Q. Can you explain the term Virtual Consoles and elaborate the usage of the same?
A. Under FreeBSD, Linux, or UNIX the virtual console (VC) allows a user to have multiple logins without using X windows GUI system. It is also known as virtual terminal (VT)
Linux has 6 VC
It is a combination of the keyboard and the display for a user interface. The concrete combination is the system console of the computer, where the user can switch between the virtual consoles to access multiple unrelated user interfaces. Usually in Linux, the first six virtual consoles provide a text terminal with a login prompt to a unix shell. The graphical X Window System starts in the seventh virtual console. To access 6 terminal press and hold [CTRL] + [ALT]+F{1,2,3,4,5,6}. For example press CTRL+Alt+F1 (or ALT+F1) to access the virtual console number 1.
Access X GUI system
To access X GUI system press CTRL+ALT+F7.
Other options for VC/VT
GNU Screen is a program that can change between several text-mode programs in one textual login.
