Unix emulator sorta thing?

xBlizzDevious · April 19, 2014

Hey guys,

I'm studying for a degree and one of my modules is Multi-User Operating Systems. One of the assessments requires that I create a program that runs in Unix (which we connect to through Putty). However, I am going to - unexpectedly - be away from the internet for a few days and so won't have access to the connection through Putty.

Is there some way I could emulate a Unix server on my Windows machine that I could connect to with localhost just for testing purposes?

I can use VirtualBox (if I remember to enable Intel VT-x whatever it is) to do stuff. Or if Linux will suffice, I could run a Live CD of that if it doesn't break my computer like it did last time.

What do you guys suggest, then?

Ssoele · April 19, 2014

I would just run Linux as a VM, you can use VMware Player or VirtualBox.

xBlizzDevious · April 19, 2014

If your studying for a degree you should probably look into installing Linux as a second OS at least. the performance you get out of Linux in a VM, although not bas is not comparable to a native install. If you get a larger Distro its every so easy to set up. as much as people give Ubuntu flack for things the install process is very good indeed. However if you want to learn something you should install Arch its an experience that teaches you soooo much.

If you decide to focus on Virtualising Linux then I would still suggest Ubuntu for ease of use (the new LTS (long term service version) is out) remember though, do not judge linux by its performance in a VM. its really very nice. as for your convern that a LIVE distro could break yoru machine, well, as long as you dont open any partition managers or click the install button then there is no reason that you should have any problems, and i mess with live distro's A LOT. its 100% safe unless you mess about with gparted or grub in it.

Hahaha! No, I tried running three different Linux Distros on my main machine before and every single one of them wouldn't display properly. I got lines across all the screens as if I had a major graphical failure. Switch back to Windows and everything was fine. The two things I guess it could be are the fact that 4 screens were plugged in, or that 3 graphics cards were plugged in. I'm not scared of those distros breaking my computer at all. Just that they are broken when used on my computer.

I'll check out Arch if I can. See if it's any good. I might not have time though.

I've tried Linux out properly and it just doesn't suit my needs. It's requires too much faffing around with emulators to be able to do half the things that I can just do with Windows. Linux is not for me - yet. Also, I haven't judged Linux on its performance in a virtual machine. I don't judge any OS on it's performance in a VM. A VM is probably the second-most inefficient way of testing something. The worst being a VM inside a VM, if that's even technically possible. Haha!

Cheers for the tips though!