Getting Started

You will need to configure two items:

  1. Create and link a GitHub account. This is where assignments will be released, as well as submitted.

  2. Configure a Unix development environment. This is needed to complete the assignments.

GitHub

We will be using GitHub to release assignments, as well as host other materials related to the course. You will also be submitting your assignments through GitHub, but to get started you just need to create your account and link it using the form in (3) below.

  1. Create a free GitHub account, if you do not already have one. You will need to register it with your official Cornell e-mail if you wish to complete step 2.

  2. Optional, but encouraged. Request a Student Developer Pack for your newly created account. Your school-issued e-mail is (usually) required for approval. This step is not necessary for this course, but it will enable you to have private repositories for other courses while still adhering to the Academic Integrity code.

  3. Provide me with with a mapping of your GitHub username to your Cornell NetID so that we know who you are on GitHub. Fill out this form after you have created your GitHub account. You have to be signed into your Cornell e-mail to fill out the form.

Unix Environment

To complete the assignments, you will need access to a Unix development environment. If you do not already have a native Unix installation, you will need to configure a “Virtual Machine (VM).” The short version is that a VM is just another application that your native operating system runs, where this application is another operating system. Think Inception.

Do I need a Virtual Machine?

Not everybody needs to setup a Virtual Machine.

  • If you are running Windows on your computer / tablet, the answer is yes.
  • If you are running Mac OSX, the answer is not necessarily. Mac OSX is a Unix-based operating system. Though I encourage you to configure one so you can play with Linux.
  • If you are using a Chromebook, then the answer is most likely not. Unfortunately, I do not have one and cannot confirm or deny.
  • If you are running some form of Linux already, then the answer is no.

Configuring the Virtual Machine (VM)

This part will take some time, for no other reason than you have to download some large files. We will be using VirtualBox, but if you have already paid for a different Virtual Machine software (e.g. VMWare), you should be able to use the .ova files I have prepared. I will not be able to provide you with instructions for configuring / tailoring this, though.

I have prepared two separate Virtual Machines for you to choose from: Fedora 23, and Ubuntu 15.10. If you don’t want to read any more, just download the Ubuntu 15.10 VM in step 2. The Options section and below explains a little more about what each choice is. You only need to choose one, but if you have a reasonable amount of space on your computer you may want to play with both.

Step 1: Install the Tools

Install VirtualBox.

  1. First, install the “VirtualBox platform” (this is the application).
  2. Next, install the “VirtualBox Extension Pack” (make sure you download the same version of the extension pack as you did the platform package).
ATTN: Windows 10 Users

Please download the latest version of VirtualBox from the website linked above (the one that shows up on the page will work). Windows 10 is not officially supported until v5.0 and higher. Installing a 4.x or lower version can have adverse affects, and can even lead to BSOD.

Step 2: Acquire the Virtual Machine

There are three places you can download your VM from, if you are on campus you should try the Cornell mirrors first as they will be significantly faster. If you live off campus, I encourage you to go to campus for this section. Cornell has very fast internet, in comparison to the rest of town.

If you are on Windows, you should compare the number of bytes listed in the size rather than GB. If they are the same, then you should have received the whole file. Windows and Unix systems don’t always agree on what a GB actually is.

Fedora 23 Hosts
File: cs2043-fedora.ova
Size: 2.2 GB (2196170240 bytes)
MD5:  4cffb9a8e02278c26610c1663d83d748
Download Mirrors:
Ubuntu 15.10 Hosts
File: cs2043-ubuntu.ova
Size: 1.88 GB (1876179456 bytes)
MD5:  a40301eb2f7d621821be0b05a2cf5b9a
Download Mirrors

Step 3: Install the Virtual Machine

What you just downloaded is an archive of a Virtual Machine (think of it like a .zip file). All you need to do is have VirtualBox extract it.

  1. Launch VirtualBox.
  2. From the menubar, choose “File->Import Appliance”.
  3. Navigate to where you downloaded the .ova file from step 2 and select it.
  4. Click continue.
  5. Check the box that says “Reinitialize the MAC address of all network cards.”
  6. Click import, and let VirtualBox take over.
No 64bit options?

