CFDDFC on AWS: Browser Desktop with Web CFDDFC

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. Web CFDDFC is provided by launching with the -web (-w) option. When launching with the -web option, CFDDFC attempts to  attach a suitable role (instance policy), containing a policy for the free licence of the NICE DCV remote desktop. If role information has been missed, it can be printed in the CFDDFC CLI by typing:

cfddfc config -web

User Password

Assuming a suitable role is configured and attached, the browser desktop then needs username and password login 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 can be set by the CFDDFC CLI by running (optionally with the -key option to identify the instance):

cfddfc browser

The command outputs the login details in the form shown below.

The details for the browser login are:
+ Web URL : https://<ip address>:8443
+ username: ubuntu
+ password: <12 digit password>

By default the generated password is 12 digits in length. The password length can be specified using the -digits option, with a minimum of 12 required by the CFDDFC CLI. The password can be reset at any time using the -password option. To generate a new password of 24 digits, a user could therefore run:

cfddfc browser -password -digits 24

Connection Protocol

To run the remote desktop, enter in a web browser the URL from the “cfddfc browser” command. 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.

Next Step (optional) → Launch a Cluster