Table of contents
  1. Lab Server
  2. Usage
    1. Connect
      1. Connect Script
      2. Dependencies
      3. Configuration
      4. Connect CLI (SSH)
      5. Result
      6. Connect File System
      7. Result
      8. Connect GUI (VNC)
      9. VNC Client recommendation
      10. Sample Usage
      11. Connect With VSCode
    2. Net structure
      1. 🏛 WISC Net
        1. 🌐 CS Department Net
  3. Setup OS and environment
    1. Setup Script
      1. OS
        1. badgerrl / badgerrl2
        2. badgerrl3

Lab Server

Usage

Connect

https://www.notion.so/icons/follow_gray.svg For people new to this lab

  1. In the very first place, please ensure you have contact an administer to create your account.
  2. For Windows user, it’s highly recommended to use WSL2 and use Linux environment
  3. Connect Script is highly recommended
  4. The <XXX> in the following document are placeholders, please replace them as a whole, including the <>

Connect Script

Please first download this script connect-badgerrl.sh

Dependencies

On WSL, you can use cat /proc/version to check the version of WSL. On WSL2 you will see something like Linux version 5.15.90.1-microsoft-standard-WSL2

  • WSL1 (Not supported yet) 
    sudo apt install nautilus remmina tmux expect bc

    Possible work around:Start GUI on WSL1

  • Linux / WSL2 
    sudo apt install nautilus remmina tmux expect net-tools bc

  • OSX

    https://brew.sh/

    # Install brew
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

    # Install other packages
# Recommended
brew install tmux
# Optional (for mounting remote folder)
brew install --cask macfuse
brew install gromgit/fuse/sshfs

    For OSX (MacOS) Users
    Apple tighten their system plugin restriction in their recent OSX release, you can either

    1. Ignore this feature

    2. Follow this tutorial to enable system plugin

      • Enable system plugin

        1. Click the Apple menu and choose Shut Down.
        2. Press and hold the power button on your Mac until you see Loading Startup Options.

        3. Choose Options, then click Continue.

          macos-startup-options-with-gear-macintosh-hd.png

        4. Select your startup disk, then click Next.
        5. Type in your administrator password and click Continue.

        6. Click Utilities in the menu bar and choose Startup Security Utility.

          macos-startup-security-utility.png

        7. Select your boot disk and click Security Policy.

          macos-startup-security-policy.png

        8. Select the button next to Reduced Security.

          You can only select the first option (Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers)

          macos-startup-reduced-security.png

        9. Select the box next to Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers.
        10. Click OK.
        11. Click the user pop-up menu and choose your administrator account. Then type in the password and click OK.
        12. Click the Apple menu and choose Restart.

Configuration

Modify config variables in the script

  • Highly recommended for everyone
    • default_duo_device
    • default_remote_username Your account on lab server (e.g. alice2024)
    • default_remote_server_name Our lab computer doesn’t share storage, so it’s likely you prefer to work on one machine Just flip a coin and pick badgerrl or badgerrl2
  • If you prefer a specific ssh key
    • default_ssh_key Switch to your preferred key, for example id_ed25519. Don’t include the path or the .pub surfix Currently it doesn’t support keys outside your ~/.ssh folder PS: You can specify a non-existing key, the script will create it for you. If you also specify a password, it will use the password to encrypt the key
  • If you want a stable port to forward the sftp
    • default_sftp_port e.g. 6099 (pick one that won’t conflict with other service on your computer) If left to default, it will be picked randomly
  • If you are really lazy
    • cs_password The password of you CS account, used for automated Duo login
    • default_key_password The ssh key password

Connect CLI (SSH)

General case

./connect-badgerrl -t -u yuhao2024 -s badgerrl -p XXXXX -d 1

  • -t: ssh tunnel mode

  • -u: lab computer username (e.g. yuhao2024)

  • -s: lab computer hostname (server name)

  • -p: CS password

  • -d: Duo device

  • First Time login with pre-existing key

    Write id_rsa key to server video.mp4

    • -k: name of the existing key
    • -w: write key to server. just like ssh-copy-id

  • First Time login with a new key

    • -k: name of the new key
    • --key-password: the password used to encrypt the key (optional)
    • -w: write key to server. Not visible in the video but automatically enabled when you create a new key

    Generate rllab_key and write to server video.mp4

    You also need to specify the key and password in all login afterwards

Result

A tmux pseudo terminal will take control after running the command

ssh success tmux terminal.png

Connect File System 

./connect-badgerrl -m -u yuhao2024 -s badgerrl -p XXXXX -d 1
  • -m: sftp mount mode

Result

  • OSX A XXXMountPoint folder will appear under you home folder, your home folder on remote machine will be mount there As the linux symbolic link doesn’t work with this kind of mount, the Shared folder is mounted separately

    Successful mount video

  • Linux Your home folder on remote machine will appear on the side bar of nautilus (the file browser)

    linux-nautilus-sidebar

    Or you can find it under Other Locations -> Networks

    linux-other-locations

Connect GUI (VNC)

VNC is intended to be used exclusively with the physical screen

There would be a conflict between physical screen login in and VNC server login in.

