🧰 Week 1: Tools & Environment Setup Lab Guide

We will set up the following:

1. Ubuntu VM manually on VirtualBox

2. Fedora VM manually on VirtualBox

Here’s a comparison between Ubuntu and Fedora across some important aspects:

Planning checkpoint: If your host cannot comfortably run both VMs at once, which resource (RAM, CPU, or disk) is the likely bottleneck, and how would you adjust the VM plan without preventing the lab from working?

When embarking on the journey to learn DevOps, setting up Ubuntu and Fedora as Virtual Machines ( VMs ) in VirtualBox is an important step.

• Ubuntu , being the most popular Debian -based Linux distribution, provides a user-friendly environment, thus serving as a great starting point for learners to get acquainted with Linux systems, which are widely used in DevOps practices.

• On the other hand, Fedora , a derivative of Red Hat , mirrors the functionality and features of Red Hat Enterprise Linux ( RHEL ), thereby providing a platform to delve deeper into enterprise-level system configurations. Moreover, honing your skills on Fedora is beneficial as it facilitates the practice of command line operations on AWS EC2 instances, which often run on Red Hat-based distributions.

Working with two Linux families broadens your understanding and prepares you to recognise differences in package managers, service names, and system configuration before you automate them.

You will complete the setup manually first so you can identify each state-changing step. Later, automation tools will encode these same steps in a repeatable form.

Before anything else, we need to download and install VirtualBox. However, if you use the RMIT computer lab then the computer should already have VirtualBox installed so you can skip these installation steps:

• Download and install VirtualBox ( https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads ) for your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux):

• Complete the installer using the default settings.

• After installation, open VirtualBox and confirm its version as shown:

• Keep in mind that these virtual machines above are empty and not yet functional as we need to install the actual operating systems from an ISO image on them! Let’s do that!

• Next, you need to download the Ubuntu 18 Server ISO image ( https://releases.ubuntu.com/18.04/ ):

• This will download an Ubuntu server ISO file to your laptop:

• Now, with your VirtualBox installed, let’s virtualize! Open the VirtualBox :

• Enter a new information of the Ubuntu Virtual OS as following:

  • Name: name of your VM (up to you) or you can name it “ my-ubuntu-18 ”

  • Folder: where your VM location is (best to leave it default)

  • ISO Image: select the Ubuntu ISO file to use it to install Ubuntu on our VM.

• Set your username and password for the Ubuntu:

  • Username: something short and easy to type fast and remember.

  • Password: something short and easy to type fast and remember.

• Set the amount of RAM and CPU threads you will allocate to your VM:

  • For this lab, 4 GB of RAM and 2 virtual CPUs are sufficient for Ubuntu Server .

• Create a virtual hard disk and allocate at least 10 GB for this lab:

• You have now created the Ubuntu Server VM:

• Start the Ubuntu VM to begin the initial operating-system installation:

• On a high-resolution monitor, the VM display may appear small. Increase the display scale if needed:

• While the VM starts, select “x” to dismiss the VirtualBox notifications:

• When the Ubuntu welcome screen appears, press Enter to continue:

• Press Enter to continue without updating the installer:

• Press Enter to select the default English keyboard layout:

• [ … ] press Enter to continue:

• This lab does not require a proxy. Press Enter to leave the field blank:

• We will use the default mirror so press Enter to skip it:

• Use the virtual disk space allocated earlier, then select Done:

• Accept Ubuntu’s automatic partitioning, then select Done:

• Select Continue to confirm that the virtual disk may be erased and used for Ubuntu:

• Finally, enter a profile name, server name, username, and password. Record the username and password because you will need them to sign in later:

  • Your name: your long name.

  • Your server’s name: the unique name for your VM.

  • Pick a username: keep it short because you will use it to log in.

  • Password: keep it simple and short to be easily remembered.

• [Important] Please check the option to install OpenSSH so your host computer can later connect to the VM:

• No need to install any software for now, choose Done to continue:

• The installation will now run and may take several minutes:

• After installation completion, you should see the option to reboot the VM:

  • Let’s wait for it as it is trying “downloading and installing all updates”, it might take some time (~10 minutes).

• After the installation, it will restart the VM.

