{"id":463,"date":"2016-05-24T10:59:52","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T14:59:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/?page_id=463"},"modified":"2026-09-06T21:58:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T01:58:11","slug":"virtual-machines","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/tech-support\/virtual-machines\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Machines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n            <div class=\"cu-textmedia flex flex-col lg:flex-row mx-auto gap-6 md:gap-10 my-6 md:my-12 first:mt-0 max-w-5xl\">\n        <div class=\"justify-start cu-textmedia-content cu-prose-first-last\" style=\"flex: 0 0 100%;\">\n            <header class=\"font-light prose-xl cu-pageheader md:prose-2xl cu-component-updated cu-prose-first-last\">\n                                    <h1 class=\"cu-prose-first-last font-semibold !mt-2 mb-4 md:mb-6 relative after:absolute after:h-px after:bottom-0 after:bg-cu-red after:left-px text-3xl md:text-4xl lg:text-5xl lg:leading-[3.5rem] pb-5 after:w-10 text-cu-black-700 not-prose\">\n                        Virtual Machines\n                    <\/h1>\n                \n                                \n                            <\/header>\n\n                    <\/div>\n\n            <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"w-full max-w-xl mx-auto overflow-hidden bg-white rounded-lg shadow-lg cu-stackedlist cu-component not-contained not-prose\">\n    <h2 class=\"px-6 py-4 text-base font-semibold border-b rounded-t-lg md:text-xl bg-gray-50 text-cu-black-800\">\n        Table of Contents\n    <\/h2>\n    <div class=\"grid cu-scrollto cu-stackedlist--toc cu-stackedlist--1 md:grid-cols-1\">\n            <div class=\"space-y-1\">\n                    \n            <div class=\"pl-4 text-cu-red-700\">\n                <div class=\"flex gap-2 pb-3 text-base md:text-lg\">\n                    <span class=\"font-light text-cu-black-700\">\n                        1.\n                    <\/span>\n\n                    <a href=\"#what-are-virtualmachines\" class=\"font-medium hover:underline\">\n                        What are Virtual Machines\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/div>\n\n                            <\/div>\n                    \n            <div class=\"pl-4 text-cu-red-700\">\n                <div class=\"flex gap-2 pb-3 text-base md:text-lg\">\n                    <span class=\"font-light text-cu-black-700\">\n                        2.\n                    <\/span>\n\n                    <a href=\"#support-virtualmachines\" class=\"font-medium hover:underline\">\n                        Support: Getting Started and Getting Help\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/div>\n\n                            <\/div>\n                    \n            <div class=\"pl-4 text-cu-red-700\">\n                <div class=\"flex gap-2 pb-3 text-base md:text-lg\">\n                    <span class=\"font-light text-cu-black-700\">\n                        3.\n                    <\/span>\n\n                    <a href=\"#about-course-virtualmachines\" class=\"font-medium hover:underline\">\n                        About SCS (COMP) Course Virtual Machines\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/div>\n\n                            <\/div>\n                    \n            <div class=\"pl-4 text-cu-red-700\">\n                <div class=\"flex gap-2 pb-3 text-base md:text-lg\">\n                    <span class=\"font-light text-cu-black-700\">\n                        4.\n                    <\/span>\n\n                    <a href=\"#current-list-virtualmachines\" class=\"font-medium hover:underline\">\n                        Current SCS (COMP) Course Virtual Machines\n                    <\/a>\n                <\/div>\n\n                            <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"what-are-virtualmachines\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are Virtual Machines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n    \n    <dl class=\"cu-description cu-component-updated\">\n        \n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-virtualization-technology\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    Virtualization Technology\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-virtualization-technology\">\n            \n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>virtualization<\/strong>&nbsp;<em>\u2013 the underlying technology that allows a virtual operating system to be run as an application on your computer\u2019s operating system<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>hypervisor<\/strong>&nbsp;<em>\u2013 the virtualization application (such as&nbsp;<strong>VirtualBox<\/strong>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<strong>VMware<\/strong>) running on your&nbsp;<strong>host<\/strong>&nbsp;computer that allows it to run a&nbsp;<strong>guest<\/strong>&nbsp;virtual operating system<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>host<\/strong>&nbsp;<em>\u2013 the computer on which you are running the&nbsp;<strong>hypervisor<\/strong>&nbsp;application<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>guest<\/strong>&nbsp;<em>\u2013 a virtual operating system running within