Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.3/972

Title

Maximising student exposure to networking using FreeBSD virtual hosts

Author(s)

Armitage, Grenville

Abstract

A Remote Unix Lab Environment (RULE) is being developed that allows student access to networked hosts for their coursework and research projects. This paper describes our first generation solution using FreeBSD's "jail" functionality to emulate many FreeBSD hosts on a small handful of physical machines. Our primary constraint is to minimise the incremental infrastructure cost to the University. Students access the RULE hosts through pre-existing PC labs scattered around campus and 802.11-equipped laptops. The FreeBSD hosts themselves are rackmounted in a small back room, minimising their impact on scarce University lab space. This paper describes our requirements, trade-offs, available tools, and how specific FreeBSD features are being utilized to create multiple virtual hosts for teaching purposes.

Publication type

Journal article

Research centre

Swinburne University of Technology. School of Biophysical Science and Electrical Engineering

Source

Computer Communication Review, Vol. 33, no. 3 (Jul 2003), pp. 137-143

Publication year

2003

Keyword(s)

FreeBSD;  IP;  Unix;  Networking;  Students;  Teaching;  Virtual hosts

Publisher

ACM Press

ISSN

0146-4833

Publisher URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/956993.957010

Peer reviewed