Important: Remove the Ubuntu ISO before rebooting again

• Common Issue: After Ubuntu finishes installing and the VM restarts, VirtualBox may still keep the Ubuntu ISO file attached to the VM. If the ISO is still attached, the VM may boot back into the Ubuntu installer instead of booting into the installed Ubuntu system.

• If you see the Ubuntu installation screen again after rebooting, do the following:

  1. Shut down the Ubuntu VM.

  2. In VirtualBox, select your Ubuntu VM.

  3. Click Settings .

  4. Go to Storage .

  5. Under Controller: IDE , click the attached Ubuntu ISO file.

  6. Click the small disc icon or remove option, then choose Remove disk from virtual drive .

  7. Click OK to save the settings.

  8. Start the Ubuntu VM again.

• Now the VM should boot from the virtual hard disk instead of the Ubuntu ISO.

• Please launch your VM, then you should see the Ubuntu login screen and can enter your username and password. If everything corrects then you should see the screen like this:

Congratulations! You have successfully created an Ubuntu VM in the VirtualBox !

• It's a common and useful task to SSH into your VirtualBox VM (in this case, Ubuntu VM) from your host machine. With the default " NAT " network, direct SSH access is not possible out-of-the-box because the VM is on a separate, private network created by VirtualBox. However, you can easily enable this by using Port Forwarding .

  Prediction: Why can a VM using NAT reach the internet while the host still cannot initiate SSH to that VM until port forwarding is configured?

• Port forwarding creates a tunnel through the VirtualBox NAT network, redirecting traffic from a specific port on your host machine to a specific port on your guest VM.
• Step 1 : Ensure an SSH Server is Running on Your Linux VM

  • Check if the SSH service is running:

    • The screenshot below shows that it is running.

sudo systemctl status ssh

• However, If it's not installed, you can install it:

sudo apt install openssh-server

• Then start the SSH service:

sudo systemctl start ssh

• Step 2 : Configure Port Forwarding in VirtualBox
  • Shut down your VM . While some settings can be changed while the VM is running, it's best practice to do this when it's powered off.
  • Open VirtualBox and select your Linux VM.

  • Go to Settings > Network .

  • Ensure the "Attached to" dropdown is set to "NAT".

  • Expand the " Advanced " section and click on the "Port Forwarding" button .

• In the Port Forwarding Rules window, click the green '+' icon to add a new rule .

  • Fill in the fields for the new rule as follows:

    • Name : Give the rule a descriptive name (e.g., "SSH-VM" or "Ubuntu-SSH-VM").
    • Protocol: TCP
    • Host IP : Leave this as 127.0.0.1 which is generally safe as it only allows connections from your host machine.
    • Host Port: Choose a port on your host machine that you'll connect to. A common choice is 2222 to avoid conflicts with any services running on the standard SSH port 22 on your host.
    • Guest IP: You can generally leave this blank, as VirtualBox will automatically use the VM's IP address.
    • Guest Port: This should be the port the SSH server is listening on inside your VM, which is 22 by default.

  • Your rule should look something like this:

• Click OK to save the rule and OK again to close the VM settings.

• Step 3 : SSH from Your Host to the VM

  • Start your Linux VM.

    • Ensure to check the status and start the SSH Server if needed

• On your host machine (your main OS), open a terminal (on macOS or Linux) or a command prompt/PowerShell (on Windows).

  • Use the following command to connect. You are connecting to localhost (your own machine) on the Host Port you specified (2222 in our example).

    • Replace your_vm_username with your actual username on the Linux VM.

    • -p 2222 specifies the port you set as the "Host Port".

ssh your_vm_username@127.0.0.1 -p 2222

• You should now be prompted for your VM user's password, and upon entering it, you will have an SSH session running in your virtual machine.

• Now, you can play around with the Ubuntu VM server by typing this command to check the version number of Ubuntu:

cat /etc/os-release

• You can type these commands to print out string or display date like so:

• When you are ready to disconnect SSH from the VM server, just type:

exit

Congrats, you have finished setting up the Ubuntu VM server and learning how to connect via SSH from the current local computer to the VM server!

• First of all, you need to download the Fedora Server ISO image ( https://fedoraproject.org/server/download ) :

• Choose the server version because we only want the smallest one for things we need to learn DevOps:

• Can you do the same steps above and create another one for Fedora VM with below settings?

