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README-remote-access-ngrok.md

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Remote access with ngrok

This README describes a very simple and convenient way to access (and then administrate) your gateway, or a deployed one, from anywhere in the world using the ngrok service.

Install ngrok

If you update the gateway software (using the web admin interface procedure) ngrok support will be installed. If you just want to add the ngrok feature without a full update of your gateway, then can you just use the web admin interface Gateway Update/Download and install a file to sequentially download and install the 2 following files by copy/paste the URL (ngrokis about 13MB so it can take some time depending on your Internet access):

  • ngrok binary: https://www.dropbox.com/s/9zdbx9g78q7qree/ngrok
  • cmd.sh update=: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0t8evgnanvzeqpz/cmd.sh

or get these files from our LowCostLoRaGw github.

If you want to manually install the latest version of ngrok from ngrok.com use ssh to connect to your gateway, then:

> cd /home/pi/Downloads
> sudo wget https://bin.equinox.io/c/4VmDzA7iaHb/ngrok-stable-linux-arm.zip
> unzip ngrok-stable-linux-arm.zip

You should now have the ngrok utility in /home/pi/Downloads. Copy it in /home/pi/lora_gateway folder:

> cp ngrok /home/pi/lora_gateway

Sign in and enable your ngrok access

You need to create an account on https://ngrok.com/signup. Then go to https://dashboard.ngrok.com to get your authentication token. On the Raspberry, run the following command:

> cd /home/pi/lora_gateway
> ./ngrok authtoken <your_auth_token>

of course, replace your_auth_token by the token indicated in your ngrok dashboard. You need to do that step only once for a given gateway.

You can also use command N of the text command interface to enter the ngrok auth token.

Start ssh remote access

To start ssh remote access from anywhere in the world, even if your gateway is behind a local LAN, run the following command:

> cd /home/pi/lora_gateway
> ./ngrok tcp 22

ngrok will display something similar to:

ngrok by @inconshreveable

Session Status                online
Account                       Congduc Pham (Plan: Free)
Version                       2.2.8
Region                        United States (us)
Web Interface                 http://127.0.0.1:4040
Forwarding                    tcp://0.tcp.ngrok.io:48590 -> localhost:22

Connections                   ttl     opn     rt1     rt5     p50     p90
                              0       0       0.00    0.00    0.00    0.00

Then from a terminal you can get access to your gateway with:

> ssh -p 48590 pi@0.tcp.ngrok.io

Note that you can also start HTTP access with:

> ./ngrok http 80

to make the gateway's web admin interface accessible from the outside. However, as the web admin interface has limited functionalities, a deep troubleshooting will most likely use ssh access.

You can use command O of the text command interface to start the ngrok tcp 22 process.

Typical usage of the ngrok service

We use this ngrok service to administrate a deployed gateway when some troubleshooting and maintenance is needed. It is not intended for permanent access to a gateway but rather like a Teamviewer-like service. For instance, suppose that organization X with administrator person Y has a deployed gateway and Y needs some assistance. Y creates an account with ngrok, installs and runs ngrok tcp 22, then gives you (via phone, mail, SMS, Whatsapp,...) the ngrok's URL, e.g. tcp://0.tcp.ngrok.io:48590. Then, from your office, you can just run ssh -p 48590 pi@0.tcp.ngrok.io to manage Y's gateway: upgrade the gateway, configure a particular service, troubleshooting,... When the maintenance is finished, Y will just tear down the ngrok tunnel.

Use the cmd.sh text command interface

cmd.sh has been extended with 3 commands:

----------------------------------------------------------* ngrok *--+
M- get and install ngrok                                             +
N- ngrok authtoken                                                   +
O- ngrok tcp 22                                                      + 
---------------------------------------------------------------------+

A user can use its smartphone are tablet to connect on the gateway's WiFi and with an ssh app, log on 192.168.200.1. On iOS we tested with Termius and on Android we tested with JuiceSSH. Once log into the gateway, the text command interface in automatically launched and the user can choose and run pre-defined commands. Here, typically, he can use command M to install ngrok (if it is needed), command N to register its ngrok access (after signing up with ngrok) and command O to start remote access each time he needs someone else to get access to the gateway, following the previously described procedure.

Enjoy! C. Pham