the&nbsp;<strong>hypervisor<\/strong>&nbsp;on your&nbsp;<strong>host<\/strong>&nbsp;computer. The&nbsp;<strong>virtual operating system<\/strong>&nbsp;term is synonymous with other terms such as&nbsp;<strong>Virtual Machine<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>VM<\/strong>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<strong>instance<\/strong><\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/dl>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Virtual Machines<\/strong> are virtual computers running as an application on a <strong>host<\/strong> computer, such as your laptop. The <strong>Virtual Machine<\/strong> runs <em>on top of<\/em> your <strong>host<\/strong> computer&#8217;s operating system, using a virtualization tool called a <strong>hypervisor<\/strong>. This allows you to run any number of <strong>guest<\/strong> operating systems without impacting the operating system on your own <strong>host<\/strong> computer. For example, most of our courses use Virtual Machines built on the <em>Linux<\/em> environment. By taking advantage of <strong>hypervisor<\/strong> technology, students can continue to run their preferred operating system (Windows 11\/10, Linux, older <em>Intel based<\/em> macOS devices, etc.), and run the course Virtual Machine on their computer like they would any other application. <em>NOTE: Most hypervisors do NOT support the Apple M1 chipset. See <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/2024\/m1-mac-other-non-virtualization-devices\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"11044\">this article<\/a> for details.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"support-virtualmachines\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Support: Getting Started and Getting Help<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/tech-support\/virtual-machines\/virtual-machine-technical-support\/virtual-machine-step-by-step-guide\/\" type=\"page\" id=\"8645\">Virtual Machine Step-by-Step Guide<\/a><br><em>Step-by-step tutorials that demonstrate how to set up Virtual Machines or your computer<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/tech-support\/virtual-machines\/virtual-machine-technical-support\/\" type=\"page\" id=\"3949\">Virtual Machine Technical Support<\/a><br><em>General Virtual Machine guides and troubleshooting articles<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"about-course-virtualmachines\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">About SCS (COMP) Course Virtual Machines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The SCS Course Virtual Machines&nbsp;(SCS VMs) are all in <strong>VirtualBox .ova<\/strong> format (unless otherwise noted). Most will work fine with other <strong>hypervisors (KVM, VMWare, Hyper-V, etc.)<\/strong>. The naming convention is the usually the course code <strong>COMPXXXX<\/strong> of the course it was built for, followed by an optional term, such as <strong>&#8211;<\/strong><strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\"><strong>F2<\/strong>6<\/strong>&nbsp;for <strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\"><strong>Fall 202<\/strong>6<\/strong>, representing when it was created. Many VMs continue to be used for both future terms and different courses. <strong>Consult with your Instructor to determine the exact SCS VM you are expected to use for your course!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>IMPORTANT:<\/strong> Some vital things to remember when working with SCS VMs:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>SCS VMs <strong><em>require<\/em><\/strong> the <strong>VirtualBox Extension Pack<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/2024\/install-virtualbox\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"8657\">Installing VirtualBox Guide<\/a>)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The current SCS VMs have been tested with <strong>VirtualBox 7.2.4<\/strong> on Windows 11 and Linux<br><em class=\"myprefix-text-italic\"><strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\">WARNING<\/strong>: There are known stability issues with versions of VirtualBox<strong class=\"myprefix-text-bold\"> newer than 7.2.4<\/strong>, so we recommend that version for the time being.  If you use the latest version of VirtualBox, you may need to do some tweaking of settings to get the Virtual Machines to work on your device.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you are having stability issues with VirtualBox that are not able to be resolved, most of our courses also offer openstack resources that provide a cloud-based alternative. See <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/tech-support\/scs-open-stack\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"407\">OpenStack<\/a> for details.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Older (Archived) SCS VMs are <em>NOT<\/em> tested on recent operating systems and newer versions of VirtualBox<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Most hypervisors, including VirtualBox, do <em>NOT<\/em> support the Apple M1\/M2 chipsets. So SCS VMs cannot be used on those devices. See <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/2024\/m1-mac-other-non-virtualization-devices\/\" type=\"post\" id=\"11044\">this article<\/a> for details<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 id=\"current-list-virtualmachines\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Current SCS (COMP) Course Virtual Machines<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>NOTE:<\/strong> Our <strong>CURRENT<\/strong> Virtual Machines typically use the credentials <strong>username: <em>student<\/em> \/ password: <em>student<\/em><\/strong> (unless otherwise noted).