How to host 2FAuth on AWS Lightsail VM Instance - ServerAvatar

2FAuth is a Web application designed to manage your Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) accounts and generate their security codes. Hosting 2FAuth on AWS Lightsail offers a reliable and straightforward solution. AWS Lightsail provides a range of pre-configured instances with easy deployment options. ServerAvatar simplifies the setup process with easy steps for installing your 2FAuth application on AWS Lightsail.

Create VM Instance in AWS Lightsail

To create a server in AWS Lightsail, First log in to the AWS Lightsail console. Once you are there, Follow the steps given below.

Step 1: Go to the Instance Creation Form

To access the instance creation form, Go to the AWS Lightsail dashboard and click on the orange button with the Create Instance text. See the following image for reference.

Step 2: Select the Location of your Instance

First of all, You have to select the location for your instance. It is always better to select a location closest to your major traffic source. It will decrease the latency for the majority of your website visitors.

If you want to change the location of your server, You can simply update the current region in your AWS account.

Step 3: Select the OS for your Instance

After selecting the location, Select the operating system for your instance. In this case, First, click on OS Only and then select Ubuntu 20.04 as an operating system just like the following image.

Step 4: Select SSH Key and Launch Script (Optional/Advanced)

This is an optional step. Here you can set the Launch script and the main SSH key for your server. If you don't understand the launch script and SSH keys, Just ignore this step.

Step 5: Select the Plan

In this step, select the size of your VM instance. AWS Lightsail provides lots of different options when it comes to plans and pricing. The minimum requirement is 1GB or more of RAM for better performance and a minimum of 2 GB or more of free disk space to accommodate the application and its dependencies.

The plan and pricing selection completely depend on the requirements of your site(s). So, select the plan based on the complexity and traffic of your sites.

Step 6: Verify and Create the Instance

Finally, Enter the name of your instance, and the number of instances you want to create and assign the tags accordingly for identification. Once done, click on the Create Instance button to start the instance creation process.

It might take a few minutes to deploy the instance. Once done, follow the below-given step to update the firewall rules for the VM instance.

Step 7: Update Firewall Rules

ServerAvatar requires 43210 port open. In total, You need to keep the following ports open on the instance.

• 22 (SSH): To access your server via SSH.
• 80 (HTTP): To access your sites on HTTP.
• 443 (HTTPS): To access your sites on HTTPS.
• 43210 (ServerAvatar): To allow communication between ServerAvatar and your instance.

To update the firewall rules for a specific instance, Go to the AWS Lightsail dashboard and click on the name of the instance you want to update. Then go to the Networking section and add the missing firewall rules. After updating the firewall rules, the networking section of your Instance should look like the following image.

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes the installation and configuration of various packages required to host your website. Usually, You have to write commands and modify configuration files. Luckily, With ServerAvatar, Your full server configuration and optimization can be automated.

Here are the three ways to automatically configure your server with ServerAvatar.

wget https://srvr.so/install
chmod +x install
./install

Install and Setup 2FAuth on Cloud using ServerAvatar

Self-Hosting 2FAuth Application: Step-by-Step Guide

Introduction:

In an age where cybersecurity is paramount, adding an extra layer of security through Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is a must. The 2FAuth library allows you to implement this security measure with ease. This guide will walk you through the steps to self-host 2FAuth on your own web server, whether on a local machine or a hosted environment, using Apache2 or NGINX as your HTTP server.

Requirements:

1. HTTP Server: You need a web server such as Apache or NGINX. These are the most popular web servers, and you likely have one of them installed if you are using a web hosting service.
2. PHP: Ensure you have PHP 8.1 or higher installed with the following extensions:
   • BCMath
   • Ctype
   • Fileinfo
   • JSON
   • Mbstring
   • OpenSSL
   • PDO
   • Tokenizer
   • XML
3. Database: 2FAuth supports various databases such as:
   • MariaDB 10.2+
   • MySQL 5.7+
   • PostgreSQL 9.6+
   • SQLite 3.8.8+
   • SQL Server 2017+
4. Composer: Composer is required to manage PHP dependencies for 2FAuth. Follow the Composer installation guide.

Step-by-Step Installation Guide:

Step 1: Create a GitHub application

Start by creating a GitHub application using ServerAvatar. This will allow you to easily manage and deploy your 2FAuth instance. Follow these steps:

1. Open ServerAvatar: Log in to your ServerAvatar account.
2. Navigate to the Application Dashboard: In the dashboard, find the option to create a new application.
3. Create the GitHub Application:
   • HTTP URL: Enter https://github.com/Bubka/2FAuth.git
   • Branch Name: Set this to master
   • Deployment Script: Use the script composer install --prefer-dist --no-scripts --no-dev

This configuration will clone the 2FAuth repository and install the necessary dependencies.

Step 2: Set Custom Webroot

Set the custom webroot as public for your application. This can be done from the application dashboard in the application settings. The webroot directory is where your web server searches for the application files to serve.

Step 3: Create a Database

From the server dashboard, navigate to the databases section and create a new database. This database will store your application's data.

Step 4: Enable SSH Credentials

To securely access your server, enable SSH credentials. SSH (Secure Shell) provides a secure way to log in to your server remotely, ensuring that your data and commands are encrypted. This step is crucial for managing your server and deploying your 2FAuth application.

Step 5: Login Using SSH Credentials

• Once you have your SSH credentials enabled, you can log in to your server. Open a terminal and use the following command: sudo ssh {username}@{ip}
• Replace {username} with your actual username and {ip} with your server's IP address. You will be prompted to enter your password. After successful authentication, you will have remote access to your server.

Step 6: Navigate to the Application Path

With SSH access established, navigate to your application's directory on the server. This is where you will set up your 2FAuth project. Use the cd command to change directories to your application's root path.

Step 7: Execution

Run the following command and answer the wizard questions. php artisan 2fauth:install

At the conclusion of the wizard, the 2FAuth setup process will be complete.

Step 8: Verify Installation

To confirm that your 2FAuth installation is successful, visit your application domain in a web browser. You should see the 2FAuth page, indicating that your setup is complete and your application is ready for development.

Conclusion:

By following this guide, you have successfully set up and deployed your 2FAuth application. This process included creating a GitHub application, setting a custom webroot, creating a database, enabling SSH credentials, logging into your server, navigating to the application path, executing the installation script, and verifying your installation. Your 2FAuth application is now up and running, providing an extra layer of security for your users through Two-Factor Authentication. With 2FAuth, you can enhance the security of your web applications, protect sensitive data, and offer your users a more secure login experience. This setup ensures a robust environment for managing your application's security features effectively. Start leveraging the power of 2FAuth to safeguard your application and provide peace of mind to your users.