If you are having this issue, then you need to enable something in the BIOS called “VT-x”. This exists to provide “security”, and is usually disabled by default. Matthew Lombana was nice enough to solve this on Piazza, and linked this article for the solution.

You can also search for “enable VT-x (insert computer model)” to find a solution. For example, if you had a Dell Inspiron, you would search for “enable VT-x Dell Inspiron (model number)”. Use the model number to get better results.

If your computer does not support VT-x, e-mail me immediately with your computer make and model. I may produce 32bit VMs if people are having trouble, but would prefer not to.

Lastly, be very careful in the BIOS. Do not change anything you do not need to, as this can produce adverse problems and may make it so that you cannot start your operating system (depending on what you did).

Step 4: Run it!

For both VMs, the username is student and the password is student. You are encouraged to change your password to something else.

Step 5: Customize the Virtual Machine

The VMs I made have very small demands to allow everybody to use them. Specifically, they use 1 core and only need 2048MB of RAM. Many of you will have plenty more available, I will cover in lecture how to configure this a little more.

Part 1: Configure VirtualBox (Both VMs)
Part 2: Install the Guest Additions for Fullscreen

Ubuntu

Fedora

Help! I can’t get a 64bit VM working

A couple of students have contacted me because they are having trouble getting the 64bit VMs working. Either because the BIOS is too confusing, your hardware isn’t cutting it, or possibly a couple of other reasons.

Download the Virtual Hard Drive

The description of the video in the next section has the same details, but for convenience I will paste them here. The video shows the download page, do be sure that you download the 32bit VirtualBox Virtual Hard Drive. Technically the VMWare one would work too, but I haven’t tested it.

The folks at OS Boxes have an image available for you here:

http://www.osboxes.org/ubuntu/#ubuntu-15_10-vbox

They used 7zip to compress it, so you will need to install something to extract the image.

Windows: just go to http://www.7-zip.org/ and download their installer.

Mac: there are quite a few, I suggest using Keka: http://www.kekaosx.com/en/

Now that you can uncompress 7z files, you should just be able to double-click it or possibly right-click and say “extract with Keka”, and in Windows I believe there is a new 7zip menu when you right click on things.

Setup the Virtual Machine in VirtualBox

Follow the video.

Customize the VM!

Refer back to step 5 to enable various items such as being able to plug in a USB stick or have real fullscreen enabled.

If I have time, I will create another page explaining the various things I installed / tweaked in the course VM.

Options

In this day and age there are a lot of different Linux distributions. Many of them are very similar, but the list grows out of various special needs for different organizations and platforms. In my experience, the two most commonly used “flavors” of Linux are Debian-based and RPM-based. From there, the general trend seems to be that

  • Most independent developers tend to use Debian-based (typically Ubuntu) Linux
    • Ubuntu is a common choice because it has a huge user-base, and therefore a lot of community support.
  • Corporations tend to use RPM-based Linux.

As such, I have prepared Virtual Machine for each category. Ubuntu is the obvious choice for Debian-based Linux, and I have chosen to provide Fedora as the RPM-based Linux choice. This article explains how Fedora, RHEL, and CentOS relate. I personally develop in both Mac OSX and Fedora, but I also have Ubuntu and Windows installed for compatibility testing.

Which one should I choose?

Well, it’s up to you…you’re more than welcome to try both, but you should not try and run them both at the same time!!! Both Virtual Machines should be stable enough for you to give them a test drive. If enough interest is demonstrated, we will cover how to install Linux natively on your computers near the end of the course. For convenience and ease, though, Virtual Machines are an effective way to “try before you buy”.

  • If you want things to “just work”, use Ubuntu. As stated above, this has the widest support.
  • If you are feeling adventerous, try Fedora. This distribution prides itself in being the “bleeding edge” – you will have access to many very new features. This does come at a price, as this makes the system less stable. This will not be as noticeable in Virtual Machine form, but must be disclaimed if you intend to install it natively.