This guide is a compilation of instructions and resources for configuring a Linux workstation with some of the tools you might want as an NCSA employee. Most of the examples are Debian/Ubuntu-based but often require only minor modifications to work for RedHat-based systems.
Email and Calendar
Microsoft Outlook Exchange Email
The default Thunderbird email application included with Ubuntu supports the university email system. Use the following account settings:
IMAP Mail Server (incoming):
User Name: {username}@illinois.edu
Server Name: outlook.office365.com
Server Port: 993
Connection security: SSL/TLS
Authentication method: Normal password
SMTP Mail Server (outgoing):
User Name: {username}@illinois.edu
Server Name: outlook.office365.com
Server Port: 587
Connection security: STARTTLS
Authentication method: Normal password
Microsoft Outlook Exchange Calendar
The Thunderbird email application typically bundled with popular Linux distributions has addons that provide support for Microsoft Outlook calendar integration. Install the following addons:
Use the TbSync settings to add your university Office 365 account. It will open a modal dialog for remote authentication via the UofI single sign-on system.
Networking
IllinoisNet Wifi
From https://answers.uillinois.edu/illinois/page.php?id=49095 :
Go to Settings > Wi-fi settings > Select IllinoisNet
When prompted for information fill in the following:
- Network SSID = IllinoisNet
- Security = Enterprise 802.1x
- EAP method = PEAP or TTLS
- Phase 2 authentication = MSCHAPv2
- Identity = Your NetID
- Wireless password = Your NetID password
- Show password = [leave unchecked]
- Check Advanced Options
- Proxy = None
- IP Settings = DHCP
- CA Certificate: none
- Domain (if listed) = wireless.illinois.edu
- Anonymous identity = [leave blank]
NCSAnet VPN
Install the Cisco Anyconnect compatible openconnect package and open the network settings.
sudo apt-get install network-manager-openconnect-gnome
Add a new VPN with gateway sslvpn.ncsa.illinois.edu and protocol "Cisco AnyConnect". The defaults for the rest are fine. Enable the VPN and choose the group "ncsa-vpn-default". Enter your NCSA username and password. The second password is either (1) a code generated by your 2FA hardware key or (2) the literal word "push", which then triggers your Duo 2FA app.
Telephony and Videoconferencing
Zoom
Zoom is a Videoconferencing application with Linux desktop clients available. After installing the client, select single-sign-on (SSO) and use address illinois.zoom.us. See https://answers.uillinois.edu/illinois/page.php?id=91801 for more details. You do need to grant access to the app to access your basic profile info. You do not need to grant access to your entire mailbox in a subsequent dialog.
Skype for Business
There is no Skype for Business desktop client for Linux. See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/skype-for-business-online-service-description/skype-for-business-online-features.
Backups
The official backup solution is CrashPlan. After downloading the installation file from https://crashplan.ncsa.illinois.edu:4285/console/#/app-downloads and extracting the contents, run ./install.sh to install for your user account. There is typically no need to run this as root unless you have specific needs to backup file outside your home folder.
The end of the installation process shows messages like
Important directories:
Installation:
$USER/crashplan
Logs:
$USER/crashplan/log
Default archive location:
$USER/crashplan/manifest
Readme:
$USER/crashplan/doc
Start Scripts:
$USER/crashplan/bin/CrashPlanEngine start|stop
$USER/crashplan/bin/CrashPlanDesktop
Would you like to start CrashPlanDesktop? (y/n) [y]
To start the Desktop UI:
$USER/crashplan/bin/CrashPlanDesktop
Installation is complete. Thank you for installing Code42 CrashPlan.
Add an automatic startup script when you login by using the graphical Startup Applications tool or by creating the autostart file on the command line like so:
cat <<EOF > $HOME/.config/autostart/CrashPlanEngine.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=$HOME/crashplan/bin/CrashPlanEngine start
Hidden=false
NoDisplay=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Name[en_US]=CrashPlan Engine
Name=CrashPlan Engine
Comment[en_US]=CrashPlan Engine
Comment=CrashPlan Engine
EOFFile sharing and sync
Unfortunately there are no official desktop sync clients available for Linux for any of the standard UofI cloud file storage options such as Box and Microsoft OneDrive.
NCSA File Server
There is a standard SMB file server (a.k.a. Windows file sharing) hosted by NCSA for employees. You can mount it in Nautilus by simply entering the URL smb://fileserver.ncsa.illinois.edu/ in the location bar and entering your NCSA username and password, using the workgroup "UOFI".
Google Drive
The Gnome desktop that ships by default with Debian and Ubuntu includes some native support for Google Drive. Open the Online Account settings panel and add your Google account. If you enable Files integration, you can access your Google Drive files in the default Nautilus file browser.
Syncthing
Syncthing is an amazing tool that magically syncs selected folders with other devices without a need for external servers or accounts. It is completely decentralized, free and open source. Read the Getting Started Guide to learn how to get started. The installation instructions below were tested in Ubuntu 18.04, 19.10, and 20.04.
Option A: apt package manager
curl -s https://syncthing.net/release-key.txt | sudo apt-key add - echo "deb https://apt.syncthing.net/ syncthing stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/syncthing.list sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install syncthing
Create a startup application. Make it graphically by launching the Startup Application app or create the shortcut file:
cat <<EOF > $HOME/.config/autostart/syncthing.desktop
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=/usr/bin/syncthing -no-browser -home="$HOME/.config/syncthing"
Hidden=false
NoDisplay=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Name[en_US]=Syncthing
Name=Syncthing
Comment[en_US]=Syncthing launcher
Comment=Syncthing launcher
EOF
Option B: manual method
Download the latest release (for Linux/amd64) from https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/ and follow the instructions below (replace v1.3.1 with whatever version you download).
# Download using curl
curl -L https://github.com/syncthing/syncthing/releases/download/v1.3.1/syncthing-linux-amd64-v1.3.1.tar.gz -O
# Extract into download folder
tar -xf syncthing-linux-amd64-v1.3.1.tar.gz
Install the syncthing binary and create the systemd service that will auto-start Syncthing for your user account:
# Copy binary
sudo cp syncthing-linux-amd64-v1.3.1/syncthing /usr/bin/syncthing
# Copy systemd service definition
sudo cp syncthing-linux-amd64-v1.3.1/etc/linux-systemd/system/syncthing@.service /etc/systemd/system/
# Enable the service and start it
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable syncthing@$USER.service
sudo systemctl start syncthing@$USER.service
Open http://localhost:8384 to access the Syncthing GUI so you can view its status and configure shares.
Docking station
The Toshiba "dynadock" is a USB 3.0 based docking station that works with Ubuntu with the installation of an additional DisplayLink driver package. This package is easily installed by extracting the downloaded files and running a single command. It supports two external monitors as well as a keyboard, mouse, and additional peripherals.
Warning: On some laptops, you may find that enabling NumLock via the external keyboard interferes with the functionality of the laptop keyboard, even when the dock is disconnected.
Warning: On some laptops, you may find that the sound does not work properly.
Warning: On Ubuntu 19.10 you might find that the OS crashes when the dock is disconnected. You can use the command below to kill the DisplayLink process prior to disconnecting the dock to prevent this. # Execute in bash sudo kill $(ps ax | grep /opt/displaylink/DisplayLinkManager | head -n 1 | cut -f1 -d' ')