AU COSAM Linux ThinLinc

Logging in and setting up

The IT group of the Collage of Sciences & Mathematics (COSAM IT) hosts a Linux desktop environment that can be run in a web browser using the software called ThinLinc. COSAM IT was kind enough to provide access to this Linux ThinLinc environment to all the students in our class.

Important! Please read the next 2 sections and don’t skip to logging in!

Logging out of a ThinLinc session

Before we learn how to log in to a ThinLinc session, you need to know how to log out.

You cannot log out by closing your browser window!

Instead you need to:

1. Click the power icon a the top right of the Linux desktop in your browser window
2. Click “Power Off/Log Out”
3. Click “Log Out”

Figure 1: How to log out of a Linux ThinLinc session.

If you do close your brower by mistake, it’s OK! Just go back to https://csm-earth.auburn.edu. The screen might look black, but that is just the Linux desktop’s lock screen. Click the black screen and you will be prompted to enter your password to unlock the screen. Use the same AU password as when you logged in (see below).

If you close your browser without logging out, your ThinLinc session remains active and uses resources on COSAM’s servers. So, please remember to log out when you’re done.

I was using ThinLinc but now have a black screen!

No worries, the black screen is the Linux desktop’s lock screen. Click on it and you will be asked to enter your password to unlock the screen. Use the same AU password as when you logged in.

Logging in to a ThinLinc session

1. Make sure you are connected to AU’s VPN.

2. Open your web browser and go to https://csm-earth.auburn.edu. You should see a login screen that looks like the screenshot below.

   

   Figure 2: Linux ThinLinc log in page.

3. In the “Username” field, enter your AU username (the first part of your AU email before the “@” symbol). For the password, enter the password for you AU account. Then, click “Log in”

4. You will see a prompt for 2-factor authentication like the one below. Enter the number associated with your preferred mode of authentication. In the example below, to use DUO, type “1” and click “Next.”

   

   Figure 3: Linux ThinLinc prompt for 2-factor authentication.

5. After authenticating, the Linux Desktop will begin to load in your browser. This can take 30 seconds or so. Once the Linux Desktop has loaded, you can click “Activities” in the upper left of the desktop to reveal a dock along the bottom of the desktop. You can use the dock to launch applications (Figure 4).

   

   Figure 4: How to view the dock and launch apps.

Setting up our shared folder in ThinLinc

COSAM IT has created a shared folder we can all access within our ThinLinc environment. To set up the shared folder, follow these steps. You only need to do this once!

1. Click “Activities” in the upper left of the desktop.

2. From the dock along the bottom, open the “Files” application (its icon is a filing cabinet; see Figure 4)

3. Along the left of the Files window, click “+ Other Locations”

4. Along the bottom of the window you will see “Connect to Server” and “Enter server address…” In the “Enter server address…” field type (or copy and paste):

   smb://auo11.auburn.edu/csm

   and then click “Connect”

5. Along the left of the you shoud now see “csm on auo11.auburn.edu”. Click on that and then the “Academic - Class Resources” folder

6. Within the “Academic - Class Resources” folder, you should now see the “Biol5800-6800” folder. Click and drag the “Biol5800-6800” folder to the left of the window, and drop it where you see “New bookmark”.

You can now access the “Biol5800-6800” folder via the “Files” app whenever you are logged into ThinLinc. The whole class has access to this folder, and this is where I will put any files you need to use within the ThinLinc Linux environment.