Remote console

Remote console is one part of qbee's secure remote connectivity offering. It is added and extended by the qbee-connect desktop application which allows to use the terminal app and map other ports as well. Remote console allows secure ssh shell connections to any device that is enabled for this in settings. The connection goes through qbee's own VPN service and thus no port has to be opened on the remote device (like port 22). Even better, qbee tracks all access and logs it into the audit log. This way you can see who has accessed which device. The web based console can be accessed through the "remote console" menu entry or via the single device tab (the green button).

A simple way to achieve remote console access through ssh

Use remote console to achieve secure remote ssh access to your devices without needing to open any port. If you do not have access to remote console an administrator can grant access through the user settings. For any user it can be defined if remote access is allowed.

When is remote console available?

It takes two runs of the qbee agent before a device is accessible through the remote console. So even if the device is online it might take one cycle more before remote access works. The CONFIG_TUN needs to be compiled and activated in the kernel. This is usually standard in most Linux distributions.

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All available remote console connections are listed in the UI. A green button indicated that the device is ready to be accessed. Pressing the button will open a terminal window as a pane. This way different connections can be open in parallel. This helps to compare settings or copy over information. The window with the arrow indicated that the connection should be migrated to a new window. Please make sure that you do not block pop-ups when using this. When initiating a remote console connection a window will ask for which user this should be opened.

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Keyboard keys do not work in the web console window

Keyboard keys like ctrl-c do not work in the console window. So please use the browsers copy/paste functionality when copying commands or passwords.

If you cannot login make sure that you are not using ctrl-c to copy your password. Use the browser copy function. This is a very common mistake.

Align multiple open consoles to check and compare things

Many devices can be opened in parallel and be aligned on different tabs for ease of use. Easily jump between tabs without disconnecting the devices. This is ideal to exchange code snippets between Raspberry Pis or similar units.

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