Staff & Visitor GUI Software 2020/21

[TerryJC]

Jamie, Ben and Louis,

Please use this Topic for all discussions for this project, as discussed.

Can I suggest that you Subscribe to the Topic, so you catch new postings.

[hamishmb]

Okay, here are the links I said I'd post:

• mysqlclient/MySQLdb (the python module for connecting to the database): https://pypi.org/project/mysqlclient/
  • This is installable with "pip install mysqlclient"
  • This should be pretty compatible with what you were using before, Ben, so hopefully not much/any modification needed.
• The virtual machines are available at https://wmtprojectsforum.altervista.org ... m%20VMs.7z
  • Note that this includes other virtual machines beyond the NAS box that you don't need to use.
  • You'll need 7-zip to extract these on Windows, and VirtualBox https://www.virtualbox.org to use them.
  • As discussed, we'll prepare a standalone NAS box virtual machine for you to use that already has the data on it, with some simple instructions.

Have I missed anything?

I'm aware that there was a lot of information given in a short time during that call - if any of you have any questions (now or later on), feel free to ask away

Would it be useful to have the Visitor and Staff GUI requirements posted here as well?

EDIT: Maybe drop us a hello message so we know you've seen this, that'd be useful.

[TerryJC]

I've attached the latest Visitor and Staff GUI Requirements Specification to this post.

Please note: It is slightly out of date because it refers to the Raspberry Pis running Raspbian Stretch whereas all Pis on site now run 'The Raspberry Pi OS' Buster. (It is no longer called Raspbian.

[hamishmb]

It didn't seem to attach for some reason.

[TerryJC]

Sorry my mistake.

[hamishmb]

Database (NAS Box) virtual machine for Canford Students

I have prepared the NAS box VM (Virtual Machine) for you, as well as some instructions (below). The VM comes with a pre-prepared database with real data from the model town already available. Here is the link to download it:

https://wmtprojectsforum.altervista.org ... abase%20VM

System requirements:

• 512MB RAM.
• 5 GB free hard drive space.
• VirtualBox https://www.virtualbox.org/, preferably the latest version. EDIT: Try 6.1.12 if it isn't working well.
• 7-zip (if on Windows) to extract the compressed file https://www.7-zip.org/

Usernames and passwords:
For system logon, the username is "pi" and the password is "river17".

For database administration, the username is "phpmyadmin", and the password is "phpmyadmin". You can log in to phpMyAdmin, by navigating to "http://<vm-ip>/phpmyadmin". A way to find the IP address of the VM is documented below.

For general log on to test the visitor GUI, the same credentials may be used.

Instructions

General set-up:

• Install the required software (above).
• Extract the compressed folder using 7-zip to a convenient location with at least 5 GB free space.
• Add the virtual machine to VirtualBox's list by using the "Add" option in the "Machine" menu and locating the .vbox file.
• Open the VM settings and check that network adaptor 3 (the bridged adaptor) is bridged to a valid interface on your machine that is connected to a network.

Using for testing the visitor GUI:

• Start the VM, and observe that you are automatically logged on as "pi".
• Run "sudo ifconfig" or "ip addr show" to find the IP address of the machine.
  • This VM has 3 network interfaces, the third of which should have an IP address on your network (eg 192.168.1.116)
  • Once identified, make note of this address.
• You can now log on to phpmyadmin "http://<ip>/phpmyadmin", or use this IP address together with MySQLdb https://pypi.org/project/mysqlclient/

If you have any problems or further questions using this VM, please ask here and we can fill you in.

[Ben]

Can get the "River system base image" to work however, when booting the "NAS box VM" i get presented with this error:


Failed to open a session for the virtual machine NAS box VM.

Could not open the medium 'C:\media\hamish\Development\WMT River System VMs\WMT River System\NAS Box VM\Snapshots\{28ca12c3-9a7b-4746-9d1b-cd0dde8fbd5f}.vdi'.

VD: error VERR_PATH_NOT_FOUND opening image file 'C:\media\hamish\Development\WMT River System VMs\WMT River System\NAS Box VM\Snapshots\{28ca12c3-9a7b-4746-9d1b-cd0dde8fbd5f}.vdi' (VERR_PATH_NOT_FOUND).

Result Code: E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component: MediumWrap

[hamishmb]

Thanks for letting me know. I know what the problem is so I'll fix this tomorrow if time permits.

[hamishmb]

Ben, are you certain that you downloaded the correct file?

The one you need is at: https://wmtprojectsforum.altervista.org ... abase%20VM and should not include a Base Image, or anything else other than a NAS box VM (also labelled Canford).

Nevertheless, I'll fix the issue you identified in the other VMs now.

EDIT: Fixed and uploaded.

[hamishmb]

NB: I have been having issues with VirtualBox 6.1.14. Please try 6.1.12 instead if you're having instability or other issues with VirtualBox.