Requesting A Virtual Machine

Revision as of 18:02, 12 August 2013 by Steve410 (talk | contribs)

CS Now Hosting VMs For Educational Use.

CS now has a Virtual Machine (VM) server for educational use. CS Faculty, Instructors, and students may request a VM be created for CS class use and CS-related school projects.

We can support both Linux and Windows-based VMs.

Requesting a VM

Currently, there is no request form for a VM. Instead, those interested should send an e-mail to support@cs.jhu.edu with the Subject Line: Request for a VM. The e-mail should contain the following: 

Purpose for VM

Class for which VM is needed.

Length of time VM is required.

Your class instructor

Your contact info (include e-mail and a phone number where you can be reached.)

Also include the following technical info: 

Operating System for the VM (include version number.)

Memory required.  (smallest amount, please.  Start with 512K Ram, if possible; we can always add more.)

Number of CPUs required (typically, "one".)

Disk space required.   (smallest amount, please.  10g to 20gb is generally good, depending upon your OS size requirements. 
Bigger, if absolutely necessary.

Once your request for a VM is granted, we will have you fill out a CS Network IP Address Application to decide on a hostname for your VM.

IMPORTANT NOTES (Please Read.)

1) You will supply the CS staff with the OS disc (on CD or DVD) that you want installed.

2) You will be the root/super user/admin for your VM. We will simply install the basic OS. We or both you and we will configure the networking on the VM. We will supply you with the root password. You may create accounts as needed, however, we must retain a copy of the root password for your VM.

3) You are responsible for providing any necessary OS or software applications for your VM.

4) We do not do reqular backups of VMs. (We generally create a baseline backup of our VMs, and occasionally backup all VM images on the server.) You are responsible for backing up any data created on your VM.

5) When your VM is no longer needed (per the length of time info you provide), we may remove the VM without additional notice.

6) You are responsible for any security issues that arise due to your VM. We have the right to shut down a VM that is causing any security issues. JHU has the right to close any network ports for the IP for your VM.

7) Occasionally, we have to do maintenance on the VM server, and we try to notify all VM owners when the server must go down. However, running a VM on our VM server is at your own risk, and there might be times when there is unannounced unavailability of the VM server and its VMs.

8) Not all VMs may be approved for installation.