6.824 - Spring 2004

Lab Information

// Assignments // Class Machines // Getting Help //

Lab assignments

Lab 1 - Simple web proxy
Lab 2 - A concurrent web proxy
Lab 3 - A TCP proxy
Lab 4 - File Server Part One
Lab 5 - File Server Part Two

Class Machines

The class machines are:

anguish.lcs.mit.edu
suffering.lcs.mit.edu
blood.lcs.mit.edu
fun-orgy.lcs.mit.edu
yes.lcs.mit.edu

anguish is the fastest, so you should probably do most of your work there. The others are for testing your networking code across multiple hosts. fun-orgy, blood, and anguish have multiple CPUs in case that's useful to you.

Getting an account

To obtain an account on the class machines register on the 6.824 lab registration page.

Getting started and having problems?

Consult Getting started with 6.824 labs for details about how to log into the course machines, and how to compile and run programs. If you have questions, please first read Office hours and asking questions. After you have done that, you can send e-mail to 6.824-staff@pdos.lcs.mit.edu.

Changing your password

Your initial password will be mailed to you when your account is created. Please change your password as soon as possible. If you do not change your password, we will assume you are not taking the class and will deactivate your account. Change your password with the passwd command on anguish.lcs.mit.edu. Passwords are copied automatically from anguish to the other machines every few minutes.

Aids for working on labs

There are a number of resources available to help you with the lab portion of this course:

man pages: All of the system calls you will be using (i.e. read, write, select) are documented in section 2 of the manual. Try man 2 read for example.
FreeBSD Architecture: You can find a good summary of how FreeBSD works in an appendix to the Operating Systems Concepts book by Silberschatz, Galvin, and Gagne. (FreeBSD is the UNIX variant running on the 6.824 machines.)
UNIX network programming: W. Richard Stevens' books ``UNIX Network Programming'' Volume 1 and 2 are classic references for network programming. If you are struggling with the sockets interface it could be a helpful purchase. See the suggested books list for other helpful references.
The SFS source code: Not all of the features of the SFS async library are documented in the supplied notes. Try browsing the source to resolve any outstanding issues. It's available on the class machines in /home/6824/sfs/src/async/ or at the SFS project page.
core files: When/if your program crashes it will leave a core file behind (named something.core). Examining core files with gdb is a valuable way to learn what went wrong. To get started with gdb type: "gdb program program.core" and then type the gdb command "bt". GDB will return a trace showing exactly where the program crashed. GDB offers many more features. Check out the GDB manual for full documentation.

Questions or comments regarding 6.824? Send e-mail to 6.824-staff@pdos.lcs.mit.edu.

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