Computer Networks Lab Manual
  • Course Information
    • Welcome
    • Lab sessions and etiquette
    • Team setup
  • Setup Guides
    • GitHub Repository Setup
    • Technical setup
      • Linux
      • Windows
      • MacOS
  • GitHub SSH Setup
  • Framework Setup
  • Reference Documentation
    • Getting started
  • Introduction to Python
  • The socket abstraction
  • Handling connections
    • Threads
    • Polling
  • Assignments
    • Assignments overview
    • Mandatory assignments
      • A1 - Chat Client
      • A2 - TCP Trace Analysis
    • Extra assignments
      • A3 - Chat Server
      • A4 - HTTP2 Trace Analysis
      • A5 - HTTP Server
  • Appendix
    • Game showcase
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On this page
  • Step 1: Install PyCharm
  • Step 2: Install WSL
  • Step 3: Install Miniconda3
  • Step 4: Set up SSH with GitHub
  • Step 5: Set up PyCharm with WSL
  1. Setup Guides
  2. Technical setup

Windows

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Last updated 13 days ago

To work on the assignments, you need a UNIX-like environment. Luckily, even though Windows is not UNIX-based, the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) allows you to run a Linux distribution in a virtual machine (VM) with minimal setup.

If you already have WSL installed, make sure you have the Ubuntu 24.04 version installed. Otherwise, the framework might not work as intended.

Step 1: Install PyCharm

Download and install for Windows. We strongly recommend installing the Professional version of PyCharm (free of cost). To do this, you will need to create an account using your university student email address. You may also use the Community edition, however we do not oficially support it.

Step 2: Install WSL

  1. Open PowerShell as administrator.

  2. Enter wsl --install (This step may take a few minutes)

  3. When prompted choose a username and password for the WSL user account.

WSL should now be installed and the PowerShell window will show the command line for the Linux VM. From now on, you can enter this Linux VM by opening the WSL App from within Windows (e.g., by typing "WSL" in the search bar).

Any terminal commands that are mentioned in the following guides should be executed in a WSL terminal - not your Windows command line.

Step 3: Install Miniconda3

mkdir -p ~/miniconda3
wget https://repo.anaconda.com/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-Linux-x86_64.sh -O ~/miniconda3/miniconda.sh
bash ~/miniconda3/miniconda.sh -b -u -p ~/miniconda3
rm ~/miniconda3/miniconda.sh

After installing, close and reopen your terminal application or refresh it by running the following command:

source ~/miniconda3/bin/activate

Step 4: Set up SSH with GitHub

Step 5: Set up PyCharm with WSL

  3. Select On WSL.

  4. Wait until PyCharm detects Linux on your machine and completes introspection. Click Next to proceed:

One of the easiest ways to access your GitHub account (and with that your private repository) from within WSL is to set up a Secure Shell (SSH) key. Follow the for this. Make sure to execute all commands from within your WSL terminal!

Follow the section to create your conda environment.

Click the and choose Add New Interpreter.

PyCharm
GitHub SSH Setup Guide
Framework Setup
Python Interpreter selector