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160 lines
9.4 KiB
HTML
160 lines
9.4 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE html>
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<html>
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<head>
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<title>CUCC Expedition Handbook: Expo computer</title>
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<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../css/main2.css" />
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</head>
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<body>
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<h2 id="tophead">CUCC Expedition Handbook</h2>
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<style>figure {font-weight: bold; font-size: small; font-family: sans-serif;font-variant-caps: small-caps;}</style>
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<h1>Expo computing setup</h1>
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<div align=center>
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<p>If the internet is not working, the <b>first thing to check</b> is that<br>the black WiFi antennae are
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still upright and have not been knocked sideways.
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</div>
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<br>
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<p>Since 2018 we now have proper internet access in the tatty hut so the set-up on expo is exactly the same
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as the rest of the year. An <em>Expo laptop</em> is also provided, but you should be
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able to use your own computer in exactly the same way (if you brought one) as you do at home.</p>
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<p>We have our own WiFi ("tattyhut" and usual cavey:beery password) which is connected (deviously)
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to the Gasthof campsite WiFi. So please don't stream video or do a lot of operating system updates using it
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as the Gasthof is probably paying per GB to their supplier.
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<h3>Two WiFi systems</h3>
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<p>Our own Wifi only works very close to the tatty hut. If you are camped over the road near the Gasthof you
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will need to use the Gasthof WiFi 'staudnwirt'. This takes you to a login page on a web browser and it will
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log you out if you stop using it or whenever it thinks you have been on too long. Get instructions from the
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Gasthof campsite reception.
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<h3>Nerding</h3>
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<div class="onright">
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<figure>
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<a href="/years/2018/training-weekends.html#nerding"><img width= 250 src="/years/2018/blogimages/emzyUBQm.jpg"></a>
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<br><figcaption>Training weekend laptop in 2018</figcaption></figure>
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</div>
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<p>Expo now requires so much nerding that it is part of <a href="/years/2018/training-weekends.html#nerding">the pre-expo training</a>.
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<h3>Expo laptop</h3>
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<p>The <em>Expo laptop</em> in the tatty hut is a 2011 Dell Latitude E4200 laptop (on loan from Philip
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Sargent) which is connected to the router by a cable and also by WiFi
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(it's wifi configuration was fixed by Sam in 2019). It
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also has an external numberpad as a couple of vital keys are dead
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(e.g. down-arrow). It runs Linux (Debian[Cinnamon]) and has installed all the software
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for talking to the server for:
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<div class="onright">
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<figure>
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<a href="/piclinks/typing.htm"><img src="/images/typing.jpg"></a>
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<br><figcaption>Basecamp computer in 1991 - in the old potato hut</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<ul>
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<li>Typing in survey data
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<li>Uploading survey data
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<li>Uploading photos and GPS tracks
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<li>Reading this Handbook
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</ul>
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<p>Any laptop or phone can connect to the server via the "tattyhut" WiFi and,
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with some configuration, can be set up to do all those things too. New expoers
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are advised to use the <em>Expo laptop</em> first to see how it all works.</p>
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<p>The laptop is usually connected to an extra LCD screen so that you can see surveys more easily as the laptop itself is small.
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<p>For experienced expo surveyers the <em>Expo laptop</em> is also set up to use the version control system to
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synchronise cave data. New expoers should use the web forms, which work from any browser on any laptop. You can
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configure your own laptop to do bulk upload of many files and manage the version control yourself, but
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initially it is easier to use the <em>Expo laptop</em> as the software is already set up (cryptographic key
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exchange etc. is pre-configured). See the <a href="computing/basiclaptop.html">Basic Expo Laptop</a> for info
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on how to do that.</p>
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<P>Through the miracle of the distributed version control system, everyone can edit the
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data on multiple laptops at the same time and it should all get merged.</p>
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<p>At the end of expo we don't need to bring the <em>Expo laptop</em> back back to the UK
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(though we will, as we will want to do operating system updates during the year and maybe fix that keyboard) as all the caving data updates are continuously
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synchronised with the public server expo.survex.com during the expo.</p>
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<h3>Printing and Scanning</h3>
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We have A4 printer and scanner attached via usb cables and a usb hub to the <em>Expo laptop</em>.
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In 2018 we also connected the printer to the router with an ethernet cable and this made things more reliable.
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Configuring the scanner to be used via WiFi is yet to be done, but the printer is "shared" by the
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<em>Expo laptop</em> and so canbe used by any laptop. (The printer has WiFi itself and so should be useable
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directly but we haven't got this configured properly yet.) Use a usb stick to transfer files for printing
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if you can't get your own laptop or phone to work with the printer.
