---
title: Debian virtual appliance
...

This "virtual appliance" should run on systems where VirtualBox can be
installed (i.e. Linux, Apple Mac OSX, Microsoft Windows, Solaris). It
is a Debian GNU/Linux stable distribution with Gerris, basilisk,
emacs, octave etc... preinstalled and preconfigured. On 64-bits
Intel/AMD systems (i.e. most systems these days) with support for
hardware virtualization this should be nearly as fast as a full
installation on the system (but should be easier).

To try it:

* [Install VirtualBox on your
  system](https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads). On Debian-based
  systems, just do

~~~bash
sudo apt-get install virtualbox
~~~
  
* [Download](http://gerris.dalembert.upmc.fr/iso/gerris.ova) the virtual appliance file gerris.ova (1.7 GB)
* Start the VirtualBox graphical interface
* Use the "File -> Import Appliance" menu. Select the gerris.ova file
  and follow the instructions
* You should then see a "gerris / Powered Off" logo; select it and
  click on "Start" in the toolbar
* The login is user: gerris, passwd: gerris 

# Hardware virtualization

Note that some machines disable hardware virtualization by default. To
turn it on, you need to go into the BIOS before booting the machine.

# 32-bit systems

If your machine uses only a 32-bits processor and/or does not support
hardware virtualization, you may need to use the 32-bits virtual
appliance file [gerris_32bits.ova](http://gerris.dalembert.upmc.fr/iso/gerris_32bits.ova), instead of
the file above.

# French (or non-US) keyboard

By default the virtual systems are configured for a US (qwerty)
keyboard. If you use a French (azerty) keyboard, click on the American
flag in the top-right corner to switch to the French keyboard
layout. You can also add other layouts if you right-click on the flag
and select the "Properties" menu.

# Apple keyboard

Apple Macs have strange keyboards. To set the correct mappings go in
"Applications Menu -> Settings -> Keyboard -> Layout" and select
"MacBook/MacBook pro" in the "Keyboard model" drop-down menu.

# Shared folders

By default the virtual machine does not share any folder with the host
system. To make it easier to transfer files between the two systems,
one can setup [shared
folders](https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04.html#sharedfolders). To
sum up, you need to

1. Create a folder on the host system for example call it "myshared"
1. In VirtualBox select "Settings" -> "Shared Folders"
1. Click on the "+" icon on the top-right corner
1. For "Folder Path" select the "myshared" folder
1. Select "Auto-mount"
1. Click "OK" twice
1. Start the virtual machine
1. On the virtual system, the shared folder should be accessible as
"/media/sf_myshared"