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    Guided lesson
    01 / 01About 25 minutesdata handling

    Verify Your Approved NAS Workspace

    Connect to the NAS, the durable shared network drive. Mount the approved project folder and verify one harmless write/read/delete probe inside your authorized username boundary. Submit no private path.

    Where you will workOn your computer, inside the approved shared project folder
    1. 1Understand
    2. 2Try it yourself
    3. 3Check and submit

    Before you start#

    NAS means network-attached storage: the durable shared project drive over the ETH network. Mapping or mounting a share makes it appear as a drive or folder on your computer. SMB (Server Message Block) supplies the connection. Permission remains an owner's decision, even when the service is reachable.

    Address or path Used for
    Network share address (smb:// on macOS/Linux) Connecting in the file manager
    Mounted local filesystem path The local Passport probe
    Your ETH-username subfolder The only authorized probe boundary

    Keep code in separate Git clones. High input/output (high-I/O) work repeatedly reads/writes large amounts of data; stage it to approved Euler storage rather than running it directly against the NAS.

    A folder is readable. What else must be approved and verified before you write? Confirm the owner and boundary before the probe, rather than testing at the root.

    What the probe establishes

    The launcher creates one random non-sensitive file, reads it and removes it in your authorized username folder. Success establishes that small round trip; it does not audit backups, all project permissions or retention. The mounted path stays local. A cleanup failure is a stop requiring the exact probe's repair.

    Use the mounted local path, keep the authorized boundary and confirm probe cleanup. Stop for owner help when any check fails.

    Start the practice

    Practice

    Follow the steps

    Follow in order

    Steps

    First obtain the supervisor folder and approval. Mount it using only your computer's instructions, then enter your exact ETH-username folder. Never probe the share root or someone else's folder. Never use chmod 777 or broaden permissions to repair access.

    Optional: using the terminal

    A command is a line of text that tells a computer to do one task. You paste it into a terminal, the text application used for commands. A shell is the part inside that application that reads the command. PowerShell, zsh, and Bash are shells. Open only the application named for your computer below; it starts its configured shell. Follow the shell named below. You do not need to install a separate Bash or zsh application.

    Your computer or local means the laptop or desktop in front of you. Remote means another computer reached through the network. A command affects whichever computer the step names, so check that label before pasting.

    • Windows: press the Windows key, type PowerShell, and open the result named PowerShell. Do not use Command Prompt, Git Bash, or WSL for a block labelled PowerShell.
    • macOS: press Command+Space, type Terminal, and press Return. Terminal normally starts the zsh shell. If it uses another shell, run zsh for this session.
    • Linux: open the app named Terminal from the applications menu. It normally starts the Bash shell. If it uses another shell, run bash for this session.

    The prompt is the text beside the blinking cursor. For each card, check the named computer, choose Copy, paste only the command after the prompt, press Enter once, and wait for the prompt to return.

    If you have never done this before, first run the harmless terminal-ready practice on the start page. It lets you practise copying, pasting, pressing Enter, and reading output before a setup command.

    Practise one harmless command firstHow to open a terminal and run a command
    1. 01

      Know what the NAS is

      Read and answer on this web page

      NAS means network-attached storage: approved durable shared project storage over the ETH network. Mapping or mounting makes a remote share visible locally. SMB (Server Message Block) is its file-sharing method. Use the address/path distinction above; high-I/O Euler work belongs on approved compute storage.

      Open the NAS reference

      Look forYou can distinguish durable NAS project data from local, GitHub, and temporary storage.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Ask for the exact approved project folder.
      Safe recovery
      Do not mount or probe a guessed folder.
    2. 02

      Confirm the approved folder

      Read and answer on this web page

      Ask your supervisor for the exact supervisor project folder and confirm that your ETH-username subfolder may be created or used there.

      Look forYou know the supervisor first name, your short ETH username, and who owns the project data.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Connect to ETH network or VPN.
      Safe recovery
      Stop. Do not browse or create folders by guessing.
    3. 03

      Connect to the ETH network

      On your computer

      Use the campus network or ETH VPN before connecting the network drive. VPN means Virtual Private Network: the official secure connection used to reach ETH-only services from outside the campus network. Connecting a network drive is also called mapping or mounting the share.

      Open the ETH VPN instructions

      Look forThe ETH file service is reachable.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Mount the supervisor project folder.
      Safe recovery
      Fix VPN or network access before changing credentials or paths.
    4. 04

      Map the NAS folder in Windows

      On your computer

      Press Win+E, right-click This PC, choose Map network drive, select an unused drive letter, and enter \\d.ethz.ch\groups\mavt\ide\Projects\<SupervisorFirstName>. Replace only the placeholder. Select Use a different account if needed and sign in as d\<eth-username> with your own ETH password.