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<h3>The Expo Laptops: Crowley's Friend: Aziraphale</h3>
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<p>The <i>expo laptop</i> is called "Crowley". Crowley was rather too ill to be useful during the 2022 expo (being left in the potato hut for 3 years was not a healthy experience) but is now feeling much better... apart from the WiFi which died in typical fashion just 10 minutes before a training session.
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<p>In 2023 we will have another general-use laptop (it was also on expo in 2019). This is not connected by any cabling and just uses WiFi. Like the <i>expo laptop</i> it is running Debian and has the same set of software installed
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(survex/aven, tunnelx, therion, git etc.) and you login to it using the username "expo" and the usual cavey:beery password. It has the [Wayland] window manager, so looks a bit different to the [Cinnamon] desktop on Crowley. It is an R61 14-inch Thinkpad on loan from Michael Sargent and it is called "Aziraphale". Azirophale has a big enough solid-state drive (128GB, new for 2023) to hold <var>/expofiles/</var> (but note that Azirophale's SD code slot doesn't work).
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<p>Both laptops have had RAM upgrades and solid-state disc upgrades over winter 2022/23.
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<h3>Networking Hardware - experts only</h3>
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<p>The networking hardware is an Acer Aspire netbook which keeps us logged in to the Gasthof and does firewalling
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to provide local connectivity and local WiFi. The antenna which we use to connect to the Staudnwirt WiFi
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is a dual antenna WiFi tiny black box on a small shelf high above the sink/stove area and connected via a usb cable to the tiny dark-blue Acer netbook 'tclaspire3'. In 2023 there will be no separate router: routing is will all be done by this Acer notebook [PENDING CORRECTION/UPDATE].</p>
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<div class="onright">
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<figure>
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<a href="computing/potato-hut-network.jpg"><img src="computing/potato-hut-network-small.jpg"></a>
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<br><figcaption>Hut Network - click to enlarge</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p>The potato hut WiFi is running DHCP and allocating IP addresses of the form 192.168.1.x where x is a number between 11 and 99 .
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<p>The <em>Expo laptops</em> have a dynamic local address of this form, as does any other laptop connecting to this WiFi.
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<p>The Acer Aspire netbook ("tclaspire3") is on a static address <a href="http://192.168.1.100/">192.168.1.100</a>.
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<p>The Gasthof WiFi - which you can still use - is "StaudnGast" and has no WiFi password but there is a login webpage. It allocates IP addresses in the range
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192.168.2.x etc. The antenna is now on the first-floor balcony within
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sight of the tatty hut window.
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<p>The Acer Aspire is on 192.168.1.100 on WiFi.
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This is the address to use for configuring it using ssh when everything else has failed. So to manage the
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connection to the Gasthof WiFi you would use
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<pre>
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ssh expo@192.168.200.100
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</pre>
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to run Mark Shinwell's script (re-edited by Sam 2019)
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<pre>/root/fakenet/runfakenet
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</pre>
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This typically needs to be run once or twice a day when the internet stops working.
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Sometimes you have to walk over to the blue Acer Aspire netbook and run this script directly by typing on its keyboard
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as the network has collapsed so badly that <span style="font-family:monospace">ssh</span> doesn't work.
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<p>The Acer netbook needs to have its persistent networking set up correctly <i>in addition to the script</i>. This is the
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<b>wicd</b> gui program that has an icon in the top-right of the sceen in the system panel. (Or search in all applications in the Internet section
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for the wicd application). Set the checkboxes so that the Acer does connect to any network except the Staudingast wifi network,
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and also tick the 'automatica;lly reconnect' checkbox for the "StaudnGast" network.
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<h3>Historical Note</h3>
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<p>Prior to 2018 we used to run an unconnected local network with our own DNS domain
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name "potato.hut", our own server holding all the website and survey data, and published WiFi as SSID "tattyhut".
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Updates to the rest of the world were done by taking an up-to-date laptop which had been in
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the tatty hut to a real internet connection and
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pushing the changes to the distributed version control system on
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<span style="font-family:monospace">expo.survex.com</span> to be merged.
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</p>
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<p>In 2017 the hard-drive on our server died which triggered the general reconfiguration
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to connect the tattyhut to the internet continuously and not to have our own local server. This coincides with
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a much-improved WiFi service at the Gasthof in recent years.
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<p>In 2018 and 2019 we had good Internet access at basecamp, but the router was returned to its owner and in 2022 Wifi reception from the gasthaus was poor. A new Wifi device (not a router, just a dual-antennae receiver) is to be used in 2023, pending configuration with the acer aspire laptop, wich we hope will improve everything to how it was in 2019.
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<hr />
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Go on to: <a href="computing/onlinesystems.html">Expo online systems</a><br />
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<hr /></body></body></html>
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