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ITD102: Introduction to Computer Systems
Workbook 1: Low Level Technologies
This document contains the practical exercises questions relevant to the first part of this unit.
Raspberry Pi: All students need a Raspberry Pi. There is no textbook to purchase but you do need a Raspberry Pi. It’s important to obtain a Raspberry Pi soon – see the Raspberry Pi notes on Canvas for details, under Overview -> Things that you need. If you are an on-campus student, you can borrow a kit containing everything that you will need from reception. Instructions will be provided early semester.
Students located overseas will need to source their own components.
MARKING: The practical exercises are competency based and will be checked by your tutor during the corresponding class or next class. Online students may instead submit a video of their demo with the same deadlines. All students need to demonstrate competency in the practical exercises; you may try multiple times (before the due date). The exercises are pass / fail – there are no part marks. The four practicals are worth 20% of your marks for AT1 (4 x 5%).
DUE DATE: All practical exercises must be successfully demonstrated to your tutor in person during your scheduled tutorial class on the week delivered or the following week at the beginning of the class; this also allows for public holidays. Late submissions cannot be marked.
These practical exercises should be done in a group of two (when possible), but you will be assessed individually.
Class 1: Introduction (week 2 Tutorial)
Welcome to ITD102 Introduction to Computer Systems!
In this class you will:
1. Meet the tutor and get to know each other
2. Understand what’s involved in the practicals
3. Explore some interesting new technologies
Prerequisites: Read the eContent materials.
Module Overview and Assignment
Your tutor will provide an overview of the first module/part of this unit: a walk-through of the workbook and assessment including: practical exercises and further work questions.
Practical Exercises
The practical exercise for this week is to set-up your Raspberry P. You will need a Raspberry Pi setup and ready to go for future lessons. You may work individually or in pairs for your mini project (Assessment 3-Raspberry pi project).
1. Setting up the raspberry Pi computer
Follow the instruction in the Raspberry Pi Help Guide on Canvas to setup your Raspberry Pi.
ITD102 Canvas -> Modules -> Raspberry Pi -> Setting up your RPi
Once you have completed these practical exercises, you need to demonstrate your understanding and competency to your tutor. You need your tutor to be satisfied that you have this new practical knowledge and skill.
Then, continue to answer the further investigation questions (provided in separate document) for this week.
End of Class 1.
Class 2: Exploring computer hardware. (Week 3 Tutorial)
In this class you will:
1. Learn what’s inside a computer, understanding how each component functions separately and in concert with other parts.
2. Understand the trade-offs in computers and how to design computers for different uses.
You may not have time to finish the further work questions (provided in assessment document) in class, so you may need to finish it in your own time. We recommend you review and refine all your answers outside the class before submission.
Practical Exercises
1. Inside a Computer
Undertake either Part (I) or (II). No need to do both.
(I) Computer Parts
Choose a computer part and research your part to answer the following questions:
a) What is the part? (CPU/RAM/ Hard Drive/ Graphics Card etc)?
b) What does it do and why is it necessary in a computer?
c) What are the key characteristics of the part e.g. speed, size etc.? Investigate any sub-parts it has e.g. controller board, bus, chips etc.
d) Where does that type of part go on a motherboard?
Repeat three times: select a different part and repeat the above so that you investigate three different parts in total.
(II) Raspberry PI
If you have not yet set-up your Raspberry Pi please do so: see the instructions in the previous practical class.
Investigate your Raspberry PI computer board. Identify three key components / parts on the board; investigate the following for each component / part:
a) What is the component?
b) What does it do and why is it necessary in the Raspberry PI?
c) What are the key characteristics of the part e.g. speed, size etc.?
d) Point out the part on the Raspberry Pi to your tutor.
Repeat three times: select a different part and repeat the above so that you investigate three different parts in total.
Consult www.raspberrypi.org for help identifying components and parts to the board.
Remember, once you have completed these practical exercises, you need to individually demonstrate your understanding and competency to your tutor. You need your tutor to be satisfied that you have this new practical knowledge and skill to pass this module. Then you can open the “further investigation” document (in assessment folder) and complete this weeks further investigation questions.
