*Hi Spark Devs and Users,BerkeleyX and Databricks are currently developing
two Spark-related MOOC on edX (intro
<https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-big-data-apache-spark-uc-berkeleyx-cs100-1x>,
ml
<https://www.edx.org/course/scalable-machine-learning-uc-berkeleyx-cs190-1x>),
the first of which starts on June 1st. Together these courses have over
75K enrolled students!To help students perform exercises course content, we
have created a Vagrant box that contains Spark and IPython (running on
Ubuntu 32-bit). This will simplify user setup and helps us support them.
We are writing to give you early access to the VM environment and the first
assignment, and to request your help to test out the VM/assignment before
we unleash it to 75K people (see instructions below). We’ve provided
instructions below. We’re happy to help if you have any difficulties
getting the VM setup; please feel free to contact me (marco.s...@gmail.com
<marco.s...@gmail.com>) with any issues, comments, or
questions.Sincerely,Marco ShawSpark MOOC TA_____________(This is being sent
as an HTML formatted email. Some of the links have been duplicated just in
case.)1. Install VirtualBox here
<https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads> on your OS (see Windows
tutorial here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06Sf-m64fcY>
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06Sf-m64fcY
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06Sf-m64fcY>))2. Install Vagrant here
<https://www.vagrantup.com/downloads.html> on your OS (see Windows tutorial
here <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZVS23BaA1I>
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZVS23BaA1I
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZVS23BaA1I>))3) Install virtual machine
using the following steps: (see Windows tutorial here
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJCqHC7IYc>
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJCqHC7IYc
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJCqHC7IYc>))a. Create a custom directory
(e.g. c:\users\marco\myvagrant or /home/marco/myvagrant)b. Download the
file
<https://raw.githubusercontent.com/spark-mooc/mooc-setup/master/Vagrantfile>
to the custom directory (NOTE: It must be named exactly "Vagrantfile" with
no extension)c. Open a DOS prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux) to the
custom directory and issue the command "vagrant up"4) Perform basic
commands in VM as described below: (see Windows tutorial here
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkteLH77IR0>
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkteLH77IR0
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkteLH77IR0>))a. To start the VM, from a
DOS prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux), issue the command "vagrant
up".b. To stop the VM, from a DOS prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux),
issue the command "vagrant halt".c. To erase or delete the VM, from a DOS
prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux), issue the command "vagrant
destroy".d. Once the VM is running, to access the notebook, open a web
browser to "http://localhost:8001 <http://localhost:8001/>".5) Using test
notebook as described below: (see Windows tutorial here
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlfAmyF3Q-s>
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlfAmyF3Q-s
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlfAmyF3Q-s>))a. To start the VM, from a
DOS prompt (Windows) or terminal (Mac/Linux), issue the command "vagrant
up".b. Once the VM is running, to access the notebook, open a web browser
to "http://localhost:8001 <http://localhost:8001/>".c. Upload this IPython
notebook:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/spark-mooc/mooc-setup/master/vm_test_student.ipynb
<https://raw.githubusercontent.com/spark-mooc/mooc-setup/master/vm_test_student.ipynb>.d.
Run through the notebook.6) Play around with the first MOOC assignment
(email Marco for details when you get to this point).7) Please answer the
following questionsa. What machine are you using (OS, RAM, CPU, age)?b. How
long did the entire process take?c. How long did the VM download take?
Relatedly, where are you located?d. Do you have any other
comments/suggestions?*
