Unix and the ElementK Virtual Machine

1. Unix Lab Hints
2. ElementK Unix Virtual Machine
3. Optional

• [Using the Linux VM on ElementK/iLab and Eclipse on Citrix] vs. [rolling your own]:
  • For the first two weeks, we will be using the ElementK Linux Virtual Machine for the UNIX/Linux labs. I would recommend using ElementK since installing your own distro of Linux could get complicated and we will not be doing any programming that requires compilation in this part of the course.
  • For the second part of the course (weeks 3-7), when we get into Java, we will use Citrix to access the Eclipse IDE. If you feel adventurous, you could also setup your own IDE development environment such as Eclipse, NetBeans, or the regular JDK to develop your programs on your own PC.
  • Using your own: In principle, you may use your own computer to complete the labs in this course. However, keep in mind, you would need to install a Linux distro for the first part and, for the second part, you would need to install the Java SDK and an IDE such as Eclipse. You will be on your own without support for any installation problems as well as for any troubleshooting problems. In addition, you need to provide the reports (e.g. source files and screenshots) in MS Word format regardless. Installing your own distro and/or Java development environment is certainly an excellent pedagogical tool but ONLY if you are willing to do your own support.
• Log into elementK first:
  • url: http://knowledge.elementk.com/
  • username: D# (with capital D)
  • password: year and month of your birthday (in the YYYYMM format) for Students and hire date for Instructors
• Launch the Unix Virtual Machine/PC (it's a RHEL VM). Detailed Login Instructions are provided here but an overview is also given directly below:
  • Provide your own email since it just sends an email reporting that you have accessed the system only. It doesn't report the results of your lab session.
  • Log into the Unix Virtual Machine/PC (it's a RHEL VM):

        User = root
        Password = password
        

    Please note: the password prompt does not echo the letters or asterisks as you type them in; so it might seem like nothing is being entered but you'll know if you entered it correctly after hitting Enter.
  • Note: The ElementK Virtual Machine might assign you a user number when you login so /root might not work for your home directory. A home directory then might be something like /home/share381/share381d (even though you login as user root).
  • Nota Bene: The 180 minutes is the total time you have available in the system to complete your lab assignment. You are allowed to go in and out as many times as you wish.
  • ElementK Labs' Time limits: Those who were unable to complete the ilab for parts 1 and 2 can login back after their 3 hours expire. The timer will simply start again.
• Deliverables/To Hand In:
  • There is a word document template in Doc Sharing to document the results (or partial results for long displays) for each command you execute; this file is called Lab_report_wk1.docx.
  • You don't need to type the complete results of the commands. Just enough to show me you executed the commands. If you can provide the same information using screen captures, that will be fine also.
  • Getting the output: One way is to take a screen-shot of the output by using your system's PRINT_SCREEN function.
  • For Example, for Windoze systems, you might be able to do this by selecting the output window and pressing the ALT and PRT SCRN buttons; this will place a copy of the screen in the clipboard and you can paste it into a Word document using Word's paste command.
  • Another way is to use the script command in Linux.
• Nota Bene: Please be careful of the following common Linux traps:
  1. Case is very important in Linux/Unix so please check the syntax and spelling if the shell interpreter gives you errors. Also, please note that it's sometimes hard to distinguish between a lower-case L ("ell") and the number 1; e.g., ls -l is LS -L (listed in upper-case to make the difference clear; actual commands are in lower-case), not 1s -1.
  2. Be very careful of spaces in your commands and paths. Paths rarely have spaces in them (at least when they're not escaped) and commands often need spaces in strategic points. So if a command is not working for you, please check the the spaces, in addition to the case and correct letter/symbol.
  3. Also, when you're given a prompt as # or $ or % or >, please remember that you don't have to type the prompt; the prompt is what you should see in the Unix shell as where you start typing your commands.

Lab-specific Hints

• For part 1 of Lab 1: The Texas.txt and fortunes.txt files under /root/Desktop have DOS-style CRLF line terminators, so finding text at the end of the line using grep might not work. You can use the dos2unix or dtox commands to convert the line endings before doing the exercise, if you like. E.g.,
  1. dtox msdosFormattedTextFile.txt > unixFormattedTextFile.txt
     or
     
  2. dos2unix msdosFormattedTextFile.txt > unixFormattedTextFile.txt
     or, for newer versions of dos2unix, you might need to use:
     
  3. dos2unix -n msdosFormattedTextFile.txt unixFormattedTextFile.txt
  • Nota Bene, if you're having difficulty finding these files, please do use the find command, as detailed just below here.

