Use a Linode for Web Development on Remote Devices

Updated Monday, December 17, 2018 by Linode Contributed by Damaso Sanoja

This guide will walk you through the necessary steps to configure your Linode to be an efficient remote development environment. You will then connect to this environment using a tablet and edit a simple web application using ssh and a text editor.

Development Environments

Local Development Environment

A local development environment is usually faster, more powerful, and more comfortable than a remote environment. However, there some drawbacks associated with local development:

• You are bound to your workstation’s operating system. You may need to employ virtual machines to overcome limitations.
• No matter how powerful your machine is, resources are finite. Depending on the complexity of your project, scaling-up for complexity could become an issue.
• A development environment that relies on a powerful desktop, a local NAS, multi-monitor setup, full size keyboard and mouse is not portable. You can use a good laptop to gain some freedom, but then you sacrifice CPU power and internal storage that could hinder your ability to run specific projects.
• Last but not least, if your local machine fails your entire development process stops.

However, a simple remote development environment has its own disadvantages:

Remote Development Environment

• Most remote development environments have certain limitations on the frameworks you can use.
• Speed could be an issue too, especially if your project requires compiling large amounts of code.
• You won’t be able to reproduce the exact production environment.
• Finally, cost could become an issue.

The Hybrid Approach

• Operating system agnostic.
• Flexibility to recreate any production scenario, but also workflow flexibility to adapt to any power user.
• Security and data integrity.
• Ability to scale power and storage on demand.

By using Docker, you can ensure that your development is fully portable: containers can be run on a Linode for remote development, but can easily be ported to a local environment if necessary. This guide will use Portainer to manage the Docker environment, to make it easier to work with containers from a remote device.

Provision the Remote Environment

Install Docker

These steps install Docker Community Edition (CE) using the official Ubuntu repositories. To install on another distribution, or to install on Mac or Windows, see the official installation page.

1. Remove any older installations of Docker that may be on your system:

   sudo apt remove docker docker-engine docker.io
   

2. Make sure you have the necessary packages to allow the use of Docker’s repository:

   sudo apt install apt-transport-https ca-certificates curl software-properties-common gnupg
   

3. Add Docker’s GPG key:

   curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo apt-key add -
   

4. Verify the fingerprint of the GPG key:

   sudo apt-key fingerprint 0EBFCD88
   

   You should see output similar to the following:

     
   pub   rsa4096 2017-02-22 [SCEA]
         9DC8 5822 9FC7 DD38 854A  E2D8 8D81 803C 0EBF CD88
   uid           [ unknown] Docker Release (CE deb) 
   sub   rsa4096 2017-02-22 [S]
   
   

5. Add the stable Docker repository:

   sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable"
   

   Note

   For Ubuntu 19.04, if you get an E: Package 'docker-ce' has no installation candidate error, this is because the stable version of docker is not yet available. Therefore, you will need to use the edge / test repository.

   sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable edge test"
   

6. Update your package index and install Docker CE:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install docker-ce
   

7. Add your limited Linux user account to the docker group:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
   

   Note

   After entering the usermod command, you will need to close your SSH session and open a new one for this change to take effect.

8. Check that the installation was successful by running the built-in “Hello World” program:

   docker run hello-world
   

Install Portainer

The easiest way to install Portainer is by deploying the official image.

1. Create a volume for storing persistent data:

   docker volume create portainer_data
   

2. Run your container in detached mode:

   docker run -d -p 9000:9000 \
   --name portainer --restart unless-stopped \
   -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock \
   -v portainer_data:/data portainer/portainer
   

   The -v /var/run/docker.sock:/var/run/docker.sock directive allows the Docker container to communicate with the host Docker environment. -v portainer_data:/data portainer/portainer mounts the previously created Portainer data volume.

3. Point your browser to http://192.0.0.0:9000, replacing 192.0.0.0 with the IP address or FQDN of your workstation Linode. You should see a screen similar to this:

   

4. After registering your admin user you will be asked about the type of connection you are using: Local or Remote. Since you will run your containers from the same Linode choose Local:

   

5. If everything goes as expected you will be presented with the Portainer Dashboard.

   

Note

By default your connection with Portainer GUI is not encrypted. If you need to use SSL then you must install the corresponding certificates on your Linode and pass their location to the Docker container on start. For more information please read how to Secure Portainer using SSL in the Portainer official documentation.