  • Name: my-fedora (up to you)

  • Type: Linux

  • Subtype: Fedora

  • Version: Fedora (64-bit)

• Other settings are similar to the above instructions for Ubuntu !

  • Like the Memory and CPU allocation:

• Like Hard Disk:

After you are done, you should have another Fedora VM like this:

• Start the VM and finish the installation steps:

• Continue with English language and keyboard layouts:

• [Important] If you saw this pop-up message:

• Here are the explanations:

  • When working with VirtualBox , understanding the interaction between your host machine (your laptop/computer) and the virtual machine (VM) is very important.

    • Mouse and Keyboard Capture :

      • When you click inside the VM display or press the host key, VirtualBox can "capture" your mouse interaction and keyboard. This means they are now interacting with the VM rather than with applications on your host machine. This occurs if the guest OS (the OS running inside the VM) doesn't support mouse interaction.

    • The Host Key:

      • The host key acts as a toggle switch. Pressing it will either capture or release the keyboard and mouse, depending on their current state.

      • The host key is indicated in the status bar at the bottom of the VM window, next to a specific icon. By default, the host key is set to Right Ctrl.

      • When the keyboard and mouse are captured, they interact with the VM. When they're released (or "uncaptured"), they interact with the host machine.

    • This setup allows you to easily switch between interacting with your VM and your host machine, making the use of VirtualBox efficient and user-friendly. This mechanism ensures that you can dedicate your input devices to the VM when necessary, and effortlessly return control to your host machine with a simple key press.

• For the settings, you just need to take care of two sections: Installation Destination and Network & Host Name

• For the installation destination, we select the default partition to let the Fedora make that decision for us:

• For the Network & Hostname, make sure you turn on the Ethernet option so our Fedora VM can connect to the internet:

• Next, we need to enter two sections for root password and user details:

  • To keep it simple, please use the same password for both of them

• Enter a root password. The root account has full permission to install and configure software on the VM:

  • Make sure you tick on the option “Allow root SSH login with password”

• Enter user details (username and password):

• After that, we should begin the OS installation for Fedora!

• After the installation completion, you can reboot the Fedora VM:

Important: Remove the Fedora ISO after installation

• As you did for the Ubuntu VM, after Fedora finishes installing, make sure to remove the ISO file from the VM storage settings.

• Go to: VirtualBox > Select Fedora VM > Settings > Storage > Controller: IDE > Remove the Fedora ISO file

• Then start the Fedora VM again.

• If you see the Fedora installation screen again after rebooting, it means the VM is still booting from the ISO instead of the installed Fedora system. Remove the ISO and reboot the VM.

• Enter the username and password correctly:

• Try to set up this Fedora VM to be able to receive SSH connection from the host machine just like shown in the Ubuntu example above.

• Keep in mind that, since we have two Linux VMs (Ubuntu and Fedora), please assign a Different Port to Your VMs.

• You will add a new rule, similar to the first VM, but you must change the Host Port.

• VM 1 (Ubuntu) Rule:

  • Name: ssh-ubuntu

  • Host Port: 2222

  • Guest Port: 22

• VM 2 (Fedora) Rule:

  • Name: ssh-fedora

  • Host Port: 2223 (This is a very important change!)

  • Guest Port: 22

• Ensure the ssh service is running:

  • Run this command to check the status of ssh service:

sudo systemctl status sshd

• Make sure you can SSH from your terminal to the Fedora VM:

• Please try some linux commands in the Fedora VM as below:

• Check the version number of Fedora like so:

Also test out other commands like this:

You can shut down the VM of VirtualBox just by clicking on the x and shut it down:

You have now completed these steps and set up the VMs to prepare for the next labs! Cheers!

Since M1/M2 chips are based on ARM architecture, you cannot use the standard version of VirtualBox that works for Intel chips. Instead, you need to download the ARM version of VirtualBox, or alternatively, use UTM or Parallels Desktop which also support ARM virtualization on Apple Silicon .

• ARM Version of VirtualBox : The standard VirtualBox versions will not work on M1/M2 MacBooks. Make sure to download

  • The ARM version of VirtualBox from VirtualBox’s official site

• Or use UTM ( https://mac.getutm.app/ ) for a more streamlined experience on M1/M2 Macs.

