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freeVSD (www.freevsd.org), an open source project sponsored by Idaya Ltd, was released in its first version under GPL license in Spring 2000. The software enables ISPs to securely partition their physical servers into many 'virtual servers,' each capable of running popular hosting applications such as Apache, Sendmail and MySQL.

Each virtual server has a corresponding "admin" user with pseudo-root privileges, therefore proper "root" access is reserved for the service provider -- providing a secure and manageable platform on which to host SME, corporate, reseller or developer clients.

freeVSD provides major benefits to any ISP:

• Lower cost for the customer, margins maintained for the ISP - because freeVSD is free, and because the solution helps reduce maintenance and support costs.
• Low cost of entry - freeVSD is available for free download with complete source code from the project website (http://www.freevsd.org).
• Lower support costs - freeVSD virtual servers can be administered by the customer, freeing the ISP's support team to deal with non-trivial support.
• Advanced functionality - freeVSD virtual servers are capable of running almost any Linux application.
• Unrivalled efficiency - a hard-linked architecture reduces disk overhead to just 20MB per virtual server, in comparison to around 500MB per equivalent Virtual Machine or dedicated server.
• Logical Security - freeVSD ensures maximum security between adjacent virtual servers thanks to its 'sandbox' design. A unique "admin" user provides the customer with full control over virtual server configuration, whilst access to the most sensitive system files and binaries can be reserved for the ISP 'root' user.

NOTES:
freeVSD Administration
At the heart of freeVSD lies VSDADM a modular protocol that enables remote, thin client administration of virtual servers.

• User Profile Management (name, password, home dir, quota, privileges)
• Sendmail Configuration (sendmail.cw, aliases and virtusertable management)
• Apache Configuration (VirtualHost management)
• BIND Configuration (management of domains, MX, CNAME, A records)
• Virtual server Management (create, delete, start, stop, reboot, quota, IP aliases)

VSDClient

• Manage multiple user accounts (POP3, FTP, telnet/SSH etc)
• Email "virtusertable" configuration
• Email "aliases" and autoresponder configuration
• Apache Webserver configuration
• BIND Nameserver configuration
• Service status monitor (HTTP, SMTP, Telnet etc)
• "reboot" virtual server
• Fully secure - all communications encrypted using OpenSSL

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