XVM — Virtual Servers for MIT

xvm.mit.edu is a virtualization service for the MIT community. We offer virtual machines—your own complete system on which you can start from our three-minute Debian or Ubuntu install or install the operating system of your choice. The service is free to any Athena account holder.

MIT users:

→ Log in to XVM now

You'll need an MIT personal certificate.

XVM features:

• Online management of virtual machines
• A wide selection of bootable CD-ROM images and installers
• An automated Debian and Ubuntu installer
• Secure VNC console access via a Java applet
• Secure serial console access over SSH
• Ownership and access control through Athena lockers and groups

XVM does not feature:

• backups of VM disk images; images are on a RAID, but you should arrange your own backups for data that is important to you.
• guarantees of uptime or security; we are a best-effort volunteer service, though we follow security and reliability best practices shared by production SIPB services.

The XVM code base is a free software project under development, licensed under GPLv2+. If you're interested in using it, we'd be happy to help you set it up in your environment. Our Subversion repository is

https://xvm.mit.edu:1111/

xvm.mit.edu is provided by SIPB, the student computing group at MIT, with generous funding from IS&T. Like all SIPB projects, we are independently run by our own team of volunteers, and we welcome new contributors.

Questions and feedback welcome at xvm@mit.edu.