This article discusses setting up a virtual machine (VM) as a virtual private server (VPS) and accessing it using
secure shell
(SSH). This VM VPS can then be used to test configuration and software
changes before deployment to a live VPS. A deployed VPS can usually be
accessed using SSH, therefore using SSH into VPS running on a VM is good
practice for a live situation. This test configuration should
accurately reflect the live VPS, reducing mistakes when moving from test
to production. This tutorial and guide shows how to set up a VirtualBox
VM and access it via the SSH client
PuTTY, replicating production world VPS access.
You should never test on live systems. Replicate the live system in a
test environment. Use the test environment to try out new
configurations and software. When happy with the changes deploy to the
live system with confidence. Of course there is no guarantee that the
changes to the live system will not cause problems. However, the chance
of errors occurring is reduced. The test environment should be the same
as the live systems so that changes have the same affect when deployed.
Using a VM is a good way to test a system without impacting a local
machine. VirtualBox is a free application that can run VMs. This article
uses VirtualBox to configure a VM as a test VPS.
A VPS running in the cloud can be replicated on a local machine using
a VM. The first step is to create a local VM. Then on the local VM
install the same OS as the one running on the live VPS.
Use Port Forwarding for the Test VPS Networking
By default port 22 is used for SSH, see
a list of TCP and UDP port numbers in Wikipedia.
VirtualBox can be configured to listen to a port on the host machine
and forward any traffic for that port to a port on the VM. This is
configured in the VM’s network settings.
To change the network settings the VM VPS must be powered off or
suspended. Or save the machine state with the VirtualBox VM window’s
File then
Close menu option.
With the VM highlighted in the VirtualBox Manager click the
Settings icon or use the
Machine menu and select
Settings.
Under
Network the
Adapter 1 tab is selected, the default virtual network adapter enabled for the VM VPS. Click
Advanced then click the
Port Forwarding button On the
Port Forwarding Rules dialog click the
Adds new port forwarding rule icon. Give the new rule a name, e.g.
ssh rule,
the protocol will be TCP, Host IP address is blank. Choose a Host Port
such as 2222, Guest IP is blank and Guest Port will be 22. Click OK to
create the new rule.
Leaving the IP addresses blank means that if the host or guest IPs
change then rule will still work. The host port should not be in use by
another application or service (see the the
Wikipedia
list for common uses of ports). While 2222 is used by some products it
is easy to remember as it is simply the default port 22 written twice.
Use any valid port number in the range 1025 to 65535.
Install the PuTTY Terminal Emulator
The application
PuTTY
is a terminal emulation program, it implements Telnet, SSH and other
network protocols. PuTTY can be used for remote connections to Windows
or Unix type machines, such as a Linux based VPS.
Using PuTTY to SSH into VPS Running on a VM
Open PuTTY, start a new session, the
Hostname is
localhost
(your machine), which is the same as entering 127.0.0.1. The port is
2222, or whichever port number was set up in the port forwarding rule.
Click the
Open button.
The first time PuTTY connects to the VPS a security alert is shown. Confirm that the VPS is the valid by selecting
Yes (it is running on the VM on the localhost). By selecting
Yes
the alert will not appear next time. A terminal window will appear and
if everything is configured correctly the login prompt will be
available. Log in as
root with the password set during install. Run a command such as
ls to list the files in the directory.
Typing
logout will end the session and close the PuTTY window.
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