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--- services:labtest:start [2025/02/24 09:38] – jas
+++ services:labtest:start [2025/10/14 18:04] (current) – jas
@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 In order to setup your labtest, login to an EECS system via [[https://remotelab.eecs.yorku.ca|remotelab]], then follow these instructions:
-Open a Terminal, then start Labtest Assistant (labtest command) and pass in the concatenation of your course number and section (eg. 7777A for EECS7777A) followed by a space and then a test version name (eg. labtest1).  For example, for course EECS7777A if you're having a test that you want to call labtest1:
+Open a Terminal (click "Activities" in the upper left corner, then click on "Terminal"), then start Labtest Assistant (labtest command) and pass in the concatenation of your course number and section (eg. 7777A for EECS7777A) followed by a space and then a test version name (eg. labtest1).  For example, for course EECS7777A if you're having a test that you want to call labtest1:
 <code>
@@ Line 53: / Line 53: @@
 </code>
-NOTE: The test version name can be whatever you choose.  In this case, we chose "labtest1".  Other names might be: labtest1-lab1, labtest1-lab2, midterm, final, or whatever other name you feel describes the purpose of the test.
+NOTE: The test version name can be whatever you choose.  In this case, we chose "labtest1".  Other names might be: labtest1-lab1, labtest1-lab2, midterm, final, or whatever other name you feel describes the purpose of the test.  Whatever name you choose, you will need to submit that exact name as part of your labtest booking.
 After you hit enter, this is what you will see:
@@ Line 84: / Line 84: @@
 </code>
-By default, the default start page for your labtest is called "index.html".   It will be opened in a GUI HTML editor.  This makes it easy for you to edit the start page whether or not you know HTML.  If you prefer to use the "vi" text editor, use the "edit" command instead of "gedit":
+By default, the default start page for your labtest is called "index.html".   It will be opened in a GUI HTML editor.  This makes it easy for you to edit the start page whether or not you know HTML.  If you prefer to use the "vi" text editor instead, use the "edit" command instead of "gedit":
 <code>
@@ Line 90: / Line 90: @@
 </code>
-Modify the default page, and add your own information such as your rules for the test, and links to other content.  Change the index.html file, and customize it for your test.  By default, index.html includes a link to the file "labtest.pdf".  This file is intended to contain your labtest questions in PDF format.  If you don't want to use this filename, you can change the name to whatever you like.
+Modify the default start page, and add your own information such as your rules for the test, and links to other content such as slides or documentation.  Change the index.html file, and customize it for your test.  By default, index.html includes a link to the file "labtest.pdf".  This file is intended to contain your labtest questions in PDF format.  If you don't want to use this filename, you can change the name to whatever you like.
-NOTE: If you're creating a labtest which points to an eClass quiz, you'll want to include a link to your quiz directly on this page.  It will look like this: https://eclass.yorku.ca/mod/quiz/view.php?id=12345 (you'll need to find the ID for your quiz)
+NOTE: If you're creating a labtest which points to an eClass quiz, you'll want to include a link to your quiz directly on this page.  It will look like this: https://eclass.yorku.ca/mod/quiz/view.php?id=12345 (you'll need to find the ID for your quiz by logging into eClass)
 After you finish editing index.html, save the file.
@@ Line 105: / Line 105: @@
 Put success.
 </code>
+You can also upload other files like slides, or documentation, and make that available to students in your test.
 Labtest Assistant will ensure that file permissions are setup correctly.
@@ Line 296: / Line 298: @@
 ====== Requesting Labtest Mode ======
-Each term, the technical team books a significant number of labtests.  Please help us to make the process more efficient by ensuring that your labtest booking request contains all the required information in the proper format.
+Each term, the technical team books a significant number of labtests for faculty.  Please help us to make the process more efficient by ensuring that your labtest booking request contains all the required information in the proper format.
 The **first time** in a term when you book a labtest for a course, please provide us with:
@@ Line 305: / Line 307: @@
   * EECS TA user IDs (they will be able to help students move between machines in a labtest) (eg. johns, alicez, aigha) (*)
-(*) Please make sure that you **only send us EECS user IDs** - not full names, not gmail, or other alternate email.  While EECS usernames should be the same as a users Passport York username, some TAs don't apply for an EECS account, and may not have one yet!  In this case, they won't be able to help your students move between machines during your test.  You can search for a users name [[https://webapp.eecs.yorku.ca/directory|here]] or by using the "finduser" command on our system (eg. finduser abc).  If you find that your TA doesn't have an EECS account, then please insist that they e-mail tech to request an account.  In this case, you can report their PPY username so that when their account is created, it will have access as an admin to your test.
+(*) Before submitting a list of users, **please read this carefully**: Please make sure that you **only send us EECS user IDs** - not full names, not gmail, or other alternate email.  While EECS usernames should be the same as a users Passport York username, some TAs may not have an EECS account yet.  In this case, they won't be able to help your students move between machines during your test.  When you submit a list of usernames, we add it to the booking **as is**.  We don't check the usernames for validity.  You can search for a users name [[https://webapp.eecs.yorku.ca/directory|here]] or by using the "finduser" command on our system (eg. finduser abc).
+If a TA does not have an account, the process for them to get an account depends on the user type:
+  * If your TA is an undergrad, and an EECS student taking an EECS course, and they don't already have an EECS account, kindly ask them to get one with [[https://webapp.eecs.yorku.ca/activ8|Activ8]].
+  * If your TA is an undergrad or grad that is not an EECS student, then **you** (**please not the student**) need to send an email to tech@eecs.yorku.ca with the following information:  (If the student emails us to request an account, we have to check with you which requires multiple emails.  If the request comes from you, we know it is legitimate.)
