Installing VirtualBox Guest Additions on Ubuntu Server

Installing VirtualBox Guest Additions is necessary to enable folder sharing between host and guest operating systems on VirtualBox. This is a quick how-to install the additions from the command line on the Ubuntu Server virtual machine:

1. Start the Ubuntu Server VM and insert the Guest Additions CD image (Devices menu, Install Guest Additions).

2. Mount the CD Rom with the shell command:

   $ sudo mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom
   

   After that the install scripts should be accessible in the /media/cdrom/ directory:

   $ ls -l /media/cdrom/
   total 41942
   dr-xr-xr-x 3 root root     2048 Dec 19 13:11 32Bit
   dr-xr-xr-x 2 root root     2048 Dec 19 13:11 64Bit
   -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root      647 Aug 16  2011 AUTORUN.INF
   -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root     6966 Dec 19 13:02 autorun.sh
   -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root     5523 Dec 19 13:02 runasroot.sh
   -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root  7361995 Dec 19 13:06 VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
   -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root 14634496 Dec 19 13:08 VBoxSolarisAdditions.pkg
   -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root 13270208 Dec 19 12:55 VBoxWindowsAdditions-amd64.exe
   -r-xr-xr-x 2 root root   278832 Dec 19 12:48 VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe
   -r-xr-xr-x 1 root root  7383936 Dec 19 12:49 VBoxWindowsAdditions-x86.exe
   

3. Install necessary build tools and build dependencies:

   $ sudo apt-get install -y dkms build-essential linux-headers-generic linux-headers-$(uname -r)
   

   Note

   Getting the headers solves a potential build error that is reported in /var/log/vboxadd-install.log

   Failed to install using DKMS, attempting to install without
   /tmp/vbox.0/Makefile.include.header:94: *** Error: unable to find the sources of your current Linux kernel. Specify KERN_DIR=<directory> and run Make again.  Stop.
   

4. Build and install the Guest Additions:

   $ sudo /media/cdrom/VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
   

Tested on Ubuntu Server 12.04 precisely.