64-bit Opensolaris guest boot errors on 64-bit OpenSolaris host running NIS

[bqbauer]

I have three host installations of 64-bit OpenSolaris 2008.05 running VB 2.0.2 (amd64). On most I have no problems installing 64-bit guests, including OpenSolaris 2008.05 as a guest. However, if the OpenSolaris 64-bit HOST is running as an NIS client, then the OpenSolaris 64-bit GUEST, including LiveCD, boots extremely slowly and with the following errors, no matter if the guest machine has been configured with or without these options: network card (none), audio card (none), serial (none).

Guest Errors (repeated):

Method "/usr/sbin/avahi-daemon-bridge-dsd -D" failed with exit status 255. Method "/lib/svc/method/inetd-updatde start" failed due to signal KILL. gdm-binary....WARNING: Failed to start X server several times in a short time period...

The errors are not present if VT is disabled and therefore 32-bit OpenSolaris is used. ACPI has been enabled in all tests, and mixtures of the other two settings have also been tested.

The two computers used to test NIS were a Dell Precision 380 with 8GB memory and Pentium D 3GHz, the next was a Thinkpad Z61p with a core2Duo and 2GB memory that had been working with OpenSolaris as a host AND guest. I made the Thinkpad an NIS client, and then this problem materialized both with the installed version and with a LiveCD guest, just as described above. A third system that has never seen NIS runs OpenSolaris as a 64-bit host and guest perfectly (It is a Shuttle SX38P2 Pro).

OpenSolaris runs NIS as a client fine and I don't think it is an OpenSolaris issue since this happens with a raw LiveCD boot with no networking in the guest whatsoever. It is this mix of OpenSolaris 64-bit GUEST on an OpenSolaris 64-bit HOST running NIS that makes the GUEST fail to boot properly.

Although I've not been able to track down the settings that most influence this problem, I have found that having in your HOST's /etc/nsswitch.conf the "bad" entries below seems also to help manifest the VB problem, but the "good" entries do not. In both situations, NIS must actually be running and working for this to have an impact. Recall that this is in spite of the fact that your guest can be configured without a network card and the problems still occur.

BAD: hosts: files nis dns GOOD: hosts: files dns nis

BAD: aliases: files nis GOOD: aliases: nis files

Sorry to be so verbose, but it can be difficult to describe the specifics of how & when this manifests, but it has only happened in the situations described.