Welcome to the My sCool Server documentation!¶
About the User Manual¶
This user manual includes guidance for some of the day-to-day tasks that may be required by an administrator (computer lab in-charge, teacher). It is assumed that the administration has some basic knowledge of working with a Linux distribution as the server is intended to be used to teach the Linux subject in schools. Providing comprehensive server administration guidance is outside the scope of this document.
We have created My sCool Server keeping in mind the “ease of use” so quite a lot of tasks(not all of them) can be accomplished without having to RTFM, however understanding that this device packs a lot of complex technologies so to accomplish anything “under the hood” the administrator must go through the instructions below at the minimum and follow up reading the manuals provided by applications or online for more details or tasks not covered here.
Important Notice¶
Recherche Tech has supplied this information believing it to be accurate and reliable at the time of publishing, but is presented without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied. Users must take full responsibility for their application of any products. Recherche assumes no responsibility for any errors that may appear in this document. Recherche reserves the right, without notice to make changes in product design or specifications. Information is subject to change without notice.
Restricted Rights¶
Copyright 2016-2018 Recherche Tech LLP. All rights reserved.
My sCool Server, My sCool Server logo are registered trademarks of Recherche Tech LLP.
Contact¶
Corporate Headquarters¶
User Management¶
Create new user¶
Boot into Admin-Desktop
, login as mssadmin and perform these steps –
Via GUI
- Navigate to
System
→Administration
→Users and Groups
- Add new user by pressing the
+Add
button and fill in the details (You may have to wait for the existing user list to load.) - Set the new user’s password in the next dialog
Via Terminal
sudo useradd -m <username>
Enter mssadmin’s password when prompted and continue.
Set the password to activate the user’s account.
sudo passwd <username>
Add user to epoptes group¶
Note
This must only be done for teacher accounts as it grants some extra priviledges.
Boot into Admin-Desktop
, login as mssadmin and execute the following in a Terminal –
sudo usermod -a -G epoptes <username>
Enter mssadmin’s password when prompted and continue.
Change password¶
To change your own password¶
Via GUI
Alt+F2 -> ltsp-remoteapps users-admin
Press Change...
against the Password:
label. Thereafter set your password in the Change User Password
dialog.
Via Terminal
Alt+F2 -> ltsp-remoteapps xterm -> passwd
To change password of other user¶
Boot into Admin-Desktop
, login as mssadmin and perform these steps -
Via GUI
- Navigate to
System
→Administration
→Users and Groups
- Select the user whose password needs changing
- Press
Change...
against thePassword
label - Authenticate with mssadmin’s password when prompted
- Set new password in the
Change User Password
dialog
Via Terminal
sudo passwd <username>
Enter mssadmin’s password when prompted and continue.
Mass user addition¶
For adding several users at one go, boot into Admin-Desktop
, login as mssadmin* and perform these steps -
Create space separated file containing “username password” such as this
sample
.Steps:
- Use
LibreOffice Calc
to create the file - Choose
File -> Save as
. You will see theSave as
dialog. - In the
File type
field select the formatText CSV (.csv)
. - Enter a file name as users.csv and click
Save
. - From the
Export of text files
dialog that appears, select the field delimeter as{space}
for the data to be exported, and press OK.
- Use
Note
There should be no empty lines in the file.
- Open terminal and execute the command –
sudo massuseradd <path_to_csv_file>
Example:
sudo massuseradd /home/mssadmin/users.csv
Default credentials¶
By default, the appliance is shipped with the following user accounts pre-configured i.e. if no customisation has been requested during order placement –
Account Type | Username | Password |
---|---|---|
Admin | mssadmin | myskool |
Student | student<n> | 12345 |
Teacher | teacher<n> | imteacher |
Warning
It is strongly recommend that a user must change the account password upon first time use.
Network Configuration¶
Via Network Manager¶
MSS comes with 2 predefined network configurations: Static and Dynamic.
If your network already has a DHCP server serving IP address to devices connected on your LAN then you need to configure the MSS in Dynamic mode. If no such DHCP server exists, then configure the MSS in Static mode.
It is safe to assume that in majority of cases where a new network has just been setup for the purpose of installing the MSS, there is no pre-existing DHCP server, hence one may safely opt for Static mode.
Herein are the details of how to configure in Static or Dynamic mode:
After login, edit the connection that would not be used and uncheck “Automatically connect to this network when it is available” to disable auto-connection attempts in the undesired mode. For example, herein below, we are disabling ‘Dynamic’ and enabling ‘Static’ mode.
Network Manager - Edit Connections
Network Connections
Uncheck to switch off dynamic mode
Check to switch on static mode
Finally, choose “static” in the Network Manager menu and your MSS is now operating in static mode.
Monitoring and Broadcasting¶
Epoptes¶
Epoptes is a monitoring and broadcasting tool to assist teachers in imparting lessons.
Only a user belonging to “epoptes” group can launch epoptes application, see Add user to epoptes group.
