Servers
Provision secure, Yale-networked Linux and Windows servers in minutes—perfect for teaching, research, and apps that need flexibility and control.
Why Spinup servers?
- Fast start: launch a VM in minutes with a clear, simple UI—no cloud jargon required.
- On the Yale network: Yale IPs, DNS, Direct Connect, and access to campus services like AD and Storage@Yale.
- Safer by default: resources sit behind the Yale enterprise firewall; OS patches applied automatically via AWS SSM.
- Daily backups: automatic snapshots retained 14 days; you can also create snapshots on demand.
Common Yale use cases
- Web/app hosting for labs, centers, and courses—request public access when needed.
- Research jobs & burst compute—scale up temporarily, then scale down to control cost.
- Web scraping & data collection with proper controls and network policy.
- GPU access via the Research Linux image designed for deep learning/GPU work.
Available images
| OS / Image | Auth | Notes |
|---|---|---|
 AlmaLinux |
SSH key | General purpose Linux; monthly updates via SSM |
 Amazon Linux |
SSH key | Lightweight; monthly updates via SSM |
 Ubuntu |
SSH key | Popular for apps & teaching |
 Windows Server |
Yale AD | AD-integrated; monthly patching via SSM |
Security & operations highlights
- Enterprise firewall + UI firewalls: restrict and open only what you need.
- Shared responsibility: Spinup handles hardened base images and OS patching; you handle apps and data in your server.
- Central logging: system logs shipped to centralized storage with standard retention on supported services.