[Important] Since all of the instructions for this lab are written for VirtualBox, please ignore the UTM option and stick with VirtualBox for now!

The operating system you install in your virtual machine must also be ARM -compatible, as the Intel-based versions of Ubuntu and Fedora will not run on Apple Silicon . Here’s what to use:

• Ubuntu ARM Version : For Ubuntu, download the ARM64 version from the official Ubuntu releases page.

• Fedora ARM Version : Use Fedora ARM as it is a community-driven Linux distribution for Red Hat Enterprise Linux , known for its cutting-edge features and regular updates. Download the ARM version of Fedora.

1. Install ARM -compatible VirtualBox (or use UTM / Parallels for better compatibility).

2. Install Ubuntu ARM64 as an option for Debian VM

3. Install Fedora ARM as the Red Hat-family VM

Important note: Even when using an Apple M1/M2/M3/M4 chip, continue reading Section B. Most steps, including configuring VirtualBox, networking, and SSH access, are the same regardless of your machine's architecture.

• Set up your AWS Academy account by responding to your email invitation and clicking Get Started. The email invitation will come from AWS Academy <notifications@instructure.com>. If you do not see the email, check your junk, spam, or promotional mail folder. Here is a sample invitation email:

• Go to https://www.awsacademy.com/LMS_Login to login.

  • Press Student Login.

  • Use the email address that received the email invitation for the email field.

  • [Important note] The Canvas Instructure of AWS Academy is different from Canvas Instructure of RMIT, so if you do not have an account for AWS Academy before, you might need to create a new account using your RMIT student email in order to sign in!

• In the AWS Academy Dashboard, click on the Learner Lab you wish to use. Students invited to more than one course/learner lab will see multiple tiles on the dashboard.

• Select Modules.

• Select the Learner Lab item.

• The instructions for using the lab environment are to the right of the console window. You can return to the instructions by pressing the Readme button. The instructions include important details about how to access and use your AWS account, the AWS Services available to you, and the restrictions placed on some AWS Services.

• Start the lab by selecting Start Lab.

• When the dot next to AWS turns yellow , your lab environment is still being prepared to use. So wait for it!

• When the dot next to AWS turns green , your lab environment is ready to use. Click AWS to launch the AWS Console in a new tab.

• A new tab will open the AWS Management Console when you click on AWS. The system logged you into a temporary AWS account and the lab session will automatically end when the session timer expires. The system will save your work when you end the session or the session timer expires.

  Operational checkpoint: How does a temporary AWS lab change your shutdown checklist compared with a local VM? What should you save, stop, and verify before the session timer expires?

  • Note: The system will suspend your EC2 instances at the end of a session and they will restart when you start the lab again. Press Start if you need to start up a new lab session.

• Alternatively, you can use the terminal window to the left of the instructions to use the AWS Command-Line Interface (CLI) to interact with your account.

• Return to the AWS Academy LMS tab to view the lab instructions or to control your lab session.

• To monitor spending, see the area at the top of the lab instructions. Note: This information is provided by the AWS Budgets service and might be delayed by up to 8 hours. This is an approximate view of spending.

  • Note: If you spend the entire budget, you will lose all of your work, and the system will deactivate your temporary AWS account. Your $50 budget is sufficient for most academic projects, as long as you take care to stay within the budget guidelines.

• You can monitor your remaining session time at the top of the lab. Note: If you are actively working and you need more time, you can reset your session timer by pressing Start Lab again.

• To delete all resources that you have configured in a lab and start with a fresh AWS account, choose Reset. Important: All work will be lost and cannot be recovered.

  • This option will not reset your budget. Any spending that you have incurred will continue to be tracked.

• When you are finished with the session, choose End Lab.

  • Any running Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances will be stopped. If you return and restart the lab, any stopped EC2 instances will restart and any other resources that you configured will still be available.

  • Important: If you created and started other AWS resources such as a NAT gateway or Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) database, those resources will continue to run in the background and incur charges, even outside of your lab session time.

For this lab, we have no task regarding AWS yet so you can press the button “End Lab” to stop your lab from running.

That’s it! We are done for this week's lab!