Merge pull request #4630 from computezrmle/increase_vbox_vram

Configure more vram to avoid VMs get stuck during boot

samples/vboxwrapper/vbox_vboxmanage.cpp

@@ -251,6 +251,18 @@ namespace vboxmanage {
         retval = vbm_popen(command, output, "modifychipset");
         if (retval) return retval;
 
+        // Tweak the VM's Graphics Controller Options
+        //
+        vboxlog_msg("Setting Graphics Controller Options for VM.");
+        sprintf(buf, "%d", (int)vram_size_mb);
+
+        command  = "modifyvm \"" + vm_name + "\" ";
+        command += "--vram " + string(buf) + " ";
+        command += "--graphicscontroller " + vm_graphics_controller_type + " ";
+
+        retval = vbm_popen(command, output, "modifygraphicscontroller");
+        if (retval) return retval;
+
         // Tweak the VM's Boot Options
         //
         vboxlog_msg("Setting Boot Options for VM.");

samples/vboxwrapper/vboxjob.cpp

@@ -134,6 +134,8 @@ void VBOX_JOB::clear() {
     // Initialize default values
     vm_disk_controller_type = "ide";
     vm_disk_controller_model = "PIIX4";
+    vm_graphics_controller_type = "VBoxVGA";
+    vram_size_mb = VBOX_VRAM_MIN;
 }
 
 int VBOX_JOB::parse() {
@@ -163,6 +165,12 @@ int VBOX_JOB::parse() {
         else if (xp.parse_string("vm_disk_controller_type", vm_disk_controller_type)) continue;
         else if (xp.parse_string("vm_disk_controller_model", vm_disk_controller_model)) continue;
         else if (xp.parse_string("os_name", os_name)) continue;
+        else if (xp.parse_double("vram_size_mb", vram_size_mb)) {
+            // keep it within the valid range
+            if (vram_size_mb < VBOX_VRAM_MIN) vram_size_mb = VBOX_VRAM_MIN;
+            else if (vram_size_mb > VBOX_VRAM_MAX) vram_size_mb = VBOX_VRAM_MAX;
+            continue;
+        }
         else if (xp.parse_double("memory_size_mb", memory_size_mb)) continue;
         else if (xp.parse_double("job_duration", job_duration)) continue;
         else if (xp.parse_double("minimum_checkpoint_interval", minimum_checkpoint_interval)) continue;

samples/vboxwrapper/vboxjob.h

@@ -22,6 +22,20 @@
 #define JOB_FILENAME "vbox_job.xml"
 
 
+#ifndef VBOX_VRAM_MIN
+// Default value suggested by VirtualBox v6.1.30
+// when a VM is created manually using a Linux 64-bit template.
+// VirtualBox does not complain if lower values are used (9-16 MB)
+// but certain VMs occasionally hang when they boot (Rosetta).
+// They don't hang if vram is at least 16 MB.
+#define VBOX_VRAM_MIN 16.0
+#endif
+#ifndef VBOX_VRAM_MAX
+// highest value currently accepted by VirtualBox v6.1.30
+#define VBOX_VRAM_MAX 128.0
+#endif
+
+
 // Represents the state of a intermediate upload
 class VBOX_INTERMEDIATE_UPLOAD {
 public:
@@ -68,6 +82,14 @@ public:
     std::string vm_disk_controller_model;
         // the disk controller model to emulate
 
+    std::string vm_graphics_controller_type;
+        // the graphics controller type to emulate
+
+    double vram_size_mb;
+        // size of the video memory allocation for the VM, in megabytes
+        // should be between VBOX_VRAM_MIN and VBOX_VRAM_MAX MB
+        // default: VBOX_VRAM_MIN MB
+
     double memory_size_mb;
         // size of the memory allocation for the VM, in megabytes