Set Up an Nginx Directory

In the next section you will mount a directory on your Linode to an NGINX Docker container. Create this directory now:

mkdir -p ~/nginx/html

Connect From a Remote Device

With everything set up it’s time to work with your remote development environment. This guide will test your development environment using a simple NGINX container.

Install a Container from a Tablet

1. Open your browser and point it to the address: http://192.0.2.0:9000 from Portainer Dashboard Sidebar navigate to App Templates menu.

   

2. In the Application templates list, click on Nginx to install the container.

   

3. You will see the Configuration screen. From here you can name your container, choose a Docker network and even determine access control (useful for teams).

   

4. Deploy your container when ready by hitting the corresponding button. The NGINX image will download automatically and will be available for deployment. You will be directed to the Containers menu, where you can manage your containers.

   

5. Check your installation by pointing your browser to the assigned port http://<Linode IP or FQDN> :32769.

   

Use Portainer to Manage your Containers

1. Navigate to the Containers menu on the left sidebar and click the check-box for the web-01 container you just created. Review the available options for managing this container.

   

2. You can start, stop, kill, restart, pause, resume, or remove the selected container in the same manner you would use docker from the terminal. You can also edit web-01 container by clicking on its name.

3. Remove the web-01 container by touching the Remove button, and select to automatically remove non-persistent volumes.

   

Bind Volumes to your Container

1. From the App Templates menu select Nginx again.

2. Disable access control and click on Show advanced options. On the volume mapping section touch the Bind button for the container’s /usr/share/nginx/html and set the host to /home/username/nginx/html.

   

Connect to your Linode host using JuiceSSH

1. Open JuiceSSH and then select connections from the main dashboard.

   

   

2. Add a new identity by swiping right on the identities menu and then clicking the + sign.

   

3. Enter a nickname, and then fill in the username and password for your Linode (make sure you choose an account that has sudo access).

   

4. You can also create a private SSH key for secure access. Once you have connected to your Linode you can use ssh-copy-id to transfer the public key to the server.

5. Press the check button on top right to save the identity.

   

6. If you created an SSH key, you can export the public key by pressing and holding the identity name in the Identities menu. Coose Export Public Key from the pop-up menu.

   

7. Swipe left on the Connections menu and create a new connection by press the + sign.

   

8. Assign a nickname to your connection, fill in the Linode’s IP address or FQDN, and save your connection by touching the check mark on top right.

   

9. Tap the connection name to open an SSH connection to your Linode.

10. Check your NGINX container from JuiceSSH.

    sudo docker ps
    

11. You can work with your Docker containers through the command line as normal. The top of the virtual keyboard provides some shortcuts pre-defined for ease of use.

    

12. Navigate to the volume bound to the container:

    cd nginx/html
    

13. Create a test HTML file:

    echo "<html><p>Hello World</p></html>" >> index.html
    

14. Point your browser to the NGINX server (you can check the port that NGINX is listening on from the Portainer console). Any edits you make from your tablet’s SSH connection will be rendered to the browser, allowing you to work on this NGINX project from your tablet.

Edit Files Using QuickEdit

1. Editing simple configuration files is not hard. But if you need to do substantial editing from your tablet then you will need a text editor with syntax highlighting and other features. Open QuickEdit and allow access to photos, media, and files on your device.

   

2. By default, you will see a blank file. Touch the menu icon on top left.

   

3. Select the Storage Manager from the menu.

4. Create a new connection by touching the + button on lower right. When prompted choose FTP/FTPS/SFTP and then SFTP

   

5. Enter your Linode’s IP address or FQDN, desired label and username. Then select an authentication mode (you can use either a password or SSH keys).

6. Touch your Linode connection and you will be forwarded to the remote directory structure. Find your NGINX bind, then mount and open the test.json file.

Next Steps

You now have a basic but powerful setup that allows you to work from any device with an internet connection.

The main limitation of a tablet is its storage capacity. An efficient way to set up a centralized storage space is by using OwnCloud on a Linode with block storage. This way you can host all your archives, dotfiles, scripts, images and more in a scalable Linode. An additional benefit is the possibility to connect external storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive. OwnCloud has native applications for Android and iOS so managing your assets won’t be a problem. You can install and configure ownCloud by following our ownCloud guide.

More Information

You may wish to consult the following resources for additional information on this topic. While these are provided in the hope that they will be useful, please note that we cannot vouch for the accuracy or timeliness of externally hosted materials.

• Docker Docs
• Portainer

Join our Community

Find answers, ask questions, and help others.

This guide is published under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license.