Lab:B209

B209 Fitzpatrick is a computer lab used by EGR 103, EGR 224, ECE 382, ME 131, and occasionally ME 141 and ME 160.

Specifications

• 49 networked Windows XP computers with acpub.duke.edu credential logins split up into 24 lab benches
• 1 instructor station Windows XP - equipped with a SMART Sympodium
• Projection system with screen
• WolfVision document camera
• 25 National Instruments NI PCI 6014e or NI PCI 6221 cards (one at instructor station, one per lab bench)
• 20 Circuit Specialists PBB 272 powered breadboards
• 20 Circuit Specialists MS8264 digital multimeters

Using the PCs to Run MATLAB Remotely

Here is the somewhat long-form of the log-in procedure:

1. Pick a PC
2. Log in using your OIT credentials, and make sure the login is set to win
3. Start the most recent version of X-Win 32 available - at least 2011 or 2012 on the PCs in B209 (i.e. NOT 6.x or 9.x). There may be a desktop shortcut or you may need to go into the Start menu to find the most recent version of X-Win.
   • If X-Win is asking you if you would like to scan for things, decline
   • If X-Win is asking you for a license option or says it is a demo mode:
     • Right click the X-Win icon at the extreme bottom right
     • Pick Help -> Activate license
     • In the activate license window, choose Activation Key
     • The activation key will be available on the computer screen at the front of the lab.
4. Once X-Win has started, hover the mouse over the X-Win icon at the bottom right - it should say you are using Display 0
   • If not, try the troubleshooting methods on the X-Win Troubleshooting page
5. Check Dr. G's Ping Results page to see which Teer machines are currently accepting connections.
6. Start PuTTY - first check to see if there is a "PuTTY With Config" icon on the desktop - if so use that since there will be several configurations already loaded. If not, start it from the Start button, this will either be in a PuTTY folder or the X-Win 6.x folder. Again - do not use the X-Win in the 6.x folder, just PuTTY.
   • If a session already exists for a Teer machine, you can try loading it by single-clicking its name and clicking the Load button. Make sure whomever made the session set X11 correctly:
     • Go to the Connection category in the navigation list at left, open the SSH option, and click X11 (for PuTTY version 0.6) or Tunnels (for PuTTY version 0.56, as there is no X11). Make sure the Enable X11 forwarding box is checked. If it is, great; if not, click it and then re-save that session:
       • In the category in the navigation list at left, go to the very top and select Session
       • Click save
   • If no sessions exist, see the the information on First-Time Use for PuTTY.
7. Use the saved session by double-clicking its name.
8. Once you have logged in, see if the Teer machine has reported any errors locking the .Xauthority file. If there is a message about an error locking the .Xauthority file, go to the PuTTY page regarding Xauthority_file_locking
9. Type

   xterm &
   

   (be sure to include the & at the end) to see if an x-terminal comes up.
   • If you have done everything correctly above and the terminal will not open, find a TA or the instructor.
   • If a window is asking you to allow connections, allow them.
   • If the xterm window comes up, you can now close it - but do not close the PuTTY window.
10. Type

    lpq
    

    to check the line printer queue - if there are no entries, you are set. If there is a list of files, the particular Teer machine to which you have connected is detached from the ePrint queue. If you are planning to print anything out, you will want to log into a different Teer machine.

Problems Logging In

• If xterm will not work and if the error is something about "error in locking authority file"

  Go to the PuTTY page regarding Xauthority_file_locking

• If x-win needs a license, use the Activation License option and note that the license will be on the screen in the front of the room.
• If your password doesn't work or matlab "doesn't exist,"

  try logging in to a different Teer machine

• If PuTTY claims that you cannot connect to localhost or some other graphical problem:
  1. Make sure the Teer machine did not complain about an error in locking authority file - if it did, see solution above.
  2. Make sure X-Win 32 is running.
  3. Hover over the X-Win icon to make sure it is Display 0 - if not, see the X-Win 32 page for troubleshooting.
  4. Exit PuTTY, restart it, load the session you tried to open, go to X11 or Tunneling in the Category, and make sure X11 was checked
  5. If none of that works, find a TA or the instructor.

Software

Partial list:

Specifically for EGR 103

• Acrobat reader
• ePrint
• MATLAB with toolboxes (esp. Simulink, data acquisition, controls)
  • Be sure shortcut has "Start In" of C:\Documents and Settings\mrglocal\My Documents\MATLAB
• Microsoft Office
• National Instruments Measurements and drivers
• National Instruments LabVIEW (as of Fall 2010)
• PuTTY (including configuration file to log in to Teer machines with X11 forwarding)
• SSH (including file transfer)
• X-Win 32

Other courses

• Logisim
• SolidWorks (ME 131 / 141 / 160)

Instructor Station

The instructor station includes several extra pieces of software. This includes:

• Software for document camera
• Novell client
• SMART Sympodium drivers
• SMART Notebook

Questions

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