CernVM Launch
The cernvm-launch
utility is a single binary for Windows, Linux, and Mac that creates, lists, and destroys (interactive) CernVMs on VirtualBox. It works similar to the vagrant
and docker
command line utilities. It is meant to be used for interactive (graphical) CernVM instances on a local workstation or laptop. The tool should be self-describing but there is also usage documentation.
Installation
As a one time preparation you need to:
- Install VirtualBox.
- Download the CernVM-Launch binary for your operating system and put it in your
PATH
environment (see below).
Once installed, you can manage CernVM instances using different "context" ASCII files, which you can store on your computer.
The installation process depends on the platform. For instructions how to install VirtualBox, please visit the official VirtualBox page.
Linux/Mac Installation
Run the following commands in your terminal.
# Download
if [ "x$(uname -s)" = "xLinux" ]; then
curl -o cernvm-launch https://ecsft.cern.ch/dist/cernvm/launch/bin/Linux/cernvm-launch
else
curl -o cernvm-launch https://ecsft.cern.ch/dist/cernvm/launch/bin/Mac/cernvm-launch
fi
chmod +x cernvm-launch # make it executable
# As root user, place it in a directory from the $PATH environment
sudo cp cernvm-launch /usr/local/bin
You can pick a different directory from your $PATH
environment. Use echo $PATH
to see all possible directories.
Windows
Download the cernvm-launch executable. Open a Windows prompt as an Administrator
- Click the Start icon
- Type
cmd
- Right-click on "cmd.exe" and click "Run as administrator"
Go to the directory where you have the downloaded binary, e.g.
cd C:\Users\sftnight\Downloads
From there, copy the binary in a directory, which is a default path for executable, e.g.
copy cernvm-launch.exe C:\Windows
You can see your path directories with echo %PATH%