Undergraduate courses in Networking and Operating Systems are good examples of core courses whose students benefit from laboratories to gain hands-on experience with the real systems that motivated the concepts, algorithms and tradeoffs described in lectures. Unfortunately, such labs require privileged access to computers and, to keep the hosting network secure, often require networks to be specifically equipped, completely isolated, and regularly re-installed. Thus project adapts well-known Linux kernel laboratories from several sources to a new virtual Linux kernel architecture called Soft Ice(tm), which implements a fully functional, secure, scalable prototype of a load balancing cluster to provide students with full-privilege remote connection to virtual Linux hosts and to develop laboratories in operating systems and networking to take benefit of this infrastructure. The project also develops high quality current pedagogical material to support these courses. The project reaches a national audience because both the computing infrastructure and laboratories are designed to be replicated easily.
