Running CFDDFC with the AWS Console
- Configure a Security Group
- Create an SSH Key Pair
- Launch an Instance
- Connect to an Instance
- Using OpenFOAM on an Instance
- Data Transfer to an Instance
- Connect with the Remote Desktop (“Classic” CFDDFC) or
Connect with the Web Browser Remote Desktop (Web CFDDFC) - Data Storage
- Creating a Cluster of Instances
Problem with these instructions? Please send a CFDDFC Support Query.
Remote Desktop Licence
The following instructions are only required if you are using Web CFD Direct From the Cloud (CFDDFC®), which includes the remote desktop accessed through a web browser. The remote desktop is provided by NICE DCV which is provided free with Amazon EC2. AWS provides the free licence by detecting whether the instance can access a particular S3 bucket. The instance must therefore include an attached IAM role (instance policy), containing a policy to access the relevant S3 bucket. The role and policy require a one-time configuration described previously.
The IAM role must be attached to the instance for the remote desktop to function. To ensure the IAM role is attached, login to the EC2 console, go to Instances and select the instance of interest. The description information includes an entry for IAM role. If no IAM role is attached, then from the Actions menu select Security → Modify IAM role. (In the v1 AWS console, it is Instance State → Attach/Replace IAM role.) Select the relevant IAM role, e.g. CFDDFC-Web, and click Update IAM role (Apply in the v1 console).
Connection Protocol
To run the remote desktop, enter in a web browser the URL https://123.45.67.89:8443 where the 123.45.67.89 example must be replaced with the IP address of your specific instance. Be careful to ensure you enter https, not http. As mentioned in Browser Desktop Connection Protocols, the connection uses port 8443 with a self-signed TLS/SSL certificate. The user must therefore click Advanced and Accept the Risk and Continue to apply an exemption for this self-signed certificate.
User Password
The remote desktop login page should now appear. The login requires using username and password credentials.
The username for the default account is ubuntu. EC2 instances on AWS use password-less login using SSH so there is no password set by default for the ubuntu user. Instead, a password must be set by the user. To set a password, login to the instance using SSH from a terminal as described in CFDDFC on AWS: Connect to an Instance with SSH. For example, run a terminal command like the example below:
ssh -i ~/.ssh/awskey.pem ubuntu@123.45.67.89
Once logged in, generate a password for user ubuntu using the passwd command by:
passwd ubuntu
The user then enters and confirms a password of their choice.
The user can then login to the remote desktop with their username and password.