Before starting a vncserver, ensure you logout from the physical screen

The following sample is on Linux OS

  1. First, ssh into your remote account

    ssh-login-command.png ssh-success-tmux-terminal-2.png

  2. Run Shared/start_vnc_server.sh

    start-vnc-server.png

  3. Watch the port the server is running on In the previous example it is 5960

  4. Exit the remote ssh shell

    The first time you run the script, it will show you the default VNC password (should be badgerrl) and the way to change it. Please remember, VNC password is an independent password

    vnc-initial-password-1.png vnc-initial-password-2.png

  5. Create a new ssh connection to forward the port, both -t and -m option should work

    1. -t
      ssh-tunnel-mode-connection.png

      After connection is established, **keep the terminal open**

    2. -m
      sftp-mount-mode-connection.png

      You can safely close the terminal

  6. [Optional] Check connect status

    • Linux/WSL2

      netstat -tuln | grep <port_number (e.g.5960)>

      check-port-connection-status.png

    • OSX

      netstat

  7. Connect with vnc client

    • TigerVNC Client (All Platform)

      tigervnc-client-setup-1.png

      tigervnc-client-setup-2.png

      The password is the VNC password you see / you set on the lab server

      tigervnc-client-setup-3.png

    • Remmina (Linux/WSL2)
      You can install the client on your machine
      Run remmina on command line

      remmina-client-setup-1.png remmina-client-setup-2.png

      Afterwards you can connect with one click

VNC Client recommendation

  • TigerVNC Client

    Minimum Lightweight VNC Client, no need to install

    Latest version (>1.12) might report:

    An unexpected error occurred when communicating with the server:
    No matching security types
    Attempt to reconnect?

    Solution: use stable version

    TigerVNC - Browse /stable/1.12.0 at SourceForge.net

  • Remmina
    Powerful VNC/RDP/SFTP Client preinstalled in most Linux distro
    Need manual installation on WSL2

Sample Usage

Connect With VSCode

VScode is nice, but we met many problems when trying to connect to lab server though vscode

Updated: Oct 6 2024

  1. Windows:

    SSH connection doesn’t work

    Problem: Cannot install vscode-server extension

    • Use Tunneling:

    Windows VScode tunnel connection video.mp4

  2. MacOS (OSX):

    1. Latest version of vscode

      SSH/Tunneling both works fine

      SSH: BE AS FAST AS YOU CAN WHEN LOGGING IN (Password + Duo)

    2. Old version of VScode (indicated by No Tunneling functionality / Only have SSH option)

      Ben buy a new computer, Currently nobody is in this situation

      Currently there’s no way to connect to the lab server

      Problems:

      1. Infinite login prompt
      2. Cannot install extension

  3. Linux (Ubuntu)

    SSH/Tunneling both works fine

    SSH: BE AS FAST AS YOU CAN WHEN LOGGING IN (Password + Duo)

Net structure

🏛 WISC Net

WISC VPN brings you here

🌐 CS Department Net

CS Department VPN bring you here (Only professor have it)

  • CS Lab machines

    You can login to these machines at best-linux.cs.wisc.edu from WISC Net through ssh with you CS account and password. It’s the only way to bring you into CS Department Net.

    ssh target: <NetID>@best-linux.cs.wisc.edu

  • badgerrl at 128.105.102.51

    Your account name should be: <your_first_name(all lower case)> e.g. firstname2024 for name: “FirstName LastName”

    • SPL_WISC (Robot Lab Net)

      Nao Robots nao@10.0.52.<robot number>

  • badgerrl2 at 128.105.102.54

Setup OS and environment

🔑 This section is for administers only

Setup Script

setup.sh

Simply runs it and it will prompt for each change it make. If @Yuhao Li is still in the Lab, please contact him

OS

badgerrl / badgerrl2

badgerrl3