CS accounts - Revision history

Jkinne at 22:29, 4 June 2026

2026-06-04T22:29:11Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 22:29, 4 June 2026
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	This page gives information about logging into and using the CS server (cs.indstate.edu). For help about getting started with using the terminal once you can login, see [[Linux and CS Systems - Getting Started]].		This page gives information about logging into and using the CS server (cs.indstate.edu). For help about getting started with using the terminal once you can login, see [[Linux and CS Systems - Getting Started]]. For more about getting started with programming in general for CS courses, see [[Programming and CS - Getting Started]].

	=Logging In=		=Logging In=

Jkinne: /* Spring 2026 */

2026-06-03T02:02:42Z

Spring 2026

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:02, 3 June 2026
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	=Spring 2026=		=Spring 2026=
	The following is the list of courses that are supported on the server for the ~~fall 2025~~, along with the instructor accounts (aka admin accounts) for each course.		The following is the list of courses that are supported on the server for the 2026 spring, along with the instructor accounts (aka admin accounts) for each course.
	<pre>		<pre>
	course,admin_accounts		course,admin_accounts

Jkinne: /* Assignments */

2026-06-03T02:00:23Z

Assignments

← Older revision		Revision as of 02:00, 3 June 2026
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	An instructor can collect an assignment by running the script <code>hw_collect.py</code>. For the above example, the instructor would run: <code>hw_collect.py cs151 h7</code>. This will go into each student in the course's <code>cs151</code> directory and copy their h7 directory into <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code>. There will be a new directory in that submissions directory for the date and time the submissions were collected. For example, if the user jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu is in the cs151 course, then the contents of <code>/home/jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu/h7/</code> will be copied into the submission directory (inside of <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code>). The directory <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code> will have a symbolic link <code>latest</code> that is a pointer to the latest submission.		An instructor can collect an assignment by running the script <code>hw_collect.py</code>. For the above example, the instructor would run: <code>hw_collect.py cs151 h7</code>. This will go into each student in the course's <code>cs151</code> directory and copy their h7 directory into <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code>. There will be a new directory in that submissions directory for the date and time the submissions were collected. For example, if the user jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu is in the cs151 course, then the contents of <code>/home/jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu/h7/</code> will be copied into the submission directory (inside of <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code>). The directory <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code> will have a symbolic link <code>latest</code> that is a pointer to the latest submission.

	There is a system in place that can be used for auto-checking the output of student programs. The instructor creates a file <code>.tests.json</code> inside of the assignment directory that has the test cases. The instructor will also need to create a correct working version of each program that can be run to get the "correct" results. The students will use the <code>hw_check.py</code> command to check their output. The instructor can also use the same ~~comment~~ to check student submissions. You can get more details about how this works by logging into the system and running: <code>hw_check.py --help</code>.		There is a system in place that can be used for auto-checking the output of student programs. The instructor creates a file <code>.tests.json</code> inside of the assignment directory that has the test cases. The instructor will also need to create a correct working version of each program that can be run to get the "correct" results. The students will use the <code>hw_check.py</code> command to check their output. The instructor can also use the same command to check student submissions. You can get more details about how this works by logging into the system and running: <code>hw_check.py --help</code>.

	=Websites / Webservers=		=Websites / Webservers=

Jkinne: /* Assignments */

2026-06-03T01:58:20Z

Assignments

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:58, 3 June 2026
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	When the new semester starts (if the course is running in the new semester), the following in the <code>~/private</code> directory will be updated to be for the new term: classlist_brief.csv, classlist_full.csv, students directory (symbolic links to new semester's students).		When the new semester starts (if the course is running in the new semester), the following in the <code>~/private</code> directory will be updated to be for the new term: classlist_brief.csv, classlist_full.csv, students directory (symbolic links to new semester's students).

	=Assignments=		==Assignments==
	Any directory within the course account can be used as an assignment. For example, suppose the account <code>cs151</code> contains a directory <code>h7</code>. This directory might have files for the students to use on the assignment; they can view these files by going to the directory <code>/home/cs151/h7/</code>.		Any directory within the course account can be used as an assignment. For example, suppose the account <code>cs151</code> contains a directory <code>h7</code>. This directory might have files for the students to use on the assignment; they can view these files by going to the directory <code>/home/cs151/h7/</code>.

Jkinne: /* Websites / Webservers */

2026-06-03T01:57:53Z

Websites / Webservers

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:57, 3 June 2026
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	When the new semester starts (if the course is running in the new semester), the following in the <code>~/private</code> directory will be updated to be for the new term: classlist_brief.csv, classlist_full.csv, students directory (symbolic links to new semester's students).		When the new semester starts (if the course is running in the new semester), the following in the <code>~/private</code> directory will be updated to be for the new term: classlist_brief.csv, classlist_full.csv, students directory (symbolic links to new semester's students).

			=Assignments=
			Any directory within the course account can be used as an assignment. For example, suppose the account <code>cs151</code> contains a directory <code>h7</code>. This directory might have files for the students to use on the assignment; they can view these files by going to the directory <code>/home/cs151/h7/</code>.

			A student can "checkout" or "get" an assignment by running
			<pre>hw_get.py cs151 h7</pre>
			This will copy the <code>h7</code> directory that is in the <code>cs151</code> account into the <code>cs151</code> directory of the user that executes the command.

