Extra Credit 2 - Virtualization

• Extra Credit 2 - Virtualization
  • What You Will Learn
  • Windows Host - Option 1
  • Windows Host or macOS Host - Option 2 Trying out different desktop environments
  • What will you submit for extra credit

What You Will Learn

Students who complete this extra credit assignment will learn:

• How virtualization works in practice
• How to create and manage Virtual Machines
• How to install Debian without a desktop environment
• How to install desktop environments manually using tasksel
• Practical differences between Linux desktop environments such as GNOME, KDE, XFCE, Cinnamon, MATE, LXDE, and LXQt
• How snapshots work in virtualization software
• How to revert a Virtual Machine to a previous state

Windows Host - Option 1

• Using Distrowatch, find a Linux Distribution based on Debian. Use the following filters:

Filter	Value
OS TYPE	Linux
Distribution Category	All
Country of Origin	All
Based on	Debian (any branch)
Desktop interface	All
Architecture	x86_64
Package format	All
Release model	All
Install media size	All
Install method	All
Multi-language support	All
Init software	All
Status	Active

• Pick one of the distributions and download its ISO file from the distribution’s home page.
• Create a Virtual Machine and install the distribution. You may need to troubleshoot or find a tutorial online.
• After installing the distribution, take a screenshot of the Virtual Machine showing at least one terminal window with the output of the command: uname -a

Windows Host or macOS Host - Option 2 Trying out different desktop environments

Option 2 is more advanced and may require troubleshooting. If you are a macOS user, you may create another Debian Virtual Machine using a different desktop environment.

1. Create a new Virtual Machine using the same configuration as the Lab 2 virtual machine and install Debian WITHOUT a desktop environment. That means that when you reach the step in the screenshot below, you need to make sure the only options selected are (options here)
   
2. Once the installation is complete, sign in and update the system:
   
3. Turn off the Virtual Machine (use the sudo shutdown now command) and take a snapshot:
   

At this point, you have a base installation of Debian without a desktop environment. For this exercise you will install a desktop environment, try it out and then revert to the previous snapshot to repeat the process with a different desktop environment. Here is a list of desktop environments available for Debian via the tasksel application:

• GNOME
• KDE
• XFCE
• Cinnamon
• MATE
• LXDE
• LXQT

To install any of the above desktop environments, first install tasksel using the command: sudo apt install tasksel -y, then run tasksel with sudo tasksel:

Note: while using tasksel, use the arrow keys and space bar to make a selection and then the tab key to move to the OK or Cancel option.

Once the desktop environment finishes installing, reboot the Virtual Machine using the command: sudo reboot now. Once the Virtual Machine reboots, sign in and explore the desktop environment. When you finish, open a terminal window and run the command: uname -a. Take a screenshot of the entire Virtual Machine making sure that the terminal is visible.

Turn off the Virtual Machine and revert the Snapshot you took earlier. Then install tasksel again and install a different desktop environment. Once the desktop environment finishes installing, reboot the Virtual Machine with sudo reboot now and sign in to the desktop. Explore the desktop environment. When finished, open a terminal window and run the command: uname -a. Take a screenshot of the entire Virtual Machine window making sure that the terminal is visible.

What will you submit for extra credit

If this is your first extra credit assignment, you will need to create the necessary parent directory. In your cis106 directory (local repository), create a new directory called ExtraCredit (Use one word with no spaces in the directory name.)

1. Inside ExtraCredit, create a directory called: extra2
2. Open your cis106 directory (local repository) in VS Code
3. Inside extra2 create a Markdown file called extra2.md
4. Add all the screenshots you took earlier to extra2.md using proper Markdown syntax and labeling each screenshot using Heading 2 Markdown formatting. Save the Markdown file.
5. Your Markdown document should start with the following Heading 1: # Extra Credit 2: Virtualization
6. Convert your file to PDF
7. Run the GitHub commands, in VS Code terminal, to push all your changes to GitHub:
   1. git pull
   2. git add .
   3. git commit -m "Completed Extra 2"
   4. git push
8. In Blackboard, submit the following:
   1. The URL of extra2.md
   2. The PDF file extra2.pdf