class: center, middle # Virtual Private Servers _alex chojnacki_ --- # The history of computing in a nutshell 1. Began with dumb terminals attached to smart mainframes -- 1. Moved to stronger individual computers, "PC's" -- 1. Back to dumb devices connected to supercomputers. * _What can you even do on a phone with no internet connection?_ --- # What is a VPS? -- _Okay, yeah, it's a "virtual private server" ..._ --- # What does Wikipedia say about it? > _"A VPS runs its own copy of an operating system, and customers have superuser-level access to that operating system instance, so they can install almost any software that runs on that OS. For many purposes they are functionally equivalent to a dedicated physical server, and being software-defined, are able to be much more easily created and configured." -- Wikipedia_ ??? Aside from "customer", it sounds the same as our normal VM. 1. How is a VPS similar to our VirtualBox images from this description? 1. Are there any advantages we can think of? Alike - disposable - can install whatever we want Different - Easily (automajically) configurable - We can pay $$$ to get better resources - Create and destroy instances as they are needed - There's no GUI _(usually)!_ -- # Advantages * They are easily configurable ... * We can make as many as we want ... * We can make them as powerful as we need ... * We can create and destroy them instantly ... --- class: center, middle  --- class: center, middle # How do I make one? --- # Vagrant * A "headless" VM * Provisioning support built-in * Often times more convenient without the GUI * Provisioning mechanism ```bash thealex :: $ vagrant init hashicorp/precise64 ... thealex :: $ vagrant up ... thealex :: $ vagrant ssh ``` -- _Why is provisioning cool?_ **::** What if I want to make 50 VMs at once and they all need the same config? --- # Docker * A "lightweight" VM * Quicker than vagrant, but much less contained - Where vagrant/virtualbox virtualise the hardware, docker utilizes a clever namespace trick in order to run processes in 'isolated' environments while avoiding any hardware virtualisation. * Rich ecosystem of third-party images and environments ``` docker run -it ubuntu bash ``` -- ## AWS, Linode, DigitalOcean, etc. * Disposable servers in the cloud! --- # Alright, so what can I do with them? -- * Host personal website/app * Temporarily "rent" a more powerful PC * Host chatbots like GitHub's `hubot` -- .center[_Use your imagination!_] --- ## Why would I ever use AWS for compute power? -- ### I hear neural networks are all the rage ... http://arxiv.org/pdf/1508.06576v2.pdf https://github.com/jcjohnson/neural-style --- # Installing dependencies ```bash luarocks install sys luarocks install image luarocks install loadcaffe luarocks install torch export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=/home/ubuntu/torch-distro/install/lib:/home/ubuntu/torch-distro/install/lib:/home/ubuntu/cudnn-6.5-linux-x64-v2-rc2 # clone the project and install git clone https://github.com/jcjohnson/neural-style cd neural-style sh models/download_models.sh ``` -- - What is `luarocks`? - What is `export LD_LIBRARY_PATH` doing? - What about the sh command? --- # How do we get my image onto the server? - email it to myself? - Click and drag to the ... just stop -- no. -- - `scp`! `scp -i ~/Downloads/c4cs-neural-style.pem ubuntu@ec2-52-70-134-147.compute-1.amazonaws.com:neural-style/output.png .` - maybe even a python webserver ... `http://52.70.134.147` --- # Card Demo -- ## Problem - Wrote a bunch of notes with `word::definition` pairs - Wanted a flash card app on my phone -- ## Solution - Simple project using node.js, mongo, express.js - Written in an afternoon -- - ... or two. -- http://104.131.102.44:3000/ --- # A few notes about the class From the first slide of the course ... ``` ## What this class is about - This is not "Tools for Computer Scientists" - Though, we will cover a lot of cool tools - The goal is to give you the ability to pick up, learn, and use tools effectively ``` _Hopefully ..._ - ... you've followed a guide and needed to improvise. -- - ... you've learned a tool or two that surprised you. -- - ... you're more confident approaching new problems. -- .center[__You know more than you think you know,__] .center[__and nothing on a command line is hard ... __] -- .center[__ ... the second time ... __]