1.6 Remote Access Methods

Some configurations, such as those that include rack-mounted servers, require a computer to run without a video monitor, keyboard, or mouse. This type of configuration is often referred to as “headless” and requires the use of remote administration technologies.

Typical configuration scenarios and technologies include:

Graphical Desktop with X Window Server*: If a graphical desktop, such as GNOME* or KDE, is installed on the virtual machine host you can use a remote viewer, such as a VNC viewer, on a remote computer to log in and manage the host environment by using graphical tools, such as Virtual Machine Manager.

Text and Graphical Applications: If neither a graphical desktop nor the X Window Server is installed, but the X Windows libraries are installed on the virtual machine host, you can use the ssh -X command from the remote computer to log in and manage the virtualization host environment. You can then use Virtual Machine Manager and the xm command to manage virtual machines and the vm-install command to create them.

Text Only: You can use the ssh command from a remote computer to log in to a virtual machine host and access its text-based console. You can then use the xm command to manage virtual machines and the vm-install command to create new virtual machines.