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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 12:33 AM
@fast-garage-66093 is it possible to install Rancher Desktop on ESXi VM?
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 12:34 AM
I have no idea, but as long as it supports nested virtualization I don't see why not
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 12:34 AM
I think so too. I’ll let you know
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 12:35 AM
Thanks!
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 1:01 AM
Just needed to enable nested virtualization in ESX VM config
@fast-garage-66093 I can’t find the instructions on installing Rancher Desktop headless on Linux - which is going to be a Jenkins worker - I remember asking this already, but Slack does not seem to have this message anymore. I think it was ether installation flag… there’s no command line flags for rancher-desktop 😞
Actually found the thread, but…:
Copy code
ubuntu@k8s-jagent-03970f:~$ rancher-desktop rancher-desktop --no-modal-dialogs
[15257:0331/011006.923869:ERROR:<http://ozone_platform_x11.cc|ozone_platform_x11.cc>(247)] Missing X server or $DISPLAY
[15257:0331/011006.923931:ERROR:<http://env.cc|env.cc>(226)] The platform failed to initialize.  Exiting.
Segmentation fault (core dumped)
ubuntu@k8s-jagent-03970f:~$
nor this works:
Copy code
ubuntu@k8s-jagent-03970f:~$ sudo rancher-desktop --no-modal-dialogs --no-sandbox
[17031:0331/011408.233156:ERROR:<http://ozone_platform_x11.cc|ozone_platform_x11.cc>(247)] Missing X server or $DISPLAY
[17031:0331/011408.233222:ERROR:<http://env.cc|env.cc>(226)] The platform failed to initialize.  Exiting.
Segmentation fault
ubuntu@k8s-jagent-03970f:~$
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 3:57 AM
I don't know if this is sufficient, but you need some kind of display to run Rancher Desktop
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 5:45 AM
Well, the definition of headless means no display. Perhaps we can come up with some way of setting initial configuration and then ignore the display? Another question I had, why not run directly on Linux? Surely you can have a complete control of the VM, for a first and the main reason.
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 5:51 AM
Please read the link I sent you; it should provide you with a virtual display for a headless setup:
First, install Xvfb. It's a virtual framebuffer, implementing the X11 display server protocol - it performs all graphical operations in memory without showing any screen output, which is exactly what we need.
But yeah, for a headless setup you could just run Lima directly without the Rancher Desktop around it. Or use colima.
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 5:57 AM
I did read the link, but after I replied :) Naturally I'm not the first to have the problem, and solution exists
If I run Lima directly, will it give me everything RD has, like seamless integrated docker registry?
I want to save time an effort by not building my own solution. Not enough resources for that :(
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 6:00 AM
No, Lima is more low-level, it allows you to run any kind of Linux VM on top of qemu, with shared volumes and port forwarding.
colima is a wrapper around Lima that provides preconfigured docker/kubernetes configurations and is probably better suited for headless environments.
But if you use Rancher Desktop on your local machine, then Xvfb should allow you to use the same config on CI.
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 6:02 AM
So I'll be better of running RD, first time providing a real display and, after initial configuration, a fake one
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 6:03 AM
You don't need a real display, you can control everything via 
rdctl start
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 6:03 AM
Can I always use a fake display and configure everything... You've just answered my question :)
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 6:03 AM
Untitled
Untitled
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 6:05 AM
Great, thanks! I'll try that tomorrow - 23:06 here:)
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 6:05 AM
Same here 🙂
👋
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 6:06 AM
Oh good to know - I'm in San Jose, CA
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 6:06 AM
Vancouver, BC
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broad-train-31975

03/31/2023, 6:07 AM
Not very close, but the same time zone, it helps. Have a good night!
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fast-garage-66093

03/31/2023, 6:07 AM
You too
👍 1
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broad-train-31975

04/03/2023, 10:28 PM
Hi @fast-garage-66093, Some feedback - managed to run RD on Linux with nested virtualization. The Linux us Ubuntu 20.04 server, headless, i.e. no UI. Ran into this error:
Screenshot 2023-04-03 at 15.26.20.png
Can’t figure out which polkit agent to install, any ideas?
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