Virtual Server Architecture
Beginning Spring 2009, the JMU virtual server is running the Red Hat Enterprise Linux distribution using the Xen open source virtual machine monitor that enables the execution of mutliple guest operating systems at the same time. You will administer the server as a stand alone machine. Each student will have a disk size of 8GB. The hardware for the virtual server is a Dell 2950 PowerEdge with two quadcore Intel Zeon processors. The server has 16 GB of RAM, two 36 GB of hard drive space (where the OS is mirrored on drive) and a RAID array containing four 73 GB storage devices.

Client - (PuTTY)

Telnet - An Internet protocol that allows the user to connect to a remote computer.

SSH – “Secure Shell" is a program to log into another computer over a network, to execute commands in a remote machine, and to move files from one machine to another. It provides strong authentication and secure communications over insecure channels. It is a replacement for rlogin, rsh, rcp, and rdist. SSH protects a network from attacks such as IP spoofing, IP source routing, and DNS spoofing

Server (Linux – RedHat; XEN – Virtual Server)

Red Hat Enterprise Linux is a Linux distribution produced by Red Hat and targeted toward the commercial market, including mainframes. Red Hat commits to supporting each version of Red Hat Enterprise Linux for 7 years after its release. All of Red Hat's official support, all of Red Hat's training and the Red Hat Certification Program center on the Red Hat Enterprise Linux platform. Red Hat Enterprise Linux is often abbreviated to RHEL.

Xen is an open source virtual machine monitor, developed by the University of Cambridge. It is intended to run up to 100 full featured OSs on a single computer. Operating systems must be explicitly modified ("ported") to run on Xen (although compatibility is maintained for user applications). This enables Xen to achieve high performance virtualization without special hardware support.


Connecting to Your Virtual Linux Server through PuTTY
PuTTY is a free implementation of Telnet and SSH for Win32 platforms, including an Xterm terminal emulator. It is written and maintained primarily by Simon Tatham. You will need to know the IP address for your virtual server, your user login and password. Instructions for download and installation of PuTTY can be found at:

• http://www.jmu.edu/computing/helpdesk/selfhelp/putty.shtml
• http://www.eos.ncsu.edu/remoteaccess/putty.html
• http://www.putty.nl/download.html

Login for the First Time
When you first login to the server you login as root. "Root access is the power of the system administrator. The root user, also known as the superuser, has the authority to do anything, anywhere on the entire system. Root access allows you to make huge mistakes if you are careless. The general rule is 'don't login as root unless you need to'." [source: Linux System Administration by Stanfield and Smith]

One of the first things you will learn in creating and maintaining user accounts is to create an admin account and user accounts.