JobeInABox customized for SAMK

This is a fork of trampgeek/JobeInABox that introduces additional python 3 libraries for AI and an additional deployment script.

This readme contains instructions for setting up CodeRunner Moodle plugin and the required Jobe server using this repository as the Jobe image. This step-by-step tutorial has been made to work with Jobe server running on Ubuntu 20.04.

Introducing the Products

In this tutorial we will install both CodeRunner Moodle plugin and Jobe server.

CodeRunner

CodeRunner is a free open-source question-type plug-in for Moodle that can run program code submitted by students in answer to a wide range of programming questions in many different languages. It is intended primarily for use in computer programming courses although it can be used to grade any question for which the answer is text. (source)

Official documentation can be found here.

Jobe Server

Jobe (short for Job Engine) is a server that supports running of small compile-and-run jobs in a variety of programming languages. It was developed as a remote sandbox for use by CodeRunner, a Moodle question-type plugin that asks students to write code to some relatively simple specification. However, Jobe servers could be useful in a variety of other contexts, particularly in education. (source)

Installation

Prerequirements

Before starting the installation, you need to first:

Have Moodle 3.x server running and have administrator rights to that Moodle server
Have a Ubuntu server ready where we can setup the Jobe server. The most optiomal solution would be to have the Jobe server installed in the same network as the Moodle server to get best security and performance.

Steps

Installation is fairly straightforward:

Install Jobe in it's own Ubuntu server
Install the Moodle plugin, required other plugin and configure the Moodle plugin to send calculations into the Jobe server

1 / 2: Installing Jobe Server

SSH into the Ubuntu server where you will install Jobe. For best performance, security and to not lose any other work this needs to be a new server without anything else running on it.

First, start by updating the server and installing Git:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install git

Installing Docker

Now, we need to install Docker so we can run the Jobe server virtually in the server. Do that using these steps:

sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu focal stable"
sudo apt update
apt-cache policy docker-ce
sudo apt install docker-ce
sudo systemctl status docker

Now, to be able to use Docker without sudo:

sudo usermod -aG docker ${USER}
su - ${USER}

Then, just confirm that you are added to the Docker group now with:

id -nG

Cloning, building, starting jobeinabox

We will use premade Jobe Docker image called jobeinabox customized for SAMK to easily install and start the Jobe Docker image.

Cloning and building the image

First, we need to clone the image into our computer and move into the cloned folder:

cd ~/
git clone https://github.com/Satakunnan-ammattikorkeakoulu/jobeinabox
cd jobeinabox

Then we just need to give the deploy script +x (execute) permission and run it. The deploy script will reset the repository, pull latest changes from github, stop and completely remove all docker instances from the server (NOTE: This will remove all other docker instances too, make sure that the server that you use is only used to host the Jobe server), redeploy the JobeInaBox server and then start it. This script also pulls latest changes from the original Jobe Github source code, so it is recommended to run this script every now and then even if this repository would not be updated.

Steps:

chmod +x deploy
./deploy

It can take even 20 minutes for the image to launch for the first time as it is really large. Also, the Docker Jobe server will automatically start again after your main Ubuntu server restarts.

Updating jobeinabox

To update jobeinabox, just run the deploy script using ./deploy which will update the local github repository, pull latest changes, remove all docker instances and redeploy the jobe docker server. You might also need to run chmod +x deploy before you run this command.

Viewing Docker image status

You can view the status of the image by executing:

sudo docker ps

If it still states Starting, it is not yet running and ready.

Another way to verify that the Jobe server is started is by using cURL:

curl http://127.0.0.1:4000/jobe/index.php/restapi/languages

If you get back a list of supported languages, then the server is ready and running.

Logging into the server shell

If required, you can login into the server shell (bash) by running this:

docker exec -it jobe /bin/bash

Allow Jobe server port 4000 access only into Moodle server

From security perspective it is also great to only allow access to the specific port 4000 from the Moodle server. Do that with:

sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 4000 -s MOODLE_SERVER_IP_HERE -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 4000 -s 127.0.0.1 -j ACCEPT
sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 4000 -j DROP

Notice to replace the MOODLE_SERVER_IP_HERE with the Moodle server's IP. These rules drop all communication from other locations to this computer and allows communication only from port 4000 from the Moodle server. The third line is also to allow connections from port 4000 through the local computer, for testing that the curl request to the jobe server goes through locally.

And that's it about Jobe server! Next, you should install the CodeRunner plugin into your Moodle.

2 / 2: Installing CodeRunner Moodle Plugin

First, couple Moodle plugins will need to be installed. The plugins are located in Github repository where they can be downloaded as ZIP files into your computer. You can download the plugins as ZIP archives by navigating to links mentioned next and then clicking the green button on topright corner of the page that states "Code" and selecting Download ZIP). Files are located here and here.
Next, login as administrator into the Moodle where you want the CodeRunner installed. From Moodle, navigate to Site Administration -> Plugins tab -> Install Plugins. Install qbehaviour-adaptive-adapter first. Upgrade database when asked.
Next, install the actual qtype-coderunner plugin. For configurations, set:

Jobe server: JOBE_SERVER_IP_OR_DOMAIN:4000
Jobe API-key: Leave as empty

Ready!

Testing the Installation (as a teacher)

CodeRunner works inside Moodle quizzes. To test the functionality, you need to:

Have some test course or create one where you can add a new quiz
Add new quiz into that course
Add new CodeRunner question into the Test
For the CodeRunner question, make these changes (others you can leave for their default values):

Question Type: python3
Question name: print "I love programming"
Question text: Print "I love programming"
Answer: print("I love programming")
Expected output (Test case 1): I love programming

And click Save Changes.

Now go back to editing that question you just made (print "I love programming")
Scroll down to bottom and click on the Preview button.
Now in the opened popup, write in the answer field: print("I love programming")
It should now validate the answer and on the bottom it should say Passed all tests!. If the answer was wrong, it says something like Your code must pass all tests to earn any marks. Try again.. If it had an timeout error, error connecting to the Jobe server or some other error, this usually means that the Jobe server is not running or connection to the Jobe server could not be made (Jobe server has port 4000 closed, wrong IP set on CodeRunner Moodle settings or something else)

Testing the Installation (as a student)

Before we can test the installation as a student, teacher needs to have a course where he/she has created a Quiz that has a single or multiple CodeRunner question(s) added. You can follow the section above (Testing the Installation (as a teacher)) to add an example test with an example question that student can try out.

Testing the installation as a student is simple. First login as a student in Moodle. Now just go to the test Quiz that you had created and where you had at least one CodeRunner question setup. Now complete the question and if it runs OK and you can complete it, it means that the CodeRunner Plugin is working.

Satakunnan-ammattikorkeakoulu / jobeinabox

readme