Connecting to the CS 70 Server

C++ works slightly differently on every computer system; even slight changes in versions of the standard library, for example, can lead to big differences in observable behavior.

To make sure that the behavior you see matches what we see when we test your code, you'll be running your code on a remote server. The CS 70 server will have all of the libraries and tools you'll need to complete your assignments this semester.

Set Up Your CS 70 Server Account

We have created an account for you, username, on the CS 70 server (cs70.cs.hmc.edu), but there are a few things you'll need to do to get things set up.

Pick a New Password

When you log in for the first time, you'll be prompted to change your password. Take a moment right now to choose a strong password that you haven't used before and that you'll be able to remember. (If you have a password manager on your phone, it may be able to help you with creating a strong password and storing it securely in case you forget.)

Log in for the First Time

The first time you log in, you'll use a temporary password that you'll be asked to change. You can click the button below to reveal your temporary password (every student has a unique temporary password, the one below is yours).

Reveal Temporary Password

Open a terminal to get a command-line prompt (on your computer, or inside Visual Studio Code) and connect to cs70.cs.hmc.edu with the command

ssh username@cs70.cs.hmc.edu

where username needs to be your actual username on the server (e.g., first initial + last name).

When you log in, it will ask for your old password (i.e., the temporary password above, for a second time) and then ask you to pick a new password. Once you've changed your password successfully, the ssh connection will end. You can then try sshing in again using your new password, as described in the next section.

Log in and Configure Git

Run the same ssh command (i.e., ssh username@cs70.cs.hmc.edu) and log in with your new password. You should see a big “CS 70” banner and get a prompt (e.g., ~ SERVER >) which shows that you are currently in your personal home directory (a.k.a. ~ or /home/username) and waits for you to type a command to run.

Try these commands:

hostname

Should say that the machine where this command ran is cs70-server.

pwd

Should say that you are currently in your personal directory /home/username

ls

Should show you the contents of your home directory, including the subdirectories data and cs70.

While you are logged in, run the following two commands to configure git:

git config --global user.name "your-name"
git config --global user.email "your-email@example.com"

where you put your own name and email address in the quotes.

Finally, you can end your remote session on the CS 70 server by running the command exit.

Log Into the Server Using VS Code

At this point we will switch to using Microsoft's Visual Studio Code editor to connect to the server instead of using the ssh command directly. VS Code will let you transparently work on files on the server without having to copy files back and forth from a terminal.

Open the VS Code app on your computer (or a CS Lab computer). The first window that opens allows you to edit files on the hard drive of the computer you are using.

Click on the _>^< button in the lower-left corner. In the pop-up menu, select Remote-SSH: Connect to Host... and enter username@cs70.cs.hmc.edu for the host (where username is replaced by your CS 70 server username). When prompted, enter the password you set above.

A new “remote” window will pop up! This window is essentially running on the remote computer cs70.cs.hmc.edu, so you can edit files stored on the server machine and run commands on the server.

Once you have the remote window, you can go ahead and close the other (local) window, as you won't need it.

Check that VS Code is Connected to the Server

Using the View > Terminal menu option, or the Command ` keyboard shortcut, open a terminal to get a command-line prompt inside VS Code. (The terminal pane will typically pop up at the bottom of your window.)

Run the command hostname and verify that the terminal is running on the server. (If it tells you you're on a machine that isn't the server, you're probably not in the remote window.)

(When logged in, completion status appears here.)