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by drtomc
A README file describing sundry bits of the platform infrastructure. |
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README for the Informatics Virtual Learning Environment |
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The IVLE back end consists of the following pieces: |
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1. A lighttpd instance for the sandboxed execution of students' python code. |
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2. An apache (2.2) instance for managing a set of subversion (SVN) repositories
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(one per student).
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3. A chroot jail per student which contains the following:
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a. A minimal standard environment containing a standard set of directories
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and hard links to a standard set of files (binaries, libraries, python
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code).
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b. A working copy (checked out version) of the student's SVN repository. |
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This may include branches for submission and public access, though |
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initially, it will only include the trunk. |
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c. A working directory into which the student's programs may write files. |
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4. A SVN hook to automatically update the repository of a student when [s]he
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commits a change to his/her repository.
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Authentication & Authorization
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==============================
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Authentication is to be done against centaur (the IS LDAP server), however
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apache 2.2 cannot connect to it because the CA issued by IS is incorrect. If
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there is a way to work around this, we don't know it at the moment. Until |
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we are able to use LDAP (or Active Directory), the configuration of the web |
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servers uses a password file located in the config directory. |
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Filesystem Layout |
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=================
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The installation of the informatics infrastructure is rooted at |
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/home/informatics/ |
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with the following subdirectories: |
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/home/informatics/config |
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All the configuration files - apache, lighttpd, etc. |
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/home/informatics/bin |
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All the executables (i.e. scripts!). |
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/home/informatics/config/jail |
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A directory containing all the template files and directories |
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for creating a user's jail. The process of creating a jail copies |
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the directory structure, then hard-links all the files.
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/home/informatics/jails
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The directory containing for each student a chroot jail.
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/home/informatics/jails/<name>
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The jail for the named student.
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/home/informatics/jails/<name>/home/<name>/svn/trunk
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The working copy of his/her SVN repository for the named student.
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/home/informatics/jails/<name>/home/<name>/svn/public
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The published work of the named student (does not require aaa)
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/home/informatics/jails/<name>/home/<name>/svn/submitted
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The submitted work for the named student.
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/home/informatics/jails/<name>/run
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The starting working directory when the named student's python |
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scripts are run. |
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/home/informatics/www |
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The root directory for the www view of things. |
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/home/informatics/www/home/<name> |
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A symbolic link to /home/informatics/jails/<name>/home/<name>/svn/trunk. |
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This allows the CGI module to see the python scripts for the named user. |
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Access to this via the web is restricted to *authenticated* users. |
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/home/informatics/www/public/<name> |
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A symbolic link to /home/informatics/jails/<name>/home/<name>/svn/public. |
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This allows the CGI module to see the python scripts for the named user. |
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This {will be,is} where the published work for the named student will be |
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located. |
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4
by drtomc
Add info about how to add a user. |
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Adding New Users |
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================
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TODO - automate all this. |
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1. Create a subversion respository by adding |
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[jdoe:/] |
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jdoe=rw |
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to the /home/informatics/config/svn-authz file. |
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2. Create a chroot jail (using the mkJail.sh script). |
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3. Initialize the svn repository with the commands |
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cd /home/informatics/jails/jdoe/home/jdoe |
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mkdir svn |
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cd svn |
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svn co <url to repository>/jdoe |
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cd jdoe |
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svn mkdir trunk |
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svn ci |
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4. Create the symlinks so that the webserver can find the python code: |
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cd /home/informatics/www |
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ln -s /home/informatics/jails/jdoe/home/jdoe/svn/jdoe/trunk jdoe |
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5. Add authentication with htpasswd: |
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htpasswd -m /home/informatics/config/digest jdoe |
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