# code.mindmeldr.com /graphterm

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# GraphTerm in the cloud

Contents

- GraphTerm in the cloud
  - Setup
  - Server security
  - Secondary cloud instances

## Setup

The GraphTerm distribution includes the scripts `ec2launch, ec2list, ec2scp,` and `ec2ssh` to launch and monitor Amazon Web Services (AWS) Elastic Computing Cloud (EC2) instances running a GraphTerm server. These scripts are used to test new versions of GraphTerm by running them in the “cloud”. You will need to have an AWS account to use these scripts, and also need to install the `boto` python module.

If you do not have an AWS account, get one (this will be linked to your standard Amazon account). If you own a domain name, say `myterm.com`, that you wish to use for your cloud server, then you should also activate the AWS Route 53 service and create a hosted zone for `myterm.com`. Ensure that the nameserver records for `myterm.com` at your domain name registrar point to the AWS nameservers for the hosted zone. (If do not use your own domain, you will need to use the long public name for your server assigned by AWS.)

To create an instance, use the `ec2launch` command. (The first time you do this, you will be asked to enter your AWS security credentials, which will then be stored in the file `~/boto`.) You will be presented with a web form to enter details of the instance to be launched. You can specify a simple tag name to identify each server. If the tag name is of the form `subdomain.myterm.com`, then the newly created server can be automatically accessed using this domain name. You can also specify whether to install additional packages, like `pylab` for plotting or `R` for statistical analysis.

Once you fill in the form for `ec2launch` and submit it, a command line will be automatically generated, with the specified options, to launch the instance. You may need to wait several minutes for the instance setup to complete, depending upon the compute power of the instance. To launch another instance with slightly different properties, you can simply recall the command line and edit it.

By default, a publicly accessible `graphterm` server will be automatically started on the new instance, Once the instance is running, you can access the GraphTerm server at `http://subdomain.myterm.com`. You can log in to the instance using the command `ec2ssh ubuntu@subdomain.myterm.com`, or copy files to it using `ec2scp file ubuntu@subdomain.myterm.com:`

The `ec2list` command can be used to list all running instances, and also to terminate them.

Note: If you have trouble accessing the instance, check to make sure that the AWS security group associated with the cloud instance allows access to inbound TCP port 22 (for SSH access), 8900 (for GraphTerm users to connect), and possibly port 8899 (for GraphTerm hosts to connect).

## Server security

Use the `auth_type` value of `none` in the `ec2launch` form to launch a password-less public server, or use a blank entry if you wish to launch the server manually later, using the following command, for example:

    gtermserver --daemon=start --auth_type=none --host=<server_domain_or_address>

Note: Using an `auth_type` value of `none` (or `name`, for simple name-based authentication) is very insecure and should not be used when handling any sensitive information. For increased security in a publicly-accessible server, the `--auth_type=multiuser` option can be used:

    gtermserver --daemon=start --auth_type=multiuser  --host=<server_domain_or_address> --super_users=ubuntu  --auto_users --allow_share

In this case, a secret master authentication code is stored in the file `~/.graphterm/graphterm_auth@server_domain`. If the authentication code is not already present in the file, a new random code will be generated. The `--super_users=` option specifies super users who can login using the secret master authentication code. The `--auto_users` option allows new users to be created on the fly. New users are logged in automatically without a password but any subsequent logins will require the user authentication code saved in the file `~user/.graphterm/graphterm_auth.user@server_domain`. If this file is downloaded and saved in the user’s local `~/.graphterm` directory, then the following local command can be used to access the remote server:

    gterm -u user -s server_domain

(The super user can use the `gauth` command to re-generate user authentication codes and the `gterm_user_setup` script to manually configure new users.)

You can also configure the server to use https instead of http, if you have an SSL certificate. Since GraphTerm is currently in alpha status, security cannot be guaranteed even with these options enabled. (To avoid these issues, use SSH port forwarding to access GraphTerm on `localhost` whenever possible.)

## Secondary cloud instances

Secondary cloud instances can connect to the GraphTerm server on the primary instance using the command:

    gtermhost --daemon=start --server_addr=<server_domain_or_address> <secondary_host_name>

Note: It would be better to use an internal (non-public) network address to connect secondary cloud instances.

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