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I am looking to install OS X Server 10.6 as a guest under Virtualbox on my iMac running OS X 10.6. Wondering if there are any caveats or issues regarding the hardware or the installation process. The Virtualbox manual was vague in regards to their warnings.

Is running an OS X Server guest restricted to an OS X Server host? Or can the host be the regular Snow Leopard client?

Currently having the following issue during the initial install:

Loading mach_kernel.mkext...

Could not open file 'mach_kernel.mkext'.....

iMac is 3GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 Gb RAM, iMac 10,1.

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migrated from serverfault.com Dec 20 '10 at 17:21

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2 Answers

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While I can't make any suggestions on the technical aspect, legally speaking this set up is fine. Mac OS X is only supposed to be installed on Apple hardware, but there is no distinction between Apple servers and desktop models - indeed, with the withdrawal of the Xserve, there is no physical difference between Apple server and desktop models other than lack of DVD drives and the software they ship with. If you buy it separately, OSX Server perfectly capable of being installed on most Macs - 10.5 and below even allowed installation on labtop models.

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Legally speaking, it's entirely dependent on the country you're in anyway. – Daniel Beck Dec 20 '10 at 17:58
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@Daniel Beck: can you add a link that confirms your statement? – dag729 Dec 20 '10 at 18:27
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@dag729 German Wikipedia says, paraphrased: Apple's license forbids installation on non-Apple hardware, but it has not yet been determined in court whether they are allowed to restrict use of their software in that way (in Germany of course). It's similar (AFAIK, IANAL) to the situation of SB and OEM Windows copies that can legally be traded without being bound to a particular machine, because of a decision of the German supreme court BGH in 2000. – Daniel Beck Dec 20 '10 at 18:36
Even if it is the case that a hardware restriction would be illegal in Germany (or anywhere else) it wouldn't make the set up suggested not work, would it? What's being suggested would work even under the most draconian interpretation of the licence. – Scott Dec 20 '10 at 18:46
I'm only commenting on the legal aspect of your answer you stated in your first sentence (see my first comment). I concur with the rest and lack the VirtualBox experience to give an answer of my own. Hint: If you reply to someone's comment, use @PrefixOfTheirUsername, e.g. @Daniel, so they get notified of your answer – Daniel Beck Dec 20 '10 at 20:14
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To update my original question, Apple changed their policies with OS X Lion 10.7 regarding the operating system being used in virtualized environments. They currently allow up to 2 instances of OS X Lion Server to be used in virtual environments.

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