VM Connections and Linux Commands

Connecting to VMs and X2Go

• To connect to VMs, use the port number provided.
• For USQ students, the username is your student ID after removing everything before the "@" symbol.
• X2Go can be downloaded following the link in the announcement.
• Wi-Fi connections may cause issues with connecting to the YesFi network.
• The exercises will be based on VM1.
• Ensure all items are correct based on the provided instructions.
• VM can be accessed in the browser.

Exercise 1.6: Software Upgrading and Installation

• Use sudo before install or update software, to gain root permission. If sudo doesn't work, switch to the root user directly using:
  • su root
  • The password is the initial password.
• Two commands are used: sudo apt update and sudo apt upgrade.
  • sudo apt update: Checks for updates (index update).
  • sudo apt upgrade: Upgrades the software itself.
• To stop a process, use Control + C.

Installing Software

• Command which <software-name> checks if a software is installed.
• If nothing is returned after using the "which" command, then the specified software is not installed.
• Install software using:
  • sudo apt install <software-name>
• Examples of software to install: tree, wget.

Exercise 1.7: Checking Processes

• ps -u $USER: Shows processes running for the current user.
• top: Lists users and their processes on the machine.

Exercise 1.8: Environment Variables

• Environment variables can be understood as global variables for the terminal session.
• Set an environment variable:
  • export <variable_name>=<value> (e.g., export cost_code=123)
• View the value of a variable with:
  • echo $<variable_name>

Exercise 1.9: Downloading Files with wget

• Use wget command to download a file.
• The file (GPL 3.0 text file) can be found in the PDF documents.
• Command Example:
  • wget <URL>

Exercise 1.10: Creating and Editing Text Files with vi or vim

• Use vi or vim to create or edit a text file:
  • vi <filename.txt>
• If the file exists, its content will be displayed; otherwise, a new file will be created.
• Press i to enter insert mode.
• To save and exit:
  • Press Esc to exit insert mode, type :wq and press Enter (write and quit).
• To discard changes:
  • Press Esc to exit insert mode, type :q! and press Enter (quit without saving).
• Using Nano text editor
  • nano <filename>
  • Use Ctrl + X to exit Nano. It will prompt to save the changes.

Installing a New System in Hyper-V and WSL

• In Hyper-V, you can install VMs from ISO files.
• In the Windows Store, search for "WSL" to find and install different Linux distributions like Debian.
• After downloading, the system can be set up with a username and password.