Reference no: EM133085845
ITECH1102 Networking and Security - Federation University Australia
Objectives
• Learn to run Linux Lite under VirtualBox
• Investigate Linux Lite Graphical User Interface (GUI)
Introduction
• Linux Lite is a Linux distribution based on the Ubuntu Linux.
• The GUI on Linux Lite has some similarities to Windows operating systems.
• The distribution used in ITECH1102 labs has a few small changes to provide seamless operations in our lab sessions. These changes include some firewall settings, updates to a command line text editor, and automatic running of some processes during booting.
• Throughout the semester, we will use Linux Lite to investigate and administer network settings and capture and analyse network traffic.
• This week's lab is to familiarise students with the Linux Lite GUI and some applications.
Running VirtualBox
• Folder C:\VBoxImages\ (shown below) contains an image of Linux Lite.
• The disk image (.vdi) of Linux Lite is quite large. The Linux Lite lab image is setup as an Immutable (read only) image to enable students to refresh the operating system image prior to the start a lab session.
• The functions of three batch files in C:\VBoxImages\ folder are:
o RefreshImages.bat: This file will delete temporary VirtualBox files associated with the last VirtualBox session. This will reset the images to their installation state.
o vb.bat: This file will configure the VirtualBox interface with appropriate configuration and network settings for each virtual operating system.
o createvm.bat: This file is used by vb.bat during the setup process.
• To set the virtual operating system to its installation state, run (double click) the RefreshImages.bat file. Note-The VirtualBox interface and all associated VirtualBox processes must not be running when RefreashImages.bat is running otherwise the refresh will fail.
Task 1
• Open Windows explorer
• Navigate to C:\VBoxImages\
• Double click RefreshImages.bat
• Double click vb.bat
• You should see the VirtualBox interface on your computer screen as shown below.
• The left-hand pane shows the Linux Lite virtual operating system.
• The right-hand pane shows the virtual hardware settings of currently selected virtual machine.
• Click the start (green arrow) to run Linux Lite virtual machine.
• You should see the Linux Lite GUI display as shown below.
• The passwords for user1 and user2 are user1pw and user2pw, respectively.
• Enter the password for user1 to login to Linux Lite.
• The top left-hand corner has an icon to the Linux Lite help manual.
• Double click the help manual icon.
• This will run Firefox and display the Linux Lite manual.
• This web site will help you learning how to configure and use Linux Lite.
• In the bottom left-hand corner of the screen, there is a set of icons primarily used to run applications.
• The three icons on the right run the following programs:
o FireFox
o Thunar (which is a file manger much like windows explorer)
o Terminal
• The Menu icon invokes the screen shown below. As you can see, the office category of applications has office productivity tools for word, excel, and powerpoint. These are LibreOffice equivalents to Microsoft Office.
• Other categories of applications can be selected from left-hand pane.
• Try selecting system to observe applications associated with system category, then select multimedia and the Internet.
• You should now have a good feel for GUI applications that are a part of the basic Linux Lite distribution.
• In the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, there are a few more icons. These allow the following.
o To setup multiple desktop workspaces
o Observe network settings
o Change speaker volume and microphone levels
o Observe time and date
• To configure extra desktop workspaces, do the following.
o Right click on one of the two workspace boxes (in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen)
o Select workspace settings
o Change the number of workspaces to 6
Task 2 - Gain Some Familiarity with Linux Applications
• Linux calculator allows conversions between the four number systems discussed in Topic 1.
• Run the calculator.
o Menu -> Accessories -> Calculator -> View -> Scientific mode.
o Enter the hexadecimal number 0x2A and convert it to the other three number systems.
o Determine control sequences from keyboard to do each conversion.
• Run the text editor.
o Menu -> Accessories -> Text editor (This program is like notepad on windows).
o Create a file with 4-5 lines of text.
• Run LibreOffice writer.
• Create a file with different types of formatting including different fonts with different sizes and representations like bold, Italic, etc.
• Copy the text to the text editor program to see the effects.
• Try the other two Office Products to create a 3 slides presentation and a small spreadsheet.
Configuring the Desktop
Changing the Desktop on Workspace #1
• Click on the first workspace icon (left most icon) in the Linux panel (equivalent to Windows taskbar) along the bottom of the Linux Lite interface.
• Right click the desktop -> select the Background tab under Desktop Settings... -> Choose a background that you like -> Uncheck "apply to all workspaces".
Changing the Desktop on Workspace #2
• Now click the second workspace and apply a different background to it.
• Run FireFox on this desktop.
Desktop URL Links
• While on this desktop, create a URL link to Google maps.
• To do this, open your browser for Google maps and copy the URL.
• Right click on the Linux desktop -> Create URL link -> Give it a name and paste the URL.
• Double click the URL link and determine the time it takes to fly from Beijing to Melbourne.
• This task is just a small example of working with Linux Lite GUI interface. If you want to fiddle more, read Linux Lite documentation in conjunction with a running session of Linux Lite.
To Gain 1 Mark, Demonstrate the Following to Your Tutor
• 6 desktop workspaces
• Different backgrounds on 3 workspaces
• A workspace with a URL link to Google maps
• A Google map showing Beijing and Toronto
File Management on Linux Lite
• The Thunar file manager can be run from Beige Icon in the panel (at the bottom of the screen).
• When you click on the icon, the file manager will display your home directory. Your home directory is at /home/user1/ as can be seen at the top of the file manager in the location selector.
• By using Thunar file manager, you will be able to navigate your way around the Linux Lite file system. Note-The file system on Linux Lite is standardized across Linux distributions and understanding this file system holds you in good stead when working on other Linux distributions.
The Root (Start) of the Linux File System
• Root (start) of Linux file system is designated using a forward slash (/)
• If you click on the "File System" icon in the left-hand pane, the root of the file system and all directories in it will be displayed.
• Directories in Linux have specific functionalities. Some important ones are mentioned below.
User Management
• Linux is a Multiuser system. Currently our system has two users named user1 and user2.
• You can change between users from the switch users icon in the menu. It is the Beige icon showing three heads (see below).
• Note-user1 has the administrative privileges whereas user2 is just a normal Linux Lite user. This means that user1 has the authority to undertake administrative tasks like creating new users.
• Under normal circumstances, user1's login operates at normal user privileges, however, when user1 tries to undertake privileged tasks (like create new users on the system), it is asked to enter user1's password prior to completing the privileged task.
• This helps in maintaining the security on Linux system by not allowing a user to work in a high privileged state all the time.
To gain 1 Mark, Complete the Following Task
The Linux manual describes how to create new users on a Linux Lite system.
• Using the documentation, determine how to create a new user.
• Login as the new user
• Navigate to its home directory
• Create a text file in the home directory
Once you have completed above steps, demonstrate them to your tutor.
Extra things some students may like to do:
• There are numerous videos on the Internet that discuss how to use Linux Lite. Have a look at some of them and try some of the configuration processes you observe.
• By referring to the Linux Lite manual, check other configuration options in Linux Lite.