Bookmark this page

Orientation to the Classroom Environment

Figure 0.1: Classroom environment

In this course, the main computer system used for hands-on learning activities is workstation. The systems called bastion, classroom, and utility must always be running for proper use of the lab environment. Seven other machines are also used by students for these activities: servera, serverb, serverc, serverd, servere, controller, and satellite. All eleven of these systems are in the lab.example.com DNS domain.

All student computer systems have a standard user account, student, which has the student password. The root password on all student systems is redhat. The admin user password for Red Hat Satellite Server and for the automation controller is redhat.

Table 1. Classroom Machines

Machine nameIP addressesRole
workstation.lab.example.com172.25.250.254Graphical workstation used for system administration
servera.lab.example.com172.25.250.10Managed server "A"
serverb.lab.example.com172.25.250.11Managed server "B"
serverc.lab.example.com172.25.250.12Managed server "C"
serverd.lab.example.com172.25.250.13Managed server "D"
servere.lab.example.com172.25.250.16Managed server "E"
controller.lab.example.com172.25.250.14Automation controller
satellite.lab.example.com172.25.250.15Red Hat Satellite Server
utility.lab.example.com172.25.250.220Utility server

One additional function of workstation is that it acts as a router between the network that connects the student machines and the classroom network. If workstation is down, then other student machines will only be able to access systems on the student network.

Controlling Your Systems

You are assigned remote computers in a Red Hat Online Learning (ROLE) classroom. Self-paced courses are accessed through a web application that is hosted at . Log in to this site with your Red Hat Customer Portal user credentials.

Controlling the Virtual Machines

The virtual machines in your classroom environment are controlled through web page interface controls. The state of each classroom virtual machine is displayed on the Lab Environment tab.

Figure 0.2: An example course Lab Environment management page

Table 2. Machine States

Virtual machine stateDescription
buildingThe virtual machine is being created.
activeThe virtual machine is running and available. If it just started, it still might be starting services.
stoppedThe virtual machine is shut down. On starting, the virtual machine boots into the same state it was in before shutdown. The disk state is preserved.

Table 3. Classroom Actions

Button or actionDescription
CREATE Create the ROLE classroom. Creates and starts all the virtual machines that are needed for this classroom.
CREATING The ROLE classroom virtual machines are being created. Creation can take several minutes to complete.
DELETE Delete the ROLE classroom. Destroys all virtual machines in the classroom. All saved work on those systems' disks is lost.
START Start all virtual machines in the classroom.
STARTING All virtual machines in the classroom are starting.
STOP Stop all virtual machines in the classroom.

Table 4. Machine Actions

Button or actionDescription
OPEN CONSOLE Connect to the system console of the virtual machine in a new browser tab. You can log in directly to the virtual machine and run commands, when required. Normally, log in to the workstation virtual machine only, and from there, use ssh to connect to the other virtual machines.
ACTIONStart Start (power on) the virtual machine.
ACTIONShutdown Gracefully shut down the virtual machine, preserving disk contents.
ACTIONPower Off Forcefully shut down the virtual machine, while still preserving disk contents. This action is equivalent to removing the power from a physical machine.
ACTIONReset Forcefully shut down the virtual machine and reset associated storage to its initial state. All saved work on that system's disks is lost.

At the start of an exercise, if instructed to reset a single virtual machine node, click ACTIONReset for only that specific virtual machine.

At the start of an exercise, if instructed to reset all virtual machines, click ACTIONReset on every virtual machine in the list.

If you want to return the classroom environment to its original state at the start of the course, then click DELETE to remove the entire classroom environment. After the lab is deleted, then click CREATE to provision a new set of classroom systems.

Warning

The DELETE operation cannot be undone. All completed work in the classroom environment is lost.

The Auto-stop and Auto-destroy Timers

The Red Hat Online Learning enrollment entitles you to a set allotment of computer time. To help to conserve your allotted time, the ROLE classroom uses timers, which shut down or delete the classroom environment when the appropriate timer expires.

To adjust the timers, locate the two + buttons at the bottom of the course management page. Click the auto-stop + button to add another hour to the auto-stop timer. Click the auto-destroy + button to add another day to the auto-destroy timer. Auto-stop has a maximum of 11 hours, and auto-destroy has a maximum of 14 days. Be careful to keep the timers set while you are working, so that your environment is not unexpectedly shut down. Be careful not to set the timers unnecessarily high, which could waste your subscription time allotment.

Revision: rh415-9.2-a821299