
Quick Start
===========

The full instructions for client installation and configuration can be
found in the "Try It" section of the [StratusLab
website](http://stratuslab.eu/).


Prerequisites
-------------

The client has the following prerequisites:

  * Python 2.6.x or 2.7.x
  * Java 1.6+
  * SSH client
  * SSH keypair

Be sure that appropriate versions of Python and Java are installed.
See the full installation documentation for information on configuring
SSH.


Client Installation
-------------------

Unpack the StratusLab client distribution into a convenient location.
This directory is called $STRATUSLAB_HOME for convenience below.

**Note**: The distributions (zip and tar.gz) **do not** contain a
common root directory; you probably want to create a subdirectory
on your file system to unpack the distribution into.


Client Configuration
--------------------

Define your PATH and PYTHONPATH environmental variables, using your
system specific mechanism.  The following shows the commands for a
Linux bash shell:

~~~ {bash}
export PATH=$STRATUSLAB_HOME/bin:$PATH
export PYTHONPATH=$STRATUSLAB_HOME/lib/stratuslab/python
~~~

Modify these commands as necessary for your operating system. 

Create the subdirectory ".stratuslab" in your home area.  This may be
in different places depending on your operating system. 

Copy the file $STRATUSLAB_HOME/conf/stratuslab-user.cfg.ref to the
".stratuslab" subdirectory you created in your home directory.

**Rename this file from *.cfg.ref to *.cfg!**

Provide values for the "endpoint", "pdisk_endpoint", "username", and
"password" parameters.


Testing the Client
------------------

If the client is correctly installed, the following commands should
work without errors:

~~~ {bash}
stratus-describe-instance --version
stratus-describe-instance --help
~~~

If they do not check the above instructions or the full instructions
on the web. 

To check the connection to the cloud, try the following command:

~~~ {bash}
stratus-describe-instance
~~~

This should return an empty list of your running machine instances.


Problems
--------

See the full instructions on the web.  If you still have problems,
then contact support@stratuslab.eu.