All pre-configured teacher accounts are already members of the epoptes group. Using epoptes is self evident and intuitive, however complete documentation is available here.
When using English-Desktop
, a teacher can start Epoptes as below:
Alt+F2 -> ltsp-remoteapps epoptes
Create Epoptes Launcher¶
Using the steps herein a teacher may create a desktop launcher to start Epoptes with just a click.
- Right click on desktop and select
Create launcher...
- In
Create Launcher
dialog do following steps -- Enter
Name
asEpoptes
- Enter
Command
asltsp-remoteapps epoptes
- Press OK
- Enter
Note
You may need to refresh (F5) the desktop to see the newly created launcher
Content Platform¶
Web Server¶
The My sCool Server comes pre-configured with a ready to use web server to help you host your content and make it available on the local network.
Pre-hosted content can be accessed from all clients powered by the MSS via any web browser at -
http://server/
Hosting custom conent¶
Boot into Admin-Desktop
, login as mssadmin and put your custom content to be locally hosted at –
/var/www/html/mss/custom
The instructions for customisation of the custom content tile are available via a browser at -
http://server/mss/custom
Note
Do ensure that all content to be hosted should have the the following minimum permissions - read and execute for folders and read for files for the target audience.
Setting requisite permissions via Terminal
Execute the following commands in a terminal to set requisite permissions -
sudo find /var/www/html/mss/custom -type d -exec chmod a+rx {} \;
sudo find /var/www/html/mss/custom -type f -exec chmod a+r {} \;
Individual content hosting¶
There could be a need for each user to host their own HTML based web content. Each user can host one’s individual content at -
/home/<username>/public_html
and it may then be accessed by all connected clients at
http://server/~<username>
Note
Do ensure that all content to be hosted should have the the following minimum permissions - read and execute for folders and read for files for the target audience.
Take Linux Home¶
Create Live USB¶
Li-f-e: Linux for Education OS image is included on the server and can
be used to create a bootable media by booting into Admin-Desktop
and thereafter logging in as mssadmin user.
Note: | Select “isohybrid” / “EFI” option when creating a bootable media intended to boot computers that only support EFI booting. This option can also boot on legacy hardware so use this if you are not sure about your hardware capabilities. Use of “isohybrid” option is officially recommended way of creating bootable USB, hence more reliable. Do note that this will wipe the USB device and cannot be used as a normal storage media from Windows PC. Use “Ubuntu” / “Legacy” option if you wish to use the device as a storage media on Windows or to preserve data. This method requires one vfat formatted partition on the USB stick. The partition should not be in use at the time of creating boot media. If booting fails using this method, use isohybrid / EFI mode. |
---|
Via Shortcuts¶
Use either of these launcher icons on the Desktop - Live USB GUI EFI
or Live USB GUI Legacy
as per your bootable media preference.
Via Terminal¶
It may be more convenient to use command line for running this task multiple times.
sudo live-grub-stick --isohybrid /recovery/Li-f-e.iso /dev/sdb
References¶
See the following external links (requires internet) to learn how to boot from USB stick and troubleshoot if the USB does not boot:
Backup and Recovery¶
We understand that accidents happen and that everyone deserves a second chance. Being open-source one may be tempted to play around with the server and we do not penalise you for doing so. The My sCool Server provides Factory Restore
options via –
- Server boot menu or
- USB created with the recovery.sh tool
Factory Restore option restores the system to the state the server left Recherche’s premises, which may include customisation such as user accounts etc., if the data is given at the time of order placement.
Warning
Exercise caution before using the Factory Restore
feature. It shall override any customisations done by the user to the server and shall restore it to the factory shipping state. It may also delete user created data. Hence, if user generated data is of value, it is strongly recommended that /home
data is periodically backed up on an external media by following the steps below.
Note
The Factory Restore
feature does not restore any preloaded or custom loaded web-content. Backup and restoration of all content accessible via http://server
is the responsibility of the end-user. Read below for easy and useful backup steps.
Multiple snapshots can be created. It is limited by space available on the /recovery partition. MSS uses borg deduplicated backup so only the changes made to system since the last backup are stored on subsequent backup attempts.
- To create a backup, run the following command as root (sudo su -):
recovery.sh create
- To restore to factory image from a running system, run the following as root (sudo su -):
recovery.sh restore [optional snapshot number]
- Snapshots are numerical, 1 denoting the factory image. By default, running restore will restore to that snapshot. To restore to last snapshot taken run the following as root (sudo su -):
recovery.sh restore last
Snapshot management is beyond the scope of this tool and document. Refer borg documentation for details.
Herein are just a few examples of what can be done with borg
:
- To list all snapshots:
sudo borg list /recovery/system
- To create a custom snapshot, for example, creating a snapshot of
/home
:
borg init --encryption=none </backup/folder/path/home>
borg create --stats --progress --compression lz4 </backup/folder/path/home>::<snapshotname> /home
Note
/backup/folder/path/ must have sufficient space.
