Exercise #3b: Understanding your EECS account and using a Linux Shell

Objectives: to appreciate how your EECS account on a Linux system appears to you under Windows 7.

With your EECS account, you will have been allocated a home directory on a linux file server. That linux machine is physically located on the second floor of the Lassonde Building in the machine room.

When you login to any lab machine that is running Windows 7, your linux home directory gets mounted as the Z: drive under the Windows 7 operating system.

If you log out of the Windows 7 lab machine and if another student logs in, then that your home directory is unmounted and the other student's home directory will be instead be mounted as Z:.

When you login to any lab machine that is running Windows 7, you will also see that there is a C: drive. This drive corresponds to the hard drive of the lab machine (the very machine that is sitting on the desk in front of you). The C: drive contains the files that live on the lab machine.

You should not place any of your files on the C: drive for a few reasons. The C: drive should not be used for file storage. The lab machines receive frequent maintenance updates. The hard drives are frequently wiped out and filled with new installations. There is no guarantee that any file put on the C: today will even be there tomorrow. In addition, if you place files there, the files will persist even after you log off and become accessible to other lab users. You should keep your files private. If someone uses your files to cheat on their coursework, you will bear some liability under the Policy on Academic Honesty (and thus may be subject to disciplinary action).

In summary, use the Z: drive for storage of all your personal files. Temporary downloads or disposable files can go on the C: drive or in the regular default locations.

You can use the application called PuTTy to open a command shell on the linux system. You can navigate your home directory within that shell using linux commands. These commands are covered in the "Prism Lab Manual".