      Open the illustrated NAS guide

      Look forThe approved supervisor folder appears under This PC.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Open or create only your ETH-username subfolder.
      Safe recovery
      Check VPN, the supervisor-name spelling, and the d\username account format; do not use another person's saved credentials.
    5. 05

      Connect to the NAS folder in macOS

      On your computer

      Open Finder, press Command+K, and enter smb://d.ethz.ch/groups/mavt/ide/Projects/<SupervisorFirstName>. Replace only the placeholder, choose Connect, and sign in as d\<eth-username> with your own ETH password.

      Open the illustrated NAS guide

      Look forThe approved supervisor folder appears under Finder Locations.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Open or create only your ETH-username subfolder.
      Safe recovery
      Check VPN, the supervisor-name spelling, and the d\username account format; do not save another person's credentials.
    6. 06

      Connect to the NAS folder in Linux

      On your computer

      Open your file manager, choose Other Locations or Connect to Server, and enter smb://d.ethz.ch/groups/mavt/ide/Projects/<SupervisorFirstName>. Replace only the placeholder and sign in as d\<eth-username> with your own ETH password. Do not use sudo, edit /etc/fstab, or install a system-wide network file-sharing service for onboarding.

      Open the complete NAS guide

      Look forThe approved supervisor folder opens in the file manager.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Open or create only your ETH-username subfolder.
      Safe recovery
      Check VPN and the exact URL; ask for the approved Linux method instead of changing system settings.
    7. 07

      Enter your username folder

      On your computer

      Inside the mounted supervisor folder, open the folder whose name is exactly your short ETH username. If it is absent and your supervisor authorized you to create it, use New Folder once and give it that exact name. Do not select or test the supervisor root.

      Look forThe final folder name exactly matches your ETH username.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Find its local mounted path in the next step.
      Safe recovery
      Message your supervisor through your usual private ETH or lab channel: ask them to confirm or create your NAS username folder. Do not put the real path in a public issue.
    8. 08

      Copy the mounted folder path

      On your computer

      Open a local terminal. Type cd followed by one space, drag the authorized ETH-username folder from File Explorer, Finder, or your Linux file manager into the terminal, and press Enter. Then run the displayed command. If dragging does not insert a path, use the file manager's address bar or path-copy action. Copy the printed local path into the Passport field; do not enter the smb:// address. Paths with spaces must stay quoted as inserted by the file manager. An SMB network address is not the mounted filesystem path.

      RunPowerShell on Windows
      (Get-Location).Path
      RunTerminal on macOS (zsh)
      pwd
      RunTerminal on Linux (Bash)
      pwd

      Look forThe printed local path ends with your short ETH username and opens the same authorized folder in the file manager.

      If this differsDo not guess a hidden mount path. Ask for the approved mount method if the file manager cannot expose a local path.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Use that exact path for the access probe.
    9. 09

      Run the access probe

      On your computer

      Enter your ETH username and the mounted username-folder path in the local confirmation fields. Check my work creates a random test file, reads it, and removes it inside that boundary.

      Look forCheck my work reports that the username boundary, write, read, and removal checks passed.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Confirm the storage rules.
      Safe recovery
      Stop and inspect the named failure. If cleanup failed, request private support for the affected username folder and exact check; do not broaden permissions, test the root or delete other files.
    10. 10

      Use NAS for durable shared data

      Read and answer on this web page

      Keep datasets, checkpoints, and deliverables in the approved project hierarchy. Keep source code in separate Git clones, and stage high-I/O Euler work to approved Euler storage.

      Look forNAS holds durable shared data, not a shared Git working tree or active high-I/O Euler workload.

      Explanation and help
      What this means
      Submit the generated result once; it excludes the private NAS path and username.
      Safe recovery
      Move code collaboration to GitHub and identify the location that holds the main durable data copy.

    Practise

    One practice question. It does not affect your progress.

    01You can read the supervisor folder, but your username folder is not writable. What does this show?
    See an explanation

    Read and write access are separate. Confirm the intended username boundary with its owner; a readable share is not authorization to broaden permissions or test elsewhere.

    Finish the lesson

    Questions to submit

    Answer these 2 questions, then confirm the work you checked.

    Both answers must be correct. Completion appears after the automatic GitHub check passes.

    01Where may you create project data on the NAS?Safety-critical
    02Should the NAS hold one shared Git working tree?Safety-critical
    Confirm the result you personally observed

    These values are processed only by the local launcher. Private paths are not written to the public submission.

    Before submitting
    Open my real passport first

    You can check sample answers here. Open your local Passport to check your practice files and submit the lesson.

    Preview onlyYou can try the questions here. This page does not store or submit your answers.
    Need help?Open recovery steps and AI-review guidance

    If Blocked#

    Stop if the approved supervisor folder is unknown, another person's folder is shown, the path is read-only when write access is expected, or the cleanup fails. Keep the exact path private. For folder ownership or access, message your supervisor through the private ETH or lab channel you normally use. If the folder works but Check my work fails, open one public Passport help request with only your operating system, this mission title, and the failed step. Do not include the path or username. Do not change broad permissions or test at the share root.

    Useful references:

    Understand Before Accepting AI Output#

    An agent must not choose a project root, widen permissions, publish the real path, or claim that the probe was removed without local verification.