EMS: Tunneling SSH with Docker/Linux

[drichter]

Hi,

I think, me and EMS won't be friends

First my scenario:

I have a edge-device where I only can deploy docker-container (via a web-gui) and I can connect to the device via ssh. I build a dockerfile based on ubuntu which includes the EMS (with config.json etc.). If I run my container the edge-device is connected to thingworx (running in aws).

Now I want use EMS-tunneling to connect to the edge device via ssh.

Problem:

In the guide (http://support.ptc.com/help/thingworx_hc/thingworx_edge/index.html#page/thingworx_edge_sdks_ems%2Fws_ems%2Fv5.4.0_c_ems_wsems_configuration_tunnel.html%23) it saids you have to install UltraVNC Server on the mashine where EMS is running, but only a windows version is available. So I installed ThinVNC with Xfce-Desktop manually on the ubuntu docker instance. So on some steps of the installation you have todo some inputs - very bad for a docker deployment. After installing a try to start ThinVNC but I get a error message "vncserver: The USER environment variable is not set.".

I thing ThinVNC is not solving my problem with a VNC installation in docker (desktopless linux). Is someone else use EMS-tunneling on a linux-system and can help?

[drichter]

So my current status of the project:

Two docker container run on the edge device. One runs the EMS and the other runs the VNC with XFCE.

I use a Remote Access Widget and made the most things like this tutorial https://community.ptc.com/t5/IoT-Tech-Tips/Tunneling-with-ThingWorx-and-an-Edge-Device/td-p/533263

I get the "Remote Tunnel opened"-message when I click on the Remote Access Widget. When I try to connect to the opened connection, I get an error message (ssh: "Server unexpectedyl closed network connection" / VNC: "Connection has been gracefully closed").

[Constantine]

Hello @drichter,

Do you need GUI? In Docker?? Why don't you just use one of the SSH-server containers based on Ubuntu, like this one?

/ Constantine

[drichter · Accepted solution]

All the PTC tutorials use an VNC-Server and VNC without GUI makes no sense.

But yesterday I was able to fix all problems. First problem i had was caused by missing permissions. The user assigned to the app key has no visibility-permissions for the EdgeDeviceThing. The second problem was the isolation of the two containers. The EMS could not connect to the VNC because there are in seperate networks.