Using Docker Machine

Docker Machine was retired by Docker Inc. in 2021 and the original docker/machine repository is archived. A maintained fork is available at rancher/machine; its releases include docker-machine binaries for Linux, macOS and Windows. The commands below work with both the original tool and the fork.

For other ways to run BurmillaOS on a workstation, see booting from ISO, and for servers and clouds the installation guides.

Before we get started, you’ll need to make sure that you have docker machine installed. Download it from the rancher/machine releases. You also need to know the memory requirements.

Note: If you create a BurmillaOS instance using Docker Machine, you will not be able to upgrade your version of BurmillaOS.

Downloading BurmillaOS

Get the latest ISO artifact from the BurmillaOS releases.

Docker Machine

You can use Docker Machine to launch VMs for various providers. Currently VirtualBox and VMWare(VMWare VSphere, VMWare Fusion) and AWS are supported.

Using VirtualBox

Before moving forward, you’ll need to have VirtualBox installed. Download it directly from VirtualBox. Once you have VirtualBox and Docker Machine installed, it’s just one command to get BurmillaOS running.

Here is an example about using the BurmillaOS latest link:

$ docker-machine create -d virtualbox \
        --virtualbox-boot2docker-url https://github.com/burmilla/os/releases/download/<version>/burmillaos.iso \
        --virtualbox-memory <MEMORY-SIZE> \
        <MACHINE-NAME>

Note: Instead of downloading the ISO, you can directly use the URL for the burmillaos.iso.

That’s it! You should now have a BurmillaOS host running on VirtualBox. You can verify that you have a VirtualBox VM running on your host.

Note: After the machine is created, Docker Machine may display some errors regarding creation, but if the VirtualBox VM is running, you should be able to log in.

$ VBoxManage list runningvms | grep <MACHINE-NAME>

This command will print out the newly created machine. If not, something went wrong with the provisioning step.

Using VMWare VSphere

Before moving forward, you’ll need to have VMWare VSphere installed. Once you have VMWare VSphere and Docker Machine installed, it’s just one command to get BurmillaOS running.

Here is an example about using the BurmillaOS latest link:

$ docker-machine create -d vmwarevsphere \
        --vmwarevsphere-username <USERNAME> \
        --vmwarevsphere-password <PASSWORD> \
        --vmwarevsphere-memory-size <MEMORY-SIZE> \
        --vmwarevsphere-boot2docker-url https://github.com/burmilla/os/releases/download/<version>/burmillaos-autoformat.iso \
        --vmwarevsphere-vcenter <IP-ADDRESS> \
        --vmwarevsphere-vcenter-port <PORT> \
        --vmwarevsphere-disk-size <DISK-SIZE> \
        <MACHINE-NAME>

That’s it! You should now have a BurmillaOS host running on VMWare VSphere. You can verify that you have a VMWare(ESXi) VM running on your host.

Using VMWare Fusion

Before moving forward, you’ll need to have VMWare Fusion installed. Once you have VMWare Fusion and Docker Machine installed, it’s just one command to get BurmillaOS running.

Here is an example about using the BurmillaOS latest link:

$ docker-machine create -d vmwarefusion \
        --vmwarefusion-no-share \
        --vmwarefusion-memory-size <MEMORY> \
        --vmwarefusion-boot2docker-url https://github.com/burmilla/os/releases/download/<version>/burmillaos-autoformat.iso \
        <MACHINE_NAME>

That’s it! You should now have a BurmillaOS host running on VMWare Fusion. You can verify that you have a VMWare Fusion VM running on your host.

Using Hyper-V

You should refer to the documentation of the Hyper-V driver, here is an example of using the latest BurmillaOS URL. We recommend using a specific version so you know which version of BurmillaOS that you are installing.

$ docker-machine.exe create -d hyperv \
        --hyperv-memory 2048 \
        --hyperv-boot2docker-url https://github.com/burmilla/os/releases/download/<version>/burmillaos.iso
        --hyperv-virtual-switch <SWITCH_NAME> \
        <MACHINE_NAME>

Using Proxmox VE

There is currently no official Proxmox VE driver, but there is a choice that you can refer to.

Logging into BurmillaOS

Logging into BurmillaOS follows the standard Docker Machine commands. To login into your newly provisioned BurmillaOS VM.

$ docker-machine ssh <MACHINE-NAME>

You’ll be logged into BurmillaOS and can start exploring the OS, This will log you into the BurmillaOS VM. You’ll then be able to explore the OS by adding system services, customizing the configuration, and launching containers.

If you want to exit out of BurmillaOS, you can exit by pressing Ctrl+D.

Docker Machine Benefits

With Docker Machine, you can point the docker client on your host to the docker daemon running inside of the VM. This allows you to run your docker commands as if you had installed docker on your host.

To point your docker client to the docker daemon inside the VM, use the following command:

$ eval $(docker-machine env <MACHINE-NAME>)

After setting this up, you can run any docker command in your host, and it will execute the command in your BurmillaOS VM.

$ docker run -p 80:80 -p 443:443 -d nginx

In your VM, a nginx container will start on your VM. To access the container, you will need the IP address of the VM.

$ docker-machine ip <MACHINE-NAME>

Once you obtain the IP address, paste it in a browser and a Welcome Page for nginx will be displayed.