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# COMP8440: Lab Setup (2016)
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# COMP8440: Lab Setup (2018)
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## Background
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The COMP8440 course will use the lab machines in N115/N115. You will need to follow the instructions below to setup your own machine and to regularly backup your machine using the "Backup System" link on your desktop.
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The COMP8440 course will use the lab machines in N111. You will need to follow the instructions below to setup your own machine and to regularly backup your machine using the "Backup System" link on your desktop.
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## Initial Setup
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Each machine in the N115/N116 lab has two additional disk "partitions" with an initial copy of the "master" image for FOSSD 2016, based on the [Ubuntu 15.10 (Wily Werewolf)](http://releases.ubuntu.com/wily/) Linux distribution, and a boot partition.
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Each machine in the N115/N116 lab has two additional disk "partitions" with an initial copy of the "master" image for FOSSD 2018, based on the [Ubuntu 17.10 (Artful Aardvark)](http://releases.ubuntu.com/17.10.1/) Linux distribution, and a boot partition.
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For the first (initial) setup, you will need to log into the machine whilst it is booted in the normal (CSIT) lab environment. That is the default boot environment, which can also selected using the 'net' option during bootup
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| ... | ... | @@ -20,7 +20,7 @@ When that is complete, you can reboot your machine and then select "fossd" from |
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Please use the same machine for all COMP8440 labwork, so that you are least likely to disturb another students machine.
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## FOSSD Lab Environment
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The "standard environment" that we have prepared for each FOSSD lab machine includes the standard Ubuntu Wily "Gnome" desktop environment with a couple of customisations:
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The "standard environment" that we have prepared for each FOSSD lab machine includes a standard Ubuntu desktop environment with a couple of customisations:
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* There is a "Terminal" icon in the task bar so that you can quickly get a shell (commandline) prompt
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* There is a "Backup System" icon (see below)
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| ... | ... | @@ -33,12 +33,12 @@ There are some previous customisations that have not been added this year: |
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* under "Places" there is a link to your files on the "fossd" FOSSD course server
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## FOSSD Lab Server
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A dedicated file server has been set up for the FOSSD course for 2014. This server has the DNS name "fossd.anu.edu.au" and is accessible from most anywhere on the Internet. You can log into this server from anywhere using Secure SHell (ssh), using your standard ANU UniID and associated password. Please do not run large (CPU-intensive) jobs on this machine as it will be used heavily during the course for backups etc.
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A dedicated file server has been set up for the FOSSD course for 2018. This server has the DNS name "fossd.anu.edu.au" and is accessible from most anywhere on the Internet. You can log into this server from anywhere using Secure SHell (ssh), using your standard ANU UniID and associated password. Please do not run large (CPU-intensive) jobs on this machine as it will be used heavily during the course for backups etc.
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Also, although this server has more or less unrestricted access to the Internet, please do not use this to run peer-to-peer applications (unless that is a part of your chosen Open Source project) or in any other way abuse access to this machine and it's Internet connection.
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## Backing up your work
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As a part of the Ubuntu Wily software image we have prepared for you, there is an icon on the desktop "Backup System". Double clicking on that icon will backup your entire system image (including any new packages you have installed and your home directory). You may be prompted for your password on the FOSSD lab server.
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As a part of the Ubuntu software image we have prepared for you, there is an icon on the desktop "Backup System". Double clicking on that icon will backup your entire system image (including any new packages you have installed and your home directory). You may be prompted for your password on the FOSSD lab server.
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## Restoring your environment
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In case of emergency, you can restore your system environment even when you are booted into the FOSSD system by running the following command in a terminal:
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| ... | ... | @@ -72,12 +72,12 @@ In summary, these are the commands you need to know: |
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You MUST backup your work regularly (using the "Backup System" icon on your desktop) as there is a possibility of hardware failure, software failure, accidental deletion and someone overwriting your encrypted filesystem. You have been warned (again!).
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## Technical Information
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The course will utilise the N115/N116 combined 40 place lab in the CSIT building. This lab has 40 machines each with 3.2GHz CORE i5 CPUs, 8GB RAM, a 500GB hard disk and a 24" LCD monitor (may be upgraded since last checked). The machines are networked onto a single VLAN with 1Gbps ethernet.
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The course will utilise the N111 19 place lab in the CSIT building. This lab has 40 machines each with 3.2GHz CORE i5 CPUs, 8GB RAM, a 500GB hard disk and a 24" LCD monitor (may be upgraded since last checked). The machines are networked onto a single VLAN with 1Gbps ethernet.
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The machines in the lab are normally used by CS courses with a software image based on Ubuntu Vivid (15.04) Linux (from July, 2015). The machines are set to "network boot" and obtain their software image from a lab server. This image is not suitable for use by this course as it does not allow students to add their own packages, nor to gain superuser access in normal use.
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The machines in the lab are normally used by CS courses with a software image based on Ubuntu Artful Aardvark (17.10) Linux (from October, 2017). The machines are set to "network boot" and obtain their software image from a lab server. This image is not suitable for use by this course as it does not allow students to add their own packages, nor to gain superuser access in normal use.
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The challenge has been to provide a lab environment where students can "own" the software installation on "their" machine in the lab, to be able to save that image to the course server and to be able to quickly restore it to another machine in the event of a hardware failure. We also need to be able to get the machines running with their normal image in a timely fashion as other classes will need to use the machines after the intensive part of our course is complete.
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To solve this requirement, we have set up an additional disk partition on each of the lab machines and set up additional network boot options to allow an encrypted filesystem on this partition to be the main (root) filesystem whilst the machines are being used by this course. The encrypted filesystem should prevent other lab users from accidentally or deliberately interfering with each FOSSD students setup.
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To speed up the installation for the first lab, we have pre-installed Ubuntu Wily, released in October, 2015, hence with release number 15.10. |
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\ No newline at end of file |
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To speed up the installation for the first lab, we have pre-installed Ubuntu 17.10. |
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\ No newline at end of file |
