VCL

VCL is short for "Virtual Computing Lab." Duke University has set up several virtual computing lab images and they can be used to work remotely.

VCL and MATLAB

Using MATLAB over a wireless connection with port forwarding for X11 works great, right up until you need to hear the sounds MATLAB is making. In order to run a version of MATLAB that will also send sounds to your speaker, you will need to use a VCL that runs Windows in a window.

Using a Windows VCL and MATLAB

There are several steps to using a Windows VCL with the MATLAB distribution. The end result will be having a window open on your local computer in which a Windows7 distribution is running. The process is slightly more complicated than the Working from home steps there are some similarities. Duke has posted instructions at their Knowledge Database site for "How to use VCL." This includes listing the required software for opening a VCL as well as how to make a reservation. For MATLAB, the VCL to use is the "OIT Windows7 Lab Image."

Process Summary

Here is a summary of the process:

• Go to vcl.oit.duke.edu
• Click the "New Reservation" yellow tab at the top
• Pick the "OIT WIndows7 Lab Image" from the pull down box
• Pick a duration (might as well pick the longest)
• Click "Create Reservation"
  • Wait...you will be taken to the current reservations screen
• On the current reservations screen, once "Pending" becomes "Connect!" - click "Connect!"
• On the Connect! screen, click "Get RDP File"
  • Windows folks should run this with RDC, which should already be installed
  • Mac OS folks should run this with Remote Desktop Connection, which may need to be installed
  • Linux people should run this with rdesktop, which should already be installed
• Log in using your OIT credentials
• Behold the magic of Windows!

Accessing CIFS from MATLAB in Windows VCL

Your CIFS space - which is to say, ~ in your UNIX account - is mounted as drive Z:. If you run the MATLAB program on that Windows distribution:

Start -> All Programs -> Mathematics & Statistics -> MATLAB -> R2012a -> MATLAB R2012a

you can switch into your CIFS space by typing "cd Z:" in MATLAB's command window. You can use the UNIX cd and ls commands in the MATLAB command window to move around.

Using a Linux VCL and MATLAB

There are several steps to using a VCL with the MATLAB distribution. The process is slightly more complicated than the Working from home steps but they are similar. They are summarized here (for Windows, Mac, and Linux users) and the latter four are discussed in detail below.

• Install the appropriate software if need be. For Windows users, this means X-Win 32 and PuTTY; for Mac users, this means XQuartz; for Linux users - you're probably all good already...
• Windows only: Start X-Win 32
• Make a reservation at https://vcl.oit.duke.edu/
• Receive reservation confirmation, including the IP address of your virtual machine
• Connect to the virtual machine with X11 forwarding enabled
• Profit

Making a Reservation / Receiving Confirmation

• To make a reservation, point your browser to https://vcl.oit.duke.edu/, log in using your Duke credentials, and then select New Reservation
• Choose the "Linux Lab Base 2011" environment, Now, and a duration of 8 hours (might as well)
• Click "Create Reservation"

Receiving Confirmation

In a few seconds, you should receive an e-mail with your reservation confirmation and an IP address. Click on the link in the e-mail to visit the VCL page, select "Current Reservations" and then click the Connect button - if you do not do this, you might get disconnected early from your reservation.

Connecting to the Virtual Machine

• Start your terminal program (PuTTY or XQuartz terminal or a Linux terminal)
  • For PuTTY users, this part is a little more complicated. Follow the instructions on PuTTY#First_Time except use the IP address you received from the VCL instead of a Teer machine. You can save the session, too, but note that the next time you make a reservation, you will need to change the IP address. All you would need to do then is load the session, change the host address, and open the session.
  • For Mac users, follow the instructions on XQuartz#Creating_a_Remote_Connection except use the IP address you received from the VCL instead of a Teer machine.
  • For Linux users, open a terminal window and then follow the instructions on XQuartz#Creating_a_Remote_Connection except use the IP address you received from the VCL instead of a Teer machine.

You should now come to the command prompt for the virtual machine over which you have been given temporary dominion. Note that these virtual machines access your OIT space just like logging in to Teer machines would.

Profit

And by profit, I mean you can now run UNIX commands just like the good old days. Like

matlab &

will bring up MATLAB and typing

surfc(rand(20))

will actually work.

Questions

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