MyDevMachine

A Terraform-based project for provisioning and managing a remote development virtual machine in Google Cloud Platform with ARM64 architecture.

Project Overview

MyDevMachine creates a consistent, reproducible, and secure ARM64-based development environment that can be accessed remotely. It provisions a Google Compute Engine VM with the following features:

• ARM64 Architecture: Ampere Altra CPU for ARM64 development and testing
• Development Tools: VSCode, Google Cloud SDK, and modern terminal emulators
• Remote Access: SSH with X11 forwarding and VNC with desktop environment
• Security: IP-based access restrictions through firewall rules

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Terraform CLI (v1.8.2+)
• Google Cloud SDK
• GCP account with appropriate permissions
• Authentication to GCP (gcloud auth application-default login)
• GCP project configured (gcloud config set project your-project-id)

Deployment

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/mydevmachine.git
   cd mydevmachine

2. Update the main.tf file with your GCP project ID and authorized IP addresses:

   project = "your-gcp-project-id"

   And in the firewall rule:

   source_ranges = [
     "your-ip-address/32",
   ]

3. Initialize Terraform:

   terraform init

4. Plan the deployment:

   terraform plan

5. Apply the configuration:

   terraform apply

6. After deployment, note the VM's external IP address from the output:

   external_ip_address = "XX.XX.XX.XX"
   

Accessing the VM

SSH Access

ssh -X username@VM_IP

VNC Access

1. Create an SSH tunnel:

   ssh -L 5901:localhost:5901 username@VM_IP

2. Connect your VNC client to localhost:5901

3. Use the default password: development (change this after first login)

Documentation

For comprehensive documentation, please refer to the Memory Bank directory, which contains detailed information about:

• Project purpose and requirements
• System architecture and design patterns
• Technical details and constraints
• Security model and best practices
• Access procedures and troubleshooting
• Current status and future plans

Project Structure

myDevMachine/
├── main.tf                  # Main Terraform configuration
├── terraform.tfstate        # Terraform state file
├── terraform.tfstate.backup # Terraform state backup
├── .terraform.lock.hcl      # Terraform provider lock file
├── memory-bank/             # Comprehensive project documentation
├── update-ip.sh             # Script to update allowed IP addresses
├── change-vnc-password.sh   # Helper script for changing VNC password
├── create-vnc-tunnel.sh     # Script to create SSH tunnels for VNC
└── README.md                # This file

Utility Scripts

The project includes several utility scripts to simplify common tasks:

update-ip.sh

Updates the allowed IP addresses in the firewall rules to grant access from your current location.

# Run with automatic IP detection
./update-ip.sh

# Specify an IP address
./update-ip.sh --ip 192.168.1.1/32

# Check current allowed IPs
./update-ip.sh --check

change-vnc-password.sh

Guides you through the process of changing the VNC password on the VM.

# Run with interactive prompts
./change-vnc-password.sh

# Specify VM IP and username
./change-vnc-password.sh --ip 34.58.231.218 --user myusername

create-vnc-tunnel.sh

Creates a secure SSH tunnel for VNC access to the VM.

# Run with interactive prompts
./create-vnc-tunnel.sh

# Specify VM IP and username
./create-vnc-tunnel.sh --ip 34.58.231.218 --user myusername

# Use custom ports
./create-vnc-tunnel.sh --ip 34.58.231.218 --user myusername --port 5902 --remote 5902

Security Considerations

• The default VNC password should be changed immediately after first login
• Firewall rules restrict access to specific IP addresses
• Use SSH tunneling for secure VNC connections
• Regularly update the allowed IP addresses in the firewall rules

Contributing

1. Update the Memory Bank documentation when making changes
2. Follow Infrastructure as Code best practices
3. Test changes thoroughly before applying to production
4. Document any new features or configuration options

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.