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AccessMod 5 comes packed inside an image, a "lightweight, standalone, executable software package that contains everything needed to run an application." This image is based on Docker, "an open platform for developing, shipping, and running applications," and can be deployed either through a virtual machine using VirtualBox or directly through Docker desktop. The virtual machine is an encapsulated operating system that runs in many operating systems that act as hosts. However, virtualization requires some computing resources, which generally makes AccessMod more efficient when using the image directly in Docker desktop. Nevertheless, the default recommended installation (highlighted below) is the combination of a virtual machine (files.ova) and VirtualBox as a virtual machine manager. The description of how to install AccessMod via VirtualBox is described next in section 4.2. Further descriptions to install and use AccessMod via Docker are described in the appendices.

The following table provides an overview of the platforms to use AccessMod, the computer infrastructures they work with, and the general type of user that might be interested in using them.

The choice of a virtual machine for AccessMod makes it easy to run it on any machine providing that sufficient memory is available. You just need to launch the virtual machine and everything else is done through the user interface using your favorite browser.

You can download the virtual machine (a file with “*.ova” extension) from the download page of the AccessMod web site: http://www.accessmod.org/home. Make sure to remember where that file is specifically downloaded; if possible, place it in an area that is easily accessible on your computer.

You will also need a Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) to run this machine. While different VMMs do exist we recommend to use VirtualBox. VirtualBox is free and can be downloaded from here: https://www.virtualbox.org. Make sure you download the version targeting your operating system installed on your computer (Windows, Mac, ...) and place the files in an easily-accessible location (e.g., Downloads) to facilitate installation.