Installation

New to WeBWorK: What do I need?

New to WeBWorK: What do I need?

by Shuyi Weng -
Number of replies: 1

I intend to use WeBWorK for a course in the upcoming spring semester. I am completely new to WeBWorK as well as the underlying computer/network architecture. I followed the instruction on WeBWorK Documentation Wiki to get WeBWorK 2.19 running on VirtualBox (within Windows 10), and I have also configured it following the step-by-step instruction on "WeBWorK 2.19 Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS Virtual Machine Image."  It seems that everything is working alright by accessing http://127.0.0.1:8081/webwork2/, but I suspect this would not be available if the virtual machine is powered off (or if my PC is powered off). My understanding is that a 24/7 server needs to be set up to keep it working, which I do not have. I don't think our math department (or the University) has a WeBWorK server, and I am not sure if the department would be happy with me hosting a WeBWorK course on Runestone (FERPA etc). We have a departmental Linux machine that can be accessed remotely, and I am trying to see if it is possible to host the course on there. But with the holidays, I probably won't get a response for another week. 

So here is my question before I hear back from IT: Am I on the right track? What are the specific requests/inquiries that I need to make to our IT supports to make it happen, given that we don't have a server yet (at least none that I am able to find)? 

Thank you, and happy holidays!

Shuyi

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In reply to Shuyi Weng

Re: New to WeBWorK: What do I need?

by Alex Jordan -

Typically, an institutional IT department would assist you in setting up a server using whatever processes they use for Linux web server management.

I manage the Runestone WeBWorK hosting service. If it is helpful, you can use this service while keeping the students completely anonymous. You would have to forego some features (notably a direct connection to your LMS and email features) and also you would have to tolerate some small tedium as the instructor managing a mapping of anonymous user IDs to the actual IDs of your students. If you would like to pursue that, I can go into more detail.