Linode

Linode Service Provider

The following is a step-by-step guide to installing DocNow in Linode. The instructions use terminology for macOS. You should be able to follow these instructions without prior experience with Linode or macOS Terminal, but if this is your first time administering an application, fair warning! This may take up to 2 hours to install.

Please follow each step carefully and open an issue on the Github Repository if you find something missing.

Installing DocNow in Linode will cost money, both for running a server and collecting and storing data. Please remember to turn off your Virtual Private Server (VPS) when you are done to avoid extra charges.

1. Install Ansible

Ansible will be used to configure the Virtual Private Server you will be setting up on Linode. This server will host the DocNow App.

You will need a Programmers Editors like Microsoft's VSCode to make edits below. Download and unzip the file at the link to install it.

Start by opening the Terminal application on your Mac in Applications/Utilities This can be also found by typing terminal' in Spotlight.

Install Homebrew by copying the following into your Terminal:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)" This step will prompt you for the macOSusername password. Please remember to hit Enter after each entry.

This will take a few minutes

Then copy the following into your Terminal if this is your first time installing Homebrew:

git -C /usr/local/Homebrew/Library/Taps/homebrew/homebrew-core fetch --unshallow

This will take a few minutes

Then install Ansible by copying the following into your Terminal:

brew install ansible

Now your computer has the tools it needs to interface with Linode.

2. Set up your Linode account

• Follow the Linode instructions to create a Linode account here

Create an SSH Key

To host your Docnow Application on Linode you will need SSH (Secure Shell, allows for secure access to remote servers).

SSH uses public and private keys.

• Your public SSH key is what you'll provide Linode in order to authorize access to your server.
• Your private SSH key remains on your computer and is required to log into your Linode server.

Creating an SSH keypair

Open your computer's Terminal:

• On macOS, this can be found by typing terminal' in Spotlight, or under Applications \> Utilities \> Terminal.

If you have never created an SSH keypair before, Type the following command and hit Enter:

ssh-keygen -f ~/.ssh/docnow_id_rsa

This step will save your Linode keys under a hidden directory name /Users/[macOSusername]/.ssh which is the default location of your ssh keys.

Hit Enter without typing anything to save it to the default location. After hitting enter, you will be prompted for an optional passphrase which will encrypt the private SSH key. (This is an added security to protect your keys, should you ever lose your computer.).

You now have a public and private key that you'll use to authenticate with the server you'll create. The screen output will look something like this:

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /Users/[macOSusername]/.ssh/docnow_id_rsa
Your public key has been saved in /Users/[macOSusername]/.ssh/docnow_id_rsa.pub
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:j0QCWjKqsmvUG2OAhlmFGruiLdpMgcqXwWIePlbi5Qs [macOSusername]@YOURMACOS
The key's randomart image is:
+---[RSA 3072]----+
|  oo+            |
|..o= .           |
|+*.   . .        |
|B+.    o         |
|=*+=    S        |
|@oB*o  . o       |
|*Eo++   . .      |
|+*=..            |
|=.o.             |
+----[SHA256]-----+

You can list the contents of the directory by running the following:

ls -alt ~/.ssh/

If this your first time you will see the docnow_id_rsa private key and it's public pair of docnow_id_rsa.pub

If you already have keys you will also see id_rsa private key and id_rsa.pub public pair.

3. Create your Virtual Private Server

• Create your Linode Virtual Private Server
• Choose a Distribution: Select Ubuntu 18.04 LTS
• Region: (any region is OK)
• Linode Plan: Select "Shared CPU/ Linode 4GB"
• SSH Keys: Select: "Add an SSH Key"
  • Label: Enter Docnow
  • SSH Public Key: Type in your Terminal: cat ~/.ssh/docnow_id_rsa.pub and enter the output in the box. Add Key
• You will be asked to create the root password of your VPS Server
• Create the Linode and take note of the resulting IP address (for this example we will use 1.2.2.4) of your Virtual Private Server
• Open your Terminal Application
• Connect to your Virtual Private Server with the following command using the key you created above

ssh -i ~/.ssh/docnow_id_rsa root@[yourIPaddresshere]

• The resulting screen will look like this: bash The authenticity of host '[yourIPaddresshere] ([yourIPaddresshere])' can't be established. ECDSA key fingerprint is SHA256:B7X6z+GIBBERISH+Ozscdht3FB/3WfzcM/076S9ylEh4No. Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])?

If you have permissions issues, run the following in Terminal:

chmod 0400 ~/.ssh/docnow_id_rsa

You will see:

The authenticity of host '[yourIPaddress] [yourIPaddress]' cannot be established.
ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:MtFD6zgLJkyr6Ju8nmzwNqwvqy+rayVVnp1NW97DW0s.
This key is not known by any other names
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
Warning: Permanently added '[yourIPaddress]' (ED25519) to the list of known hosts.
Welcome to Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS (GNU/Linux 4.15.0-1021-Linode x86_64)

Enter yes to connect to your server:

You will see your connection to the server:

Warning: Permanently added '[yourIPaddresshere]' (ECDSA) to the list of known hosts.
Welcome to Ubuntu 18.04.6 LTS (GNU/Linux 4.15.0-169-generic x86_64)

 * Documentation:  https://help.ubuntu.com
 * Management:     https://landscape.canonical.com
 * Support:        https://ubuntu.com/advantage

  System information as of Thu Mar 10 18:31:06 UTC 2022

  System load:  0.02              Processes:           101
  Usage of /:   2.0% of 78.19GB   Users logged in:     0
  Memory usage: 3%                IP address for eth0: [yourIPaddresshere]
  Swap usage:   0%


The programs included with the Ubuntu system are free software;
the exact distribution terms for each program are described in the
individual files in /usr/share/doc/*/copyright.

Ubuntu comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by
applicable law.

root@localhost:~#

Enter exit to logout of your VPS.

You will see the following:

logout
Connection to [youIPaddresshere] closed

4. Launch your application

• Download and unzip the docnow-ansible zip file or, if you are a GitHub user, clone the repository to a location on your computer.
• Move the docnow-ansible folder to your Documents folder
• Modify the hosts.example to have the IP address from the steps above.
• rename the file hosts.example file to hosts

Run the following commands in Terminal:

cd /Users/[macOSusername]/Documents/docnow-ansible-main

ansible-playbook -i hosts playbooks/linode_ubuntu_deploy.yml

When it completes if you point your browser to the IP in the example thus far http://1.2.2.4 you will see the configuration page for your docnow application