3.5. Use#

This section explains which commands are available to manage your server. It also explains how to set up a test server locally and how to manage resources via an IPython shell.

3.5.1. Quick start#

To create a new server, run the command below. A menu will be started that allows you to set up a server configuration file.

vserver new

For more details, check out the Configure section.

To run a server, execute the command below. The --attach flag will copy log output to the console.

vserver start --name <your_server> --attach

Warning

When the server is run for the first time, the following user is created:

username: root
password: root

It is recommended to change this password immediately.

Finally, a server can be stopped again with:

vserver stop --name <your_server>

3.5.2. Available commands#

The following commands are available in your environment. To see all the options that are available per command use the --help flag, e.g. vserver start --help.

Command	Description
`vserver new`	Create a new server configuration file
`vserver start`	Start a server
`vserver stop`	Stop a server
`vserver files`	List the files that a server is using
`vserver attach`	Show a server’s logs in the current terminal
`vserver list`	List the available server instances
`vserver shell`	Run a server instance python shell
`vserver import`	Import server entities as a batch
`vserver version`	Shows the versions of all the components of the running server

3.5.3. Local test setup#

If the nodes and the server run at the same machine, you have to make sure that the node can reach the server.

Windows and MacOS

Setting the server IP to 0.0.0.0 makes the server reachable at your localhost (this is also the case when the dockerized version is used). In order for the node to reach this server, set the server_url setting to host.docker.internal.

Warning

On the M1 mac the local server might not be reachable from your nodes as host.docker.internal does not seem to refer to the host machine. Reach out to us on Discourse for a solution if you need this!

Linux

You should bind the server to 0.0.0.0. In the node configuration files, you can then use http://172.17.0.1, assuming you use the default docker network settings.

3.5.4. Batch import#

You can easily create a set of test users, organizations and collaborations by using a batch import. To do this, use the vserver import /path/to/file.yaml command. An example yaml file is provided below.

You can download this file here.

Example batch import

application: {}
  # you may also add your configuration here and leave environments empty

environments:
  # name of the environment (should be 'test', 'prod', 'acc' or 'dev')
  test:

    # Human readable description of the server instance. This is to help
    # your peers to identify the server
    description: Test

    # Should be prod, acc, test or dev. In case the type is set to test
    # the JWT-tokens expiration is set to 1 day (default is 6 hours). The
    # other types can be used in future releases of vantage6
    type: test

    # IP adress to which the server binds. In case you specify 0.0.0.0
    # the server listens on all interfaces
    ip: 0.0.0.0

    # Port to which the server binds
    port: 5000

    # API path prefix. (i.e. https://yourdomain.org/api_path/<endpoint>). In the
    # case you use a referse proxy and use a subpath, make sure to include it
    # here also.
    api_path: /api

    # The URI to the server database. This should be a valid SQLAlchemy URI,
    # e.g. for an Sqlite database: sqlite:///database-name.sqlite,
    # or Postgres: postgresql://username:password@172.17.0.1/database).
    uri: sqlite:///test.sqlite

    # This should be set to false in production as this allows to completely
    # wipe the database in a single command. Useful to set to true when
    # testing/developing.
    allow_drop_all: True

    # The secret key used to generate JWT authorization tokens. This should
    # be kept secret as others are able to generate access tokens if they
    # know this secret. This parameter is optional. In case it is not
    # provided in the configuration it is generated each time the server
    # starts. Thereby invalidating all previous distributed keys.
    # OPTIONAL
    jwt_secret_key: super-secret-key! # recommended but optional

    # Settings for the logger
    logging:

      # Controls the logging output level. Could be one of the following
      # levels: CRITICAL, ERROR, WARNING, INFO, DEBUG, NOTSET
      level:        DEBUG

      # Filename of the log-file, used by RotatingFileHandler
      file:         test.log

      # Whether the output is shown in the console or not
      use_console:  True

      # The number of log files that are kept, used by RotatingFileHandler
      backup_count: 5

      # Size in kB of a single log file, used by RotatingFileHandler
      max_size:     1024

      # format: input for logging.Formatter,
      format:       "%(asctime)s - %(name)-14s - %(levelname)-8s - %(message)s"
      datefmt:      "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S"

    # Configure a smtp mail server for the server to use for administrative
    # purposes. e.g. allowing users to reset their password.
    # OPTIONAL
    smtp:
      port: 587
      server: smtp.yourmailserver.com
      username: your-username
      password: super-secret-password

    # Set an email address you want to direct your users to for support
    # (defaults to the address you set above in the SMTP server or otherwise
    # to support@vantage6.ai)
    support_email: your-support@email.com

    # set how long reset token provided via email are valid (default 1 hour)
    email_token_validity_minutes: 60

    # set how long tokens and refresh tokens are valid (default 6 and 48
    # hours, respectively)
    token_expires_hours: 6
    refresh_token_expires_hours: 48

    # If algorithm containers need direct communication between each other
    # the server also requires a VPN server. (!) This must be a EduVPN
    # instance as vantage6 makes use of their API (!)
    # OPTIONAL
    vpn_server:
        # the URL of your VPN server
        url: https://your-vpn-server.ext

        # OATH2 settings, make sure these are the same as in the
        # configuration file of your EduVPN instance
        redirect_url: http://localhost
        client_id: your_VPN_client_user_name
        client_secret: your_VPN_client_user_password

        # Username and password to acccess the EduVPN portal
        portal_username: your_eduvpn_portal_user_name
        portal_userpass: your_eduvpn_portal_user_password

  prod: {}
  acc: {}
  dev: {}

Warning

All users that are imported using vserver import receive the superuser role. We are looking into ways to also be able to import roles. For more background info refer to this issue.