• For part 2 of Lab 1: The goal of part 2 is to help you learn how to navigate using shell commands in a Linux/Unix system. To do this you have to understand the Linux file system, how to type Linux paths, how to use the cd command (change directory command), how to use the ls command (list file command), and how to use the more command among many others. Things to remember include:
  • file paths use a forward slash like so /
  • cd will move you to a specific folder, you must specify the path
  • ls is used to list the files in a folder
  • more is used to display the contents of a file
  • The find command is used like this:

    find [PATH_TO_SEARCH] -iname [FILE_REGEX] [OPTIONS]
    

    So, as shown in the link, you might search for a file named foo.txt from the root of the Unix file system hierarchy by doing something like this:

    find / -iname "foo.txt" -print
    

    As a follow-up question: is there a way to search for both foo.txt and foos.txt with one regex?
  If you have never used the Command Line Interface (CLI) before, it will be a little frustrating at first as it's different from a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Ask questions as you go along and we'll all fill in the blanks for you!
• Deliverables for Lab 1: you should submit a single Word .doc/.docx file that contains:
  1. Part 1: The commands with results for Part 1 (using the template in DocSharing)
  2. Part 2: The location of Texas.txt along with your favourite line from that file
  3. Part 3: List the commands you found in the "Who's on what?" story
• For Part 3 of Lab 2:
  1. Create and run hello.c (questions to answer for yourself: what is hello.c? How do you create an executable version of it? How do you actually run the executable version in the shell?).
  2. Create and run hello2.c (I'd answer the same questions for this part as the previous one; namely: what is hello2.c? How do you create an executable version of it? How do you actually run the executable version in the shell?).
  3. Use shell redirection to provide input and control output.
  That's all that's required for this part of the simple C++ compilation/execution under Linux section of the lab.

Quick instructions on how to log into the elementK/iLab Unix Virtual Machine.

Nota Bene: if you wait till the weekend to do the lab, please be aware that you might experience significant performance degradation as a lot of students in other classes put off the lab until the last minute and the load on the Virtual Machine server increases exponentially over the weekend, as compared to during the week.

1. Log into ElementK/iLab first: http://knowledge.elementk.com/. You'll see the following screen:
   
   where you can login with your D-number and Birthdate (Hire date for instructors).
2. Once logged in, please go to the Catalog in order to launch the Unix Virtual Machine:
   
   You may choose any of the Comp328 Labs in order to get to the Unix Virtual Machine.
3. At the next screen, please click the Lab Content tab and you'll see the screen below:
   
   Next, please click the Access vLab button to launch the lab.
4. Next, you should see the login screen:
   
   Here, you have to enter the lab reviewer email. You may enter any email you like here and then click Next.
5. At this point, you should see the screen below:
   
   Now you're ready to click the START LAB NOW button.
6. Your lab will now start to initialize:
   
   Next, you'll see the image of a computer with the phrase Click on the diagram to start your Virtual Lab experience. Click the diagram and a new window should open up.
7. This new window will contain your new Unix Virtual Machine:
   
   You can log into this Unix Virtual Machine with the username root and password password.

Miscellaneous

#!/bin/sh
dir=$HOME/bankstatements/`date +'%Y%m%d'`
for x in grep -l "Bank Statement" $HOME/incoming/a*; do
mkdir -p $dir
mv $x $dir
done

Optional

• OPTIONAL: FTP'ing data to and from the RHEL VM.
  • You can do this from the RHEL VM or from your Windows/Mac Desktop:
    1. FTP root address: ftp://materials2.elementk.com/
    2. User Name field requirements: Students D# (including the "D" in the beginning)
    3. Password field requirements: This is the users entire last name with the first letter being capital, the ampersand (&), and then the last four digits of the students D#
    See the example below for a fictional user with a D# of D01234567 and a last name of "Lastname":
    
    If your last name has less than three characters, there will be a slight, non-standard variation from the format above. In this case, please contact the Help Desk at (877) 784-1997 and open a ticket so that they may send your ElementK FTP login info directly to you via email.
  • Steps to FTP from RHEL VM to the ElementK Knowledge HUB:
  • In the command line mode, enter gdm
  • Once the GUI comes up, enter root for user and password for password
  • Open the gftp application and enter:

    1. Host: materials2.elementk.com
    2. Port: 21
    3. UserID: Knowledge Hub User ID
    4. Password: Your Last name followed by the & symbol followed by the last four digits of KnowledgeHub user id. E.g., if your KnowledgeHub user id is D889977 and your name is Smith, your password would be Smith&9977.
    5. Hit the Enter button on the keyboard after entering your UserID and Password.
    6. In the left hand pane, navigate to the folder where the file resides.
    7. Drag the desired files from the folder in the left hand pane to the ftp folder (right hand pane).
  • Steps to FTP from ElmentK Knowledge HUB to your Windows/Mac Desktop:
  • Once you have completed all the lab objectives, go to ftp://materials2.elementk.com. Then in Windows Explorer go to Page → Open FTP site in Windows Explorer. A window will pop up and then you can right click on your file and copy to your desktop.