| | 185 | Can I load my own software packages on my nodes? |
| | 186 | ------------------------------------------------ |
| | 187 | |
| | 188 | Yes! If have one or more software packages that are appropriate for loading on the OS you have selected, you can arrange to have them loaded automatically when you configure your experiment. You may specify a different list of software packages for each radio node in the experiment. There are no restrictions on what you put on the nodes. |
| | 189 | |
| | 190 | |
| | 191 | How do I install software on the nodes? |
| | 192 | --------------------------------------- |
| | 193 | |
| | 194 | This is a broad question. During your slot, the nodes are yours to do what you will, right down to the OS. If the experimenter requires his/her own OS, then installation of software is carried out using methods appropriate for that particular OS. There are no restrictions as to what/how software is installed on the node. The ORBIT development team recommends Debian GNU/Linux as the OS of choice for experimenting on the grid, but as is mentioned above, there are no restrictions. |
| | 195 | **NOTE: Please be aware that we have not had the opportunity to develop our software for and experiment with other OSes and may not be able to answer your questions regarding them.** |
| | 196 | |
| | 197 | If you would like to use the ORBIT supplied baseline images, which run Debian GNU/Linux, then software is installed via the APT system (http://www.debian.org/doc/user-manuals#apt-howto). The testbeds have access to a local Debian mirror which is updated nightly. Anything available on the global Debian mirrors is locally accessible on orbit via the local Debian mirror. |
| | 198 | |
| | 199 | Also, the baseline image has all of the normal Linux build components installed. You are more than welcome to compile from source and use your software through those mechanisms. |
| | 200 | |
| | 201 | |
| | 202 | Are there Linux sources and packages available locally? |
| | 203 | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| | 204 | |
| | 205 | Yes. We provide packages mainly for GNU/Debian Linux, but sources are also available that should compile on most distributions. We are also developing software components and libriaries for experiment control, data collection, and application development. |
| | 206 | |
| | 207 | |
| | 208 | How do I save an image of a node? |
| | 209 | ---------------------------------- |
| | 210 | |
| | 211 | If you've modified the baseline, or even installed your own OS on a node, you can take a snapshot of the node's disk. The resulting image can be used on other nodes during your experiment and reused during other slots. To save a node's disk as an image issue the following command on the experiment console (**NOT THE NODE'S SERIAL CONSOLE**): |
| | 212 | * saveNode x,y |
| | 213 | |
| | 214 | where x and y are the node's coordinates. The image will be named in the form node-X-Y-<TIMESTAMP>.ndz and will be displayed in a status message during runtime. Please keep track of the image name as you will need to supply it during imaging. |
| | 215 | |
| | 216 | ORBIT keeps a persistant store for your images on repository2 in the /export/orbit/image/tmp directory. |
| | 217 | |
| | 218 | |
| 195 | | |
| 196 | | |
| 197 | | Can I load my own software packages on my nodes? |
| 198 | | ------------------------------------------------ |
| 199 | | |
| 200 | | Yes! If have one or more software packages that are appropriate for loading on the OS you have selected, you can arrange to have them loaded automatically when you configure your experiment. You may specify a different list of software packages for each radio node in the experiment. There are no restrictions on what you put on the nodes. |
| 201 | | |
| 202 | | How do I install software on the nodes? |
| 203 | | --------------------------------------- |
| 204 | | |
| 205 | | This is a broad question. During your slot, the nodes are yours to do what you will, right down to the OS. If the experimenter requires his/her own OS, then installation of software is carried out using methods appropriate for that particular OS. There are no restrictions as to what/how software is installed on the node. The ORBIT development team recommends Debian GNU/Linux as the OS of choice for experimenting on the grid, but as is mentioned above, there are no restrictions. |
| 206 | | **NOTE: Please be aware that we have not had the opportunity to develop our software for and experiment with other OSes and may not be able to answer your questions regarding them.** |
| 207 | | |
| 208 | | If you would like to use the ORBIT supplied baseline images, which run Debian GNU/Linux, then software is installed via the APT system (http://www.debian.org/doc/user-manuals#apt-howto). The testbeds have access to a local Debian mirror which is updated nightly. Anything available on the global Debian mirrors is locally accessible on orbit via the local Debian mirror. |
| 209 | | |
| 210 | | Also, the baseline image has all of the normal Linux build components installed. You are more than welcome to compile from source and use your software through those mechanisms. |
| 211 | | |
| 212 | | Are there Linux sources and packages available locally? |
| 213 | | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| 214 | | |
| 215 | | Yes. We provide packages mainly for GNU/Debian Linux, but sources are also available that should compile on most distributions. We are also developing software components and libriaries for experiment control, data collection, and application development. |