			An instructor can collect an assignment by running the script <code>hw_collect.py</code>. For the above example, the instructor would run: <code>hw_collect.py cs151 h7</code>. This will go into each student in the course's <code>cs151</code> directory and copy their h7 directory into <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code>. There will be a new directory in that submissions directory for the date and time the submissions were collected. For example, if the user jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu is in the cs151 course, then the contents of <code>/home/jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu/h7/</code> will be copied into the submission directory (inside of <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code>). The directory <code>/home/cs151/private/submissions/h7/</code> will have a symbolic link <code>latest</code> that is a pointer to the latest submission.

			There is a system in place that can be used for auto-checking the output of student programs. The instructor creates a file <code>.tests.json</code> inside of the assignment directory that has the test cases. The instructor will also need to create a correct working version of each program that can be run to get the "correct" results. The students will use the <code>hw_check.py</code> command to check their output. The instructor can also use the same comment to check student submissions. You can get more details about how this works by logging into the system and running: <code>hw_check.py --help</code>.

	=Websites / Webservers=		=Websites / Webservers=

Jkinne: /* Assignments */

2026-06-03T01:57:30Z

Assignments

@@ Line 78: / Line 78: @@
 ==Node, Django, etc.==
 Node, Django, and many other web server frameworks can also be run off of the CS server. These generally will pick a port that they will run off of, and you run the main file for your server. Note that the Apache web server uses the "standard" ports (80 for http and 443 for https), so you cannot use those. If you want to run a Node, Django, or similar web server off of the CS server, you need to pick a port that isn't used for anything else. You should never pick a port number that is below 1024 and really should avoid port numbers below 10000. If you want to make sure to pick a port that will not interfere with anything, write to root@cs.indstate.edu. If you were to run your node web server with port 60000, then you would browse to it on the web at https://cs.indstate.edu:60000. Note that there is indeed normally a node server running on that particular port.
 =Spring 2026=

Jkinne: /* Course Account - Instructor Private Files */

2026-06-03T01:56:19Z

Course Account - Instructor Private Files

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:56, 3 June 2026
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	Inside the <code>~/private/</code> directory of the course account, there is also a <code>students</code> directory that has symbolic links to each of the student's course directories in the course. For example, if the course is cs151, and if the user jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu is a student in the course, then there will be a link <code>/home/cs151/private/students/jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu</code> that is a link to the cs151 directory for this student (<code>/home/jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu/cs151/</code>). The instructor for the course can quickly get into the students' directories for the course (but not their home directory) by going to the private/students/ directory and going from there.		Inside the <code>~/private/</code> directory of the course account, there is also a <code>students</code> directory that has symbolic links to each of the student's course directories in the course. For example, if the course is cs151, and if the user jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu is a student in the course, then there will be a link <code>/home/cs151/private/students/jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu</code> that is a link to the cs151 directory for this student (<code>/home/jdoe12345@isuad.indstate.edu/cs151/</code>). The instructor for the course can quickly get into the students' directories for the course (but not their home directory) by going to the private/students/ directory and going from there.

	The accounts for the instructors of the course are set so they can sudo as the course account. If the instructor of CS 151 uses the local account <code>jkinne</code> then this user can run the following command to get a shell running as the CS 151 course account: <code>sudo -u cs151 -i</code>		The accounts for the instructors of the course are set so they can sudo as the course account. If the instructor of CS 151 uses the local account <code>jkinne</code> then this user can run the following command to get a shell running as the CS 151 course account: <code>sudo -u cs151 -i</code>.
	Note that this only works for local accounts, and does not work for ISU Portal accounts (it might work for the jkinne local account but not for the jkinne@isuad.indstate.edu account).		Note that this only works for local accounts, and does not work for ISU Portal accounts (it might work for the jkinne local account but not for the jkinne@isuad.indstate.edu account).

Jkinne: /* Student Use and Course Account */

2026-06-03T01:53:02Z

Student Use and Course Account

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:53, 3 June 2026
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	=Student Use and Course Account=		=Student Use and Course Account=
	For courses that are currently being offered, if the course uses the server, a class account is created that the instructor of the course can use if they like. This is explained with two examples: CS 151 Intro to Computer Science, and CS 473/573 Computer Networks.		For courses that are currently being offered, if the course uses the server, a class account is created that the instructor of the course can use if they like. This is explained in this section with two examples: CS 151 Intro to Computer Science, and CS 473/573 Computer Networks.

	==Course Account==		==Course Account==

Jkinne: /* Inactivity */

2026-06-03T01:52:22Z

Inactivity

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:52, 3 June 2026
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	== Inactivity ==		== Inactivity ==
	Accounts that are not used for a period of 6 months will likely be locked as a security precaution. You can write to root@cs.indstate.edu to ask to have your account unlocked again.		Accounts that are not used for a period of 6 months will likely be locked as a security precaution. You can write to root@cs.indstate.edu to ask to have your account unlocked again.


	=Student Use and Course Account=		=Student Use and Course Account=

Jkinne: /* SSH Key */

2026-06-03T01:52:02Z

SSH Key

← Older revision		Revision as of 01:52, 3 June 2026
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	ssh-keygen # create keys for logging in		ssh-keygen # create keys for logging in
	</pre>		</pre>
	You will then transfer the private key file (the one that does not end in .pub) to your local computer in the location for ssh keys.		You will then transfer the private key file (the one that does not end in .pub) to your local computer in the location for ssh keys. This varies depending on your operating system. On Linux and Mac OS, it will be in <code>~/.ssh</code>.

	= CS Server Policies =		= CS Server Policies =