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th>Virtual Machine<br>(SHA1 checksum)<\/th><th>Size<br>(GB)<\/th><th>OS<\/th><th>Privileged<br>user \/ password<\/th><th>Staff \/ Faculty<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/git.scs.carleton.ca\/downloads\/CourseVirtualMachines\/2026F-2027W\/COMP2404-F26.ova\">COMP2404-F26.ova<\/a><br><strong>UPDATED Sep 02, 2026<\/strong><br>(24487016549a1c4beb1a8fbf078642ecb9682e46)<\/td><td>3.7<\/td><td>ubuntu<br>26.04<\/td><td>student \/ student<\/td><td>A. Pullin<br>Christine Laurendeau<\/td><\/tr><tr><td><a href=\"https:\/\/git.scs.carleton.ca\/downloads\/CourseVirtualMachines\/2026F-2027W\/COMP3004-F26.ova\">COMP3004-F26.ova<\/a><br><strong>UPDATED Sep 02, 2026<\/strong><br>(8ad3a6206fcb168c2fd2eb98037066f7b09fe142)<\/td><td>2.5<\/td><td>ubuntu<br>22.04<\/td><td>student \/ student<\/td><td>A. Pullin<br>Christine Laurendeau<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>NOTE:<\/strong> Look here for the <a href=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/tech-support\/virtual-machines\/virtual-image-archive\/\" type=\"page\" id=\"6592\">archive of Virtual Machines from previous years<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<section class=\"w-screen px-6 cu-section cu-section--white ml-offset-center md:px-8 lg:px-14\">\n    <div class=\"space-y-6 cu-max-w-child-5xl  md:space-y-10 cu-prose-first-last\">\n\n        \n    \n    <dl class=\"cu-description cu-component-updated\">\n        \n    <div class=\"grid pt-4 pb-3 border-b accordion border-cu-black-100 md:pt-6 md:pb-5 first:border-t\">\n        <dt class=\"font-semibold not-prose\">\n            <button class=\"flex items-center justify-between w-full text-left accordion__button\" aria-expanded=\"false\" aria-controls=\"accordion-sha1-checksum-information\">\n                <span class=\"flex-1 ml-auto text-left break-words whitespace-normal cu-icon\">\n                    SHA1 Checksum Information\n                <\/span>\n                <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"none\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" stroke-width=\"1.5\" stroke=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" data-slot=\"icon\" class=\"w-5 h-5 ml-auto transition-transform rotate-0 accordion__icon text-cu-black-500\">\n                    <path stroke-linecap=\"round\" stroke-linejoin=\"round\" d=\"M8.25 4.5l7.5 7.5-7.5 7.5\"><\/path>\n                <\/svg>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/dt>\n        <dd class=\"p-0 mt-0 cu-prose cu-prose-first-last accordion__content md:p-0 md:mt-0\" hidden=\"\" id=\"accordion-sha1-checksum-information\">\n            \n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>SHA1:&nbsp;<\/strong>We include a&nbsp;<strong>SHA1<\/strong>&nbsp;checksum so that you can verify the integrity of the downloaded .ova file. Here is how to check the SHA1 checksum on different operating systems&nbsp;<em>(this may take some time for larger files)<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Linux:&nbsp;<\/strong><code>sha1sum COMPXXXX-XXX.ova<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>macOS:&nbsp;<\/strong><code>shasum COMPXXXX-XXX.ova<\/code><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Windows:&nbsp;<\/strong>Using Powershell, run:&nbsp;<code>Get-FileHash COMPXXXX-XXX.ova -Algorithm SHA1<\/code><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>NOTE: Replace&nbsp;<strong>COMPXXXX-XXX.ova<\/strong>&nbsp;with the path\/filename for your particular .ova file<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n        <\/dd>\n    <\/div>\n\n\n    <\/dl>\n\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are Virtual Machines Virtual Machines are virtual computers running as an application on a host computer, such as your laptop. The Virtual Machine runs on top of your host computer&#8217;s operating system, using a virtualization tool called a hypervisor. This allows you to run any number of guest operating systems without impacting the operating [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":6535,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_cu_dining_location_slug":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_page_type":[75],"class_list":["post-463","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","cu_page_type-technical-support"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/463","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/463\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26119,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/463\/revisions\/26119"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6535"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_page_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/scs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_page_type?post=463"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}