+    * Student Type: ugrad TA
+    * First name:
+    * Last name:
+    * Student ID:
+    * Passport York Login:
+  * If your TA is an EECS grad, and does not have an EECS account, then **they** need to email tech@eecs.yorku.ca with the following information:
+    * First name:
+    * Last name:
+    * Student ID:
+    * Degree: Msc/PhD
+    * Supervisor:
+    * Passport York login:
+Grad accounts will remain on our system for the duration of the students time in their programme at York.  Undergraduate temporary TA accounts will be deleted at the end of the term.
 For **subsequent** labtest bookings in your course, please always include in your booking:
@@ Line 433: / Line 454: @@
 After you have submitted your labtest booking, someone from tech will get back to you to confirm your booking.  If you don't get back a confirmation email from tech, then your session has **not** been booked.  You can check the labtest booking schedule [[http://www.eecs.yorku.ca/schedule/pcmode/|here]] at any time.
+===== Reserving Additional Lab Time for Accommodations =====
+You can now view the [[https://www.eecs.yorku.ca/schedule/lab|Lab Schedule]] online.  This includes all the lab bookings **AND** extra lab bookings (at the bottom).  If you need to book additional lab time outside of your lab session for accomodations, first consult the schedule and extra bookings to check for availability of extra time.  Ask tech to reserve that time for you.  Once a lab is reserved for your use, you can now use that additional block of time in your labtest booking request.
 If you have any questions about labtest booking, please e-mail the technical team.
@@ Line 1120: / Line 1145: @@
 eclass.yorku.ca/mod/quiz/summary.php
 eclass.yorku.ca/mod/quiz/review.php
+eclass.yorku.ca/mod/quiz/autosave
 </code>
@@ Line 1141: / Line 1167: @@
 <code>
-eclass.yorku.ca/mod/quiz?id=ID
+eclass.yorku.ca/mod/quiz/view.php?id=ID
 </code>
@@ Line 1178: / Line 1204: @@
 NOTES:
-  * If you are using all 3 of WSC105, WSC106, AND WSC108, use instead: 130.63.131.0/24
+  * If you are using all 3 of WSC105, WSC106, AND WSC108, use instead: 130.63.131.0/24 --- however, if you're only using say 1 of the labs, and use 130.63.131.0/24, then the other 2 labs will be able to access your quiz **outside** of labtest mode.
   * If you are testing in ltcloud, please ensure that you include both the IP range for the required lab followed by a comma followed by the ltcloud range.
-  * If your test is being conducted in several labs, you can join two IP ranges with a comma in between them.  Note though that if the number of IP ranges separated by commas exceeds 18, the IP restrictions will not function correctly due to an eClass bug.  Please consult with tech to test your IP range prior to your test.
+  * If your test is being conducted in several labs, you can join two IP ranges with a comma in between them.  Note though that if the number of IP ranges separated by commas exceeds around 14, the IP restrictions will not function correctly due to an eClass bug.  Please consult with tech to test your IP range prior to your test.
 ===== 6. Limit the Start and End Time of Your Quiz in eClass =====
@@ Line 1308: / Line 1334: @@
 \\
 WARNING: Before you can re-use the same secureq directory for another test, at a minimum, you must move any existing “secureq/map” directory out of the way. This directory contains files which track which question each of your students received on the test, and on what machine. This will limit which question they can receive on your new test, and on what machine they can work
+====== Labtest and Containers ======
+It may be helpful to some courses to use containers from within labtest.  This section will provide an example of downloading the latest Ubuntu image, modifying the image, and pushing the image to labtest.
+Download an Ubuntu image:
+<code>
+% podman pull ubuntu:latest
+</code>
+**NOTE:** Your EECS home directory has limited storage space and is on network storage.  **This is not ideal for working with containers.**  Faculty who have their own research servers or personal workstations can use this equipment to generate images, the result of which can be used in labtest.  Failing this, faculty can use /tmp space for **temporary** container development.  For more information, consult with tech.  For information on using containers in EECS click [[services:podman|here]].
+Start up the container from the ubuntu:latest image, and call it my-ubuntu:
+<code>
+% podman run -it --name my-ubuntu ubuntu:latest bash
+</code>
+Make changes -- in this case, we'll just add an empty file named "file", but you could install additional packages, add users or groups, and configure the system in any way you like:
+<code>
+# cd
+# touch file
+# exit
+</code>
+Now let's stop the container:
+<code>
+% podman stop my-ubuntu
+</code>
+Commit the changes in my-ubuntu container to my-new-ubuntu image:
+<code>
+% podman commit my-ubuntu my-new-ubuntu
+</code>
+Save the image to a tar file:
+<code>
+% podman save -o my-new-ubuntu.tar my-new-ubuntu
+</code>
+Place my-new-ubuntu.tar into ltinit directory in the course labtest web directory:
+In ltinit/labtest.sh we can load the image, start the container, and open up a Terminal window connected to the container:
+<code>
+podman load -i $HOME/ltinit/my-new-ubuntu.tar
+podman run -dit --name labtest my-new-ubuntu
+gnome-terminal -- podman exec -it labtest bash
+</code>
+Now, when the user logs in, the image is unpacked and loaded. Podman run starts the container.  Note the following options:
+  * -d runs it in the background (detached).
+  * -i keeps stdin open.
+  * -t allocates a pseudo-tty.
+  * --name labtest names the container labtest.
+  * my-new-ubuntu is the image used to create the container
+**NOTE:** Large container downloads with large multi lab labtests could result in performance issues since all users will be downloading the container on login.  In this case, discuss with tech how we could instead add the container to the course labtest web directory, then include an alias in the users .cshrc file which will download the image with curl or wget, load the image, and start the container.  As users will be doing this manually, and will be doing this at different times, the chance of performance issue is much less.
 ====== Labtest File Synchronization (ltsave) ======