Setting Up a Virtual Lab: RHEL GUI on AWS with VirtualBox
In this guide, we’ll walk through the process of launching a Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) instance with a graphical user interface (GUI) on AWS, installing VirtualBox, and creating a virtual machine. This setup can be useful for testing, development, or learning purposes.
Step 1: Launching an RHEL Instance with GUI
First, we’ll launch an EC2 instance using an RHEL AMI with GUI:
- Log into the AWS Management Console and navigate to EC2.
- Click “Launch Instance”.
- In the AMI marketplace, search for “Red Hat Enterprise Linux with GUI Desktop”.
- Select the AMI provided by SilverLining.Cloud.
- Choose an appropriate instance type (t2.medium or larger recommended).
- Configure instance details, add storage, and configure security group (ensure ports 3389 and 5901 are open for RDP and VNC access).
- Launch the instance.
Step 2: Connecting to the RHEL GUI
Once the instance is running:
- Obtain the public IP address of your instance.
- Use an RDP client to connect to the instance:
- Address: [Your-Instance-Public-IP]:3389
- Username: ec2-user
- Password: [Your-Instance-ID]
Step 3: Installing VirtualBox
Now that we’re connected to the RHEL GUI, let’s install VirtualBox:
Open a terminal in the RHEL GUI.
Update the system:
sudo yum update -y
Install the EPEL repository:
sudo yum install -y https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/epel-release-latest-8.noarch.rpm
Install VirtualBox:
sudo yum install -y VirtualBox
Add your user to the vboxusers group:
sudo usermod -aG vboxusers ec2-user
Reboot the instance to apply changes:
sudo reboot
Step 4: Creating a Virtual Machine
After reconnecting to the instance post-reboot:
- Open VirtualBox from the applications menu.
- Click “New” to create a new VM.
- Follow the wizard to set up your VM:
- Name your VM
- Choose the type of OS you’ll install
- Allocate memory (RAM)
- Create a virtual hard disk
4. Once created, select your new VM and click “Start”.
5. Follow the prompts to install your chosen OS in the VM.
Considerations and Best Practices
- Performance: Running a VM inside an EC2 instance can be resource-intensive. Ensure you’ve chosen an EC2 instance type with sufficient CPU and RAM.
- Costs: Keep in mind that running a GUI instance and VirtualBox will consume more resources, potentially increasing your AWS costs.
- Security: Ensure your EC2 security group is properly configured to prevent unauthorized access.
- Networking: VMs created in VirtualBox will use NAT by default, which is suitable for most use cases. For more complex networking scenarios, you may need to configure VirtualBox’s network settings.
- Storage: Be mindful of your EC2 instance’s storage capacity when creating VMs.
Conclusion
By following this guide, you’ve set up a versatile virtual lab environment in the cloud. This setup allows you to run various operating systems and configurations within your RHEL GUI instance on AWS, providing a flexible platform for testing, development, and learning.
Remember to stop or terminate your EC2 instance when not in use to avoid unnecessary charges.
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