Deploying the portable testbed

Warning

Make sure you already have an account on the portable testbed before leaving to your testing location!!

The following steps should guide you through the process of setting up the portable testbed. Please respect the order of these steps:

  • Start by unpacking the server case. Remove BOTH front and back covers to ensure good ventilation.
  • Carefully pull out the network cables, without removing them from the switch. Never remove cables from the switch, even not when disassembling. There is enough space in the server case to insert the cables above the server (careful please!)
  • If an internet up link is available, plug it into port 24 of the switch. Any other port will not work as up link.
  • Ensure the power plugs of the server and the switch are in position and then plug in the main power supply of the server case.
  • Push the power button of the server (the led under the light bulb icon should start to blink).
  • The server will take several minutes to boot. In the meanwhile, you can start unpacking the NUC nodes.

Setup of the NUC nodes:

  • Be careful when removing the NUC nodes from the case.
  • The antennas might have loosened during transport. Make sure they are tightly screwed on (but don’t twist them too hard, since the SMA connector might break).
  • The NUC nodes are numbered the same as the switch ports. NUC1 has to be connected to the UTP cable connected to port 1 of the switch. If the numbering is not correct, the testbed will not function correctly!
  • Make sure that several minutes have passed since you booted up the server before powering up the NUC nodes.
  • Put the UTP cable into the PoE splitter. The other cables between NUC and PoE splitter should not be touched.
  • Insert USB extensions if needed.

Connect your own laptop:

  • Take any of the free ports on the switch to connect your laptop. This excludes ports 1-8,17,19,21-24. Any port between 9 and 16 should give you access.

  • If the server is properly booted, you should have received an IP address in the range of 172.16.30.X/20.

  • Your DNS server should now be 172.16.31.4 (very important!). The domain should be portable.ilabt.iminds.be

  • Your default gateway should now be 172.16.31.250

  • Check if you are properly connected by running ‘ping boss’ from your own laptop.

  • See the following tutorials to start jFed and run an experiment.

  • If there is no internet uplink available, you might want to delete your default gateway on your wired network (if you want to be able to access the internet over some other wireless connection):

    • sudo route delete 0.0.0.0 mask 0.0.0.0 172.16.31.250
    • (this command will work on linux or on windows in an emulator like cygwin or mobaXterm)
    • after you deleted this default gateway, it might be needed to reconnect to your wireless network in order to receive the correct default gateway.