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[[Linux-announce] ] [Linux] - Important VirtualBox License Information!

From: Ebner Simon Gregor <simon.ebner AT psi.ch>
To: "linux-announce AT lists.psi.ch" <linux-announce AT lists.psi.ch>, PSI.Linux <Linux AT psi.ch>
Cc: Paolozzi Dario <dario.paolozzi AT psi.ch>
Subject: [[Linux-announce] ] [Linux] - Important VirtualBox License Information!
Date: Mon, 29 Jul 2024 11:01:19 +0000
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Hey

We got informed that some (probably all) of the usages of VirtualBox here at
PSI actually cause license violations and would/will require a commercial
License from Oracle.

The usage of VirtualBox as such is ok and covered by a free license, however
as soon as the VirtualBox Extension Pack is enabled (which you need to access
USB devices, PXE booting, etc. ...) a commercial license is required!

Therefore, if you have VirtualBox instances please ensure that you DON'T have
the ExtensionPack enabled. According to Oracle you can check as follows:

To check if Virtual Box Extension pack is installed in a system, you can try
one of the following ways:
1. Check for the license file "ExtPack-license.rtf" on the filesystem where
you installed VirtualBox
2. Check if
/usr/lib/virtualbox/ExtensionPacks/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack/ExtPack-license.html
or similar exists
3. Execute following command on the system:

yourmachine~$ VBoxManage list extpacks

Extension Packs: 1
Pack no. 0: Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack
Version: 5.1.28
Revision: 117968
Edition:
Description: USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 Host Controller, Host Webcam,
VirtualBox RDP, PXE ROM, Disk Encryption, NVMe.
VRDE Module: VBoxVRDP
Usable: true
Why unusable:

(4. Probably you can also see it in the about menu of the VirtualBox
application)

If you have the ExtensionPack enabled, please disable it immediately or, if
you need it, get in contact with Dario Paolozzi (dario.paolozzi AT psi.ch) or us
linux-eng AT psi.ch to obtain a License.

More infos about the whole license story you can find here:
https://redresscompliance.com/oracle-virtualbox-license-navigating-free-and-paid-license/

So far we are not yet able to recommend you an alternative to VirtualBox.
However we are going to look into this and may name some alternatives in the
next weeks. An other option is to host your virtual machine on the central
VMWare cluster (requests for such VMs can be send to linux-eng AT psi.ch -
however some restrictions might apply here as well).

Important: Please be aware that this is not limited to Linux - if you are
using VirtualBox on any other operating system this applies as well!

If you have any questions, etc. please let me know!

Best Regards
Simon

[[Linux-announce] ] [Linux] - Important VirtualBox License Information!, Ebner Simon Gregor, 07/29/2024
- RE: [[Linux-announce] ] [Linux] - Important VirtualBox License Information!, Werthmüller Dominik, 07/29/2024