The relationships between the programs involved are quite complicated(for me), but you addressed them clearly enough that I could understand. : )

@tengpeng commented on GitHub (Jun 18, 2014): I have not expect such an answer with thoughtful detail. Thanks ! The relationships between the programs involved are quite complicated(for me), but you addressed them clearly enough that I could understand. : )

kerem commented

2026-02-25 21:32:22 +03:00

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@clue commented on GitHub (Jun 18, 2014):

Yeah, I understand this setup is rather complicated. With this in mind I'm glad the above made any sense to you :)

If you feel like helping to improve the documentation (adding new details, parts of the above description, your own findings etc.) I would very much appreciate a PR and would love to help to get this in!

Seeing your initial question has been answered, I'll close this ticket for now. Please report back otherwise and we can reopen this.

@clue commented on GitHub (Jun 18, 2014): Yeah, I understand this setup is rather complicated. With this in mind I'm glad the above made any sense to you :) If you feel like helping to improve the documentation (adding new details, parts of the above description, your own findings etc.) I would very much appreciate a PR and would love to help to get this in! Seeing your initial question has been answered, I'll close this ticket for now. Please report back otherwise and we can reopen this.

kerem referenced this issue

2026-02-25 21:32:23 +03:00

[GH-ISSUE #5] Documentation on a *very* simple setup #5