End of Class 2.
Class 3: Operating Systems and Software (week 4 Tutorial)
In this class you will:
1. Explore the Linux operating system,
2. Investigate embedded operating systems, open source software and software distribution.
There’s a good chance you’ve used a Windows or Mac operating system, but these aren’t the only ones out there. In this tutorial we’ll explore some of the basics of the Linux operating system.
Practical Exercises
Please answer the following questions and put your answers in the boxes provided. Expand the box as required.
1. File system and command shell
Your tutor will show you how to run a Linux operating system, how to start a command line shell and how to use some basic commands. A command shell is a keyboard based interface to the operating system. Commands are typed in at the command line; they perform operations and may print out results. Commands may take options (switches) to modify their behaviour. You can find out information about commands by using the man command e.g. man ls to look up the manual page for the ls list command: alternatively you can use google J On Linux most things are represented as files in the file system including programs, commands, settings, devices, data, applications etc.
a) Explore the operating system file system using the following commands: ls, cd, pwd and less. Get used to moving around the file system using these commands.
b) Find your operating systems file which represents the kernel, where is it? Which version is it? And how big is it?
c) Use ps and top to find out which processes are running; which processes takes most CPU time? Which takes most memory? What are the different states in which a process can be?
2. I/O Redirection and Pipes
a) The (>) operator can be used to redirect the output of a command (what would normally be printed on the screen) into a file. Redirect the output of the ls and ps commands into files.
b) The output of one command can be redirected into another command using the pipe operator (|). Thus the (screen) output of the first command becomes the (keyboard) input of the second command. Use the wc and ps commands to count how many processes that are running. Show the composite command.
3. Finding Files
a) How can the find command be used to find all files whose names contain the word “kernel”?
4. Editing Files
a) Learn how to use the nano editor to edit a simple text file. For example edit a file to contain your groups names and student numbers. (There are lots of online guides to using nano e.g. http://www.raspberrypi-spy.co.uk/2013/11/quick-guide-to-nano-text-editor-on-the-raspberry-pi/ )
Once you have completed these practical exercises you should individually demonstrate your understanding and competency to your tutor. You need your tutor to be satisfied that you have this new practical knowledge and skill in order to pass this module.
End of Class 3.
Class 4: Networks, Wired and Wireless Connections (week 5 Tutorial)
In This Tutorial You Will:
1. Explore network technologies and communication methods
2. Engage in applying your network knowledge to a series of questions and scenarios
Networks have become almost ubiquitous with our everyday activities. In this practical, you are expected to learn the importance of connectivity in systems, and devices which enable connectivity. Wireless devices are not simply just Wi-Fi. There are many other protocols that every IT student needs to know.
Practical Exercises
These exercises can be undertaken on a Linux virtual machine.
1. Networking
a) Find the local LAN IP4 and IPV6 addresses of the computer you are currently using.
b) What is an IP address? Why are your IP addresses similar?
c) Find the WAN internet IP address of your computer. Why is it different from your local IP address?
d) Find the MAC Address of the computer you’re currently using.
e) What is a MAC address? Why are your MAC addresses similar?
f) Use nslookup to find the IP address of the QUT web server www.qut.edu.au.
g) Use ping to send a message to www.qut.edu.au. What does ping do and what can you learn from the output of ping? Alternatively if you are using a Raspberry Pi you can investigate traceroute.
h) Use the nc command to set-up a TCP socket server and client on Linux e.g. Raspberry Pi. The server can be set-up in one terminal shell thus: nc –l 2389 the number 2389 is the port for the server to listen to. The client should be run in another shell thus: nc localhost 2389 . The name localhost refers to the current machines local IP address. Alternatively if you are using a raspberry pi on the QUT network you can connect to another Rapsberry Pi, use the remote Raspberry Pis IP address instead of localhost. Remember to ensure you use the same port number. To quit from nc use CTRL-D.
Once you have completed these practical exercises individually demonstrate your understanding and competency to your tutor. You need your tutor to be satisfied that you have this new practical knowledge and skill in order to pass this module.
End of Class 4.