- To restore
/home
from snapshot:
borg mount </backup/folder/path/home>::<snapshotname> /mnt
rsync -avP /mnt/* /home/
When restoration is complete:
umount /mnt
Pre-loaded Content Locations¶
Most of the preloaded web content resides at the common location - /var/www/html/mss
. However some of the content that have their own custom location are listed below -
NROER: | /home/docker |
---|---|
Gyankunj Slate: | /home/mssadmin/slate |
ePathshala: | /home/mssadmin/.epathshala |
Troubleshooting¶
Booting or Freezing Problem¶
If the client machines do not boot or they freeze while working, it can be caused by a faulty network cable, connection or switch. Try connecting a client directly to the server using a LAN cable and attempt booting the client. If the client boots, it confirms that the client and server both are in working order. Then continue troubleshooting your physical network or contact your network engineer.
In case the client machines still do not boot after trying all above steps, contact the MSS support team.
Restore Desktop to Default Settings¶
To restore the desktop to default settings of any user run this in terminal from mssadmin account login once the user has logged out –
sudo mv /home/<username>/.config /home/<username>/.config-backup
Next ask the user to login again.
or
Users can also try this from a running session -
Alt+F2 -> resetdesktop
User will need to log out and back in for changes to apply.
Remote Desktop Connection Issues¶
Try the following steps as mssadmin user (enter password when prompted) -
Check the status of the service
sudo systemctl status xrdp
Restart the service
sudo systemctl restart xrdp
To check the XRDP processes running
ps ax | grep xrdp
Log files related to XRDP
sudo tail -f /var/log/xrdp-sesman.log
To specifically diagnose rdp login issue.
sudo tail -f /var/log/auth.log
Try a user part from one that may currently be logged into an active session.
Remote Support¶
For getting support remotely from support team, perform the following steps -
- Login with any account, navigate to
Applications
→Internet
→Remmina
- Do following steps -
RDP
must be selected in dropdown box.- Type
server
as shown below.- Hit
Connect !
.
- When connection is established, Login as mssadmin in remmina screen .
Note
Following steps should be perform in opened remmina window
- Connect Wi-Fi/Hotspot for Internet Connection, see Connect Wi-Fi/Hotspot section for getting connected to Internet via Wi-Fi/Hotspot.
- Launch
Epoptes
fromApplications
→Internet
→Epoptes
- Select
Remote support
option fromHelp
→Remote support
- In
remote-assistance
dialog follow the steps below -
- In
Method
check ifGraphic(VNC)
is selected.- In
Host
typesupport.myscoolserver.com:5500
- Hit
Connect
.
- On successful connection,
Status
will change toConnected
.
Connect Wi-Fi/Hotspot¶
For connecting Wi-Fi/Hotspot in MSS, login as mssadmin and perform these steps -
- Click on from top-right corner of the screen, and click the name of the network you want to connect to.
Note
If the name of the network is not in the list, select
More networks
to see if the network is further down the list. If you still do not see the network, your device may be out of range or the network might be hidden.
- Type password of mssadmin in
Authenticate
dialog as shown below and hitAuthenticate
.
- It will again prompt for the password with the
Authenticate
dialog, type password of mssadmin and hitAuthenticate
- If the network is protected by a password, enter the password in
Wi-Fi Network Authentication Required
dialog when prompted and clickConnect
.
- The network icon will change to
Note
If the connection is not successful, you may be asked for your password again or it might just tell you that the connection has been disconnected.
Support and Guidance¶
Frequently asked questions¶
Answers to most frequent queries by the MSS users, collated from various perspectives, can be found herein -
How-to Videos and Guides¶
The YouTube channel is regurlarly updated with basic usage training and new feature walk-through tutorials. Checkout the playlists section for your area of interest -
Warranty support channels¶
Every My sCool Server has a sticker bearing a unique MSS ID or S/N (Serial Number). This ID is important for all communications with Recherche Tech in regards to your MSS hardware. If you ever have an issue with your MSS hardware and it is under warranty, simply open a ticket through any of the support channels and quote this MSS ID and the nature of your problem.
Support portal: https://helpdesk.myscoolserver.com
Email-id: helpdesk@myscoolserver.com
WhatsApp number: +91-79-40080440
Community Support¶
Learning resources¶
The My sCool Server comes preloaded with Hackett and Bankwell comic books [1]
and content from Spoken Tutorial [2] that walks you through everything you need to know
about using Ubuntu linux, almost every GUI application comes with F1
help, and respective documentation in /usr/share/doc folder
.
Community created documentation available at:
Ubuntu community help¶
MSS community help¶
Typing in your language¶
Li-f-e - Linux for Education help¶
Must read before seeking community help¶
http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
[1] | http://hackettandbankwell.com |
[2] | http://spoken-tutorial.org/about-us |
Contact Information¶
Corporate Headquarters¶
Social¶
Twitter: | https://www.twitter.com/myscoolserver |
---|---|
Facebook: | https://www.facebook.com/myscoolserver |
Google+: | https://plus.google.com/+Myscoolserver |
Social¶