CompSci 101, Fall 2018
VM

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OIT Online VM Container Notes

If you are having trouble with the VM, see our tips below. You can try posting your trouble on Piazza.

Two ways to use the VM

1. Click here to access the VM. Then click on Eclipse.

   This way you will use the VM over the internet. Your files will be stored in the Duke Cloud.

2. Click here to install a local VM on your machine.

   Then you can work offline and not depend on the internet. Your files will be on your own machine.

Troubleshooting Tips below including resizing your view

• You can only have one instance of the VM running at once. That includes all different browsers and different machines you regularly use. So we recommend you run the VM in a separate browser window with it as the ONLY tab. When you are done working on it for a while, we suggest you close that browser window just in case. Closing it in this way is like putting your machine to sleep, when you connect again it will be in the exact configuration you left it in.
• If you are having trouble connecting you can restart the VM.

  If this does not work then report it to OIT by filling out a help ticket or visit OIT in the Link.

• Please use the default workspace (eclipse-workspace). You can use other workspaces if necessary, but you may need to set up PyDev separately if your course uses Python.
• If you are on Windows 10, try the Microsoft Edge browser.
• Any files saved in Home Folder are backed up automatically. Any other changes made outside of that folder will not be.
• The first time you login to eclipse you will need to setup Python. We will also do this in lab so you can wait to lab to do it there.

• Click on File, then New, then Project
• Select PyDev, then Pydev Project
• Give the project a name, all one word with no blanks such as SampleProject
• You may need to autoConfig the interpreter if it asks you (or if the Next button is grayed out)
• Click Next and then Finish
• You should see the Python project on the left. It is ready for you to create a Python file.
• Your files are saved in Duke's cloud so you cannot access them directly. You will need to use Eclipse features like snarf and submit or GIT's pull and push to get files on to the VM for your projects (depending on what tools your course uses).
• If you need to resize the resolution of the VM because Eclipse does not fit within the noVNC window you can do it by the following steps:

  • Close Eclipse
  • Use the menu in the upper left corner that looks like a computer
  • Select Preferences -> Monitor Settings
  • Select a new size in the dialog that appears and click Apply
  • If the new settings are correct, select Okay before the question dialog disappears
  • Then click Save to save your changes

• To copy/paste within Eclipse, use Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V (like on Windows).
• To copy/paste from your local machine to the VM, copy/paste to the clipboard icon (shown below) in the upper right corner as usual for your OS, copy from the clipboard to Eclipse, try Ctrl-V within Eclipse. To copy from your VM to your local machine, again, copy to the VM clipboard first, then copy from the clipboard to your local machine.



• If your VM seems frozen, then try clicking at the top bar to see if that unfreezes it. If this happens a lot, try another browser. On Windows machines, try the Microsoft Edge browser.
• If when you click in the VM, the whole window seems to be colored (like it is selected) that is because sometimes the browser gets confused about the mouse focus and selects the noVNC pane itself. Click on the top of the noVNC pane (the light grey row where it says "Connected") to unselect it and things should go back to normal.
• The options under the Power icon in the top right corner do not do anything, you